Share
The Carolina Panthers' passing offense - ranked 24th in the NFL - continues to struggle:
Quarterback Jake Delhomme has a league-high 13 interceptions (although he hasn't thrown one in two games). His 61.7 passer rating ranks 29th in the league.
Of Delhomme's five touchdown passes, four have been to tight ends.
Receiver Steve Smith's production (34 catches for 478 yards and one touchdown) is far off his usual pace.
Muhsin Muhammad, in his 13th NFL season, doesn't appear to be a downfield threat anymore.
An heir to Muhammad - let alone a legitimate No.3 receiver - hasn't materialized.
Coach John Fox said Monday that there's only one way to improvement: Keep working.
"It's the same thing we did a month ago to get better in our running game," said Fox. "Just continue to work at it and do everything we can to get better."
Delhomme didn't make any turnover-inducing throwing mistakes in Sunday's 30-20 loss against New Orleans. But a 46-yard pass to Smith with 1 minute, 46 seconds left was his longest completion of the game and one of just two of more than 20 yards.
"I'm confident we can get better," said Fox. "We've got the personnel that we've got. That's not any kind of negative comment. It's just the way it is."
Jarrett started for a second straight game in the absence of Muhammad, catching a career-high four passes for 30 yards. He also appeared to let a deep pass slip through his hands in the fourth quarter.
"There was some good (in Jarrett's play)," said Fox. "Like everybody else, probably some not so good. I didn't think he played poorly by any stretch."
Jarrett, the Panthers' second-round draft pick in 2007, hasn't established himself as a legitimate option to Smith and Muhammad, with 25 catches in his three seasons.
Briefly
Fox tried to take the heat off running back DeAngelo Williams, whose fumble at the Panthers 1 in the fourth quarter gave the Saints their game-clinching touchdown. New Orleans tackle Anthony Hargrove grabbed at Williams' arms, jarring the ball loose, and scooped it up and scored.
"There wasn't anything wrong," said Fox. "Their guy made a nice play. Their defense causes a lot of turnovers, particularly in the passing game. That's one of the reasons we played the way we did. We didn't throw an interception. Unfortunately we fumbled the ball."
Starting fullback Brad Hoover's sprained ankle is out of a cast and now in a protective boot. Backup Tony Fiammetta, who also missed the Saints game with a concussion, said he's feeling better and is no longer having the "cloudy" vision he suffered from last week.
Hoover did what he could last week to help rookie running back Tyrell Sutton - who started at fullback - as well as reserve guard Mackenzy Bernadeau, who lined up at fullback in the third quarter.
"Mostly I talked to them about how I read things," Hoover said. "With Tyrell, I told him to use his instincts like does as a running back. If your instincts take you that way, most of the time (they're) right. Instead of blowing through a hole, though, you're trying to find a guy to block.
"With Mack, I told him it was all about leverage and angles."
Fox was impressed with Sutton, who is 5-foot-8, 213 pounds: "It's not how big the wand is, it's how much magic is inside."
All it took was a 330-yard passing game by the Saints' Drew Brees to send the Panthers' ranking in pass defense from No.1 in the NFL to No.7 through Sunday's games.
Carolina, which had been ranked atop the league in that stat for two weeks, now allows 181.8 yards per game.
Williams is fifth in the league in rushing through Sunday with 768 yards.
Only league-leader Chris Johnson of Tennessee (959) has a higher per-carry average among the top 10 rushers than Williams. Johnson averages 6.7 per rush; Williams 5.2.
The Panthers' rushing offense rose to third in the league after gaining 182 yards on the ground against New Orleans. Carolina averages 153.0 yards per game.
The Panthers rank 32nd (last) in kick-return coverage (30.7 yards). The Panthers did hold the Saints to an average of 21.7 yards on three returns.
Although Delhomme hasn't thrown an interception in two games, his 13 this season are still most in the NFL. Detroit's Matthew Stafford and Chicago's Jay Cutler (both with 12) are gaining fast, though.
Carolina is tied with Oakland for 30th in turnover ratio (minus-nine), ahead of only Cleveland (minus-11). Carolina was minus-one in the department against the Saints, losing three fumbles, but picking off Brees once and recovering a Brees fumble.
The Panthers-Saints game will be re-broadcast today at 9:30 p.m. on NFL Network.
