The last time that Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith ruined my day year was in the 2006 NFC Divisional Playoff game. It wasn’t just that he was scorching my beloved Bears’ secondary for 212 yards on 12 catches with two touchdowns, it was that he was single-handedly kicking them out of the playoffs.

Luckily, Smith isn’t kicking anything these days. Punching — that’s another story. This Sunday, Smith is sure to be a non factor as he sits out the final game of his two-game suspension for jabbing teammate Ken Lucas in the mug, consenquently breaking his nose.

In his absence, former Bears and two-time Panthers receiver Muhsin Muhammad will once again, be counted on to bully Ken Lucas play the role of veteran leader. Newcomer, tight end Dante Rosario (ed. I get it. Rosario is both his last name and the first name of actress Rosario Dawson HA. HA.) will have to be monitored closely after last week’s impressive performance: seven catches, 96 yards receiving, game-winning touchdown as time expired, and the cause for instantaneous depression of hundreds of thousands of Chargers fans.

The Bears D will need to account for the Panthers’ two-headed running game of DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart as well. Last week, they combined for 139 yards on the ground.

Aside from safety Chris Harris’ apparent knack for creating turnovers, nothing in the Panthers secondary should overly concern the Bears. Expect the team’s own two-headed running game of rookie Matt Forte and Kevin Jones to get plenty of attention from the Panthers’ front seven or eight. If this happens, it will be the perfect time for The Beard to show last week was no fluke, and for any of the team’s receivers — ahem, Rashied Davis, ahem —  to step up.

One member of the Bears’ aforementioned two-headed monster, Kevin Jones, has signed with another two-headed monster, agent Drew Rosenhaus, also known as Beelzebub. I’m betting if Jones runs well in ‘08, he won’t be back for another year unless the team is willing to dish out some feature-back money.

The good news is the team is now worth a billion bucks. So, you know, they might be able to.