Ricky Proehl has quietly done one of the better jobs of any position coach in the NFL this season. But when the Carolina Panthers' receivers were tearing up the NFC Championship Game, Proehl had something to say:

Why so much emotion?

"Why not?" replies Proehl. "Our guys are out there balling and everybody has said that we've got no weapons. We've heard that all year.

"I'm a coach, but I'm still a competitor. The adrenaline still runs high. When your guys are out there playing and making plays, I get fired up for them. I'm excited for them because I know what they've put into it and they hear all that stuff."

Proehl has a point, obviously.

It was hard to find anyone outside the building who didn't question the Panthers' weapons when top wideout Kelvin Benjamin went down in training camp. But Proehl made lemonade out of an unheralded group that included like Ted Ginn Jr., Philly Brown and Devin Funchess.

Against the Cardinals, all three made big plays. Brown and Funchess caught touchdown passes while Ginn ran in for a score and helped prevent one. Arizona's 'big three' receivers, meanwhile, totaled 90 yards and no touchdowns. 

Through 18 games, many still believe the Panthers have won despite their receiving corps. So you can't blame Proehl, who was on Carolina's roster for its only other trip to the Super Bowl, if he wants to chirp about his crew. 

"We're playing in the biggest game of the year, and a lot of that has to do with this team, and the receivers are part of that team," Proehl says. "They've made plays when they've been called on."