I don t drop balls every day. I dropped one in the game. You go out and speed again. By now, Carruth is almost begging to leave, but not before he s asked if he thinks he ll start this week against Cincinnati. Carruth is off to the sanctuary of the team s training room, where reporters aren t allowed to follow him.
Denial can be an ugly thing in sports.
Former Panthers quarterback Kerry Collins often refused to accept responsibility for his mistakes, too, and look where it got him. He s right. In 1997, Carruth had a pretty solid season as a third receiver, and his mistakes were forgiven because he was a rookie. Last year, he spent all but two games on the sidelines with a broken bone in his left foot. This year, he s finding, things are different.