Former Jet Jerricho savors Super shot

CHARLOTTE — It’s been a long time since

Jerricho Cotchery played on a team that advanced to the

conference title game and had a shot at the Super

Bowl. And this time, Cotchery says, he knows it could

be the last time. “Certainly,” the Carolina

Panthers receiver said Thursday. “At this point, Year 12, yeah, absolutely, this

could be the last shot. That’s reality.

At this point in your career, you just realize this could be your last time in your

career to do it.” And that’s why the former

Jet receiver desperately hopes for a different result on Sunday, when he helps

Carolina take on the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC title

game at Bank of America Stadium. The last time Cotchery

was this far in the playoffs, it was 2010 and the Jets were

playing in their second straight AFC title game, facing

the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cotchery, 33, says he knew then that he might not

get many chances to advance to the Super Bowl. But

he didn’t think it would take this long, especially when

he signed with a Steelers team that

seemed loaded in 2011. “The next year we went 12-4 . . . but the injuries,

it was crazy man,” he said. “Just a bunch of stuff happened

and we wasn’t able to get back. “This is special,” he added

of Carolina’s current run. “You only get so many

chances.”

Still afoot

Don’t count Jared Allen

out yet. The Panthers’ 33-year-old

defensive end managed to make it through a limited practice session

on Thursday, just four days after he suffered a left

foot fracture against the Seattle Seahawks, and

according to coach Ron Rivera,

Allen “looked pretty good.” Allen still has an outside

chance of playing Sunday. If he can’t, Rivera said, second-year man Kony

Ealy will start at defensive end and rookie Ryan

DeLaire will be active. The Panthers expect to make a late

decision on Allen. . . . RB Jonathan Stewart (ankle)

was also limited, although Rivera indicated he expects

him to be active.