HOUSTON -- Ready for a quick little game of Jeopardy?
The category is: New England Patriots. The answer is: 1) Drink a Cup of Coffee. 2) Make an Italian grinder. 3) Take a Nap.
The question?
What has New England quarterback Tom Brady had enough time to do when he has dropped back to pass during the postseason thus far?
In the Pats' first two playoff games, Brady was not sacked once.
But the Carolina Panthers' imposing front four is hoping to write a different script Sunday when the teams meet in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium.
And, with all due respect to the Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts, whose defensive lines couldn't get to Brady, the Panthers pose a more formidable challenge to New England's offensive line.
Carolina's front four registered 32.5 sacks this season, ranking second to only Miami's defensive line (38.5). Defensive end Mike Rucker missed two games because of a sprained knee but still finished fourth in the NFL with 12 sacks.
End Julius Peppers, the NFL's defensive rookie of the year in 2002, racked up seven sacks, including five in the last six games. Tackle Kris Jenkins, voted an All-Pro for the second straight season, chipped in with four. And the other tackle is 10-year veteran Brentson Buckner, who had a half-sack.
Not that the Panthers are strictly pass-rush-happy. Carolina finished eight in overall defense for the regular season. And in winning three playoff games in advancing to Sunday's title game, the Panthers have posted 10 sacks while limiting the opposition to an average of only 91 rushing yards per game.
They don't figure to be pushovers on Sunday.
"I think our strengths are that we can stop the run and we can rush the passer. We're well rounded," said Rucker, the NFC's defensive player of the month in September. "Some teams rush the passer well but are gassed on running plays, and vice versa.
"We've got Pep (Peppers), he's the youthful guy, the guy who can bend like a pretzel," added Rucker, a 6-foot-5, 275-pounder in his fifth season after starring at Nebraska. "Buckner is like a coach out there. He's a wise man. Jenkins is our muscle-bound guy. And me? I'm just a hard-hat guy who does a little bit of everything. I just go to work."
And the Panthers are expecting the Patriots to make them work hard Sunday. They know it won't be easy to get to Brady when he drops back, especially given New England's reliance on a quick-pass attack.
"Brady is shooting the ball out of his hand so quick it's tough to get a chance to get to him," said Peppers. "You almost have to have a free run at him to get a sack."
"If Brady goes with the three-step drop," added Rucker, "you can't get frustrated because that will take you out of your game plan. You can still get your hands up and try to tip the ball. Or you try and get a hit on the guy who catches the quick pass. And if he goes to a five-step or a seven-step drop, that's when you have to make your rush count."
Not that the Panthers are expecting the Patriots to just come out firing the ball. They know that New England will try to run. Antowain James rushed for 100 yards last week.
"They'll try to establish the run," said Jenkins, a 6-foot-4, 315-pounder in his third year after a stellar career at Maryland. "They know if they try to pass and become one-dimensional it makes it easier for us. As a defensive tackle, I have to stick with my assignments and read my keys because they'll try to run at you, around you, and run misdirections, traps and counters. We take a lot of pride at being able to stop the run with the front four."
The Panthers front four takes a lot of pride in its overall play, period.
"It"s no secret that the game is won or lost up front," said Jenkins. "If we do what we're supposed to, we can make it tough for them. We have to dominate them."
As they have most of the year, which wasn't totally unexpected. When the season began, there was a push in Panther Country to come up with a memorable nickname for the team's impressive front four.
As far as Buckner was concerned yesterday, though, there was only one front four whose nickname evokes an aura.
"The Steel Curtain. Nothing said it any better than that," said Buckner, who heard much about Pittsburgh's fabled foursome anchored by Mean Joe Greene when he played for the Steelers.
"If you asked 100 people about a front four in the NFL, 99 would say the Steel Curtain," he added. "We don't have any nicknames. We haven't done anything yet. We want to be known as the Carolina defensive line."
For now, that's plenty. Flashy nickname or not, the Panthers' defensive line will present the Patriots with a challenge on Sunday.
