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Questions abound regarding the dreary state of the Carolina Panthers' passing game:
Are coaches handcuffing quarterback Jake Delhomme in favor of the run to protect him from potentially confidence-deflating mistakes?
Is wide receiver Steve Smith as miffed with play-calling as television footage of his sideline rant during last weekend's game at New Orleans might suggest?
How can it be that wide receivers combined to catch only one touchdown pass during the first half of the season?
Regarding the latter rather embarrassing statistic, Smith said: "My standards don't go that low to ever imagine that."
And fellow receiver Muhsin Muhammad mused: "It's befuddling to me right now."
Stuck with a 3-5 record and a difficult finishing schedule, the Panthers have improved their running game and their defense dramatically during recent weeks but still are searching for ways to become more efficient through the air.
Carolina might need to pass better Sunday to have a chance to beat Atlanta (5-3) at Bank of America Stadium. Pass defense has been a vulnerability for the Falcons, who rank 27th in the NFL in that category.
On the plus side, Delhomme has not thrown an interception during the past two games after getting picked off 13 times - still the league high - during the first six.
Coach John Fox decided to stick with Delhomme after a 20-9 loss to Buffalo on Oct.25. However, during the first six quarters following that decision, Delhomme threw only 19 passes - 14 in a win at Arizona and five in the first half at New Orleans when the Panthers built an 11-point lead.
But once the Saints rallied, Delhomme had to throw 25 times during the second half. Though he wasn't intercepted, he didn't get the Panthers into the end zone and missed several long pass attempts.
From the receivers' perspective, Muhammad said he'd prefer more of an emphasis on the passing game.
"Maybe we're trying to play with too much caution," he said. "You're going to make some mistakes. That's part of playing football. Certain parts of the game, you try to be aggressive; certain parts of it you don't want to be as aggressive. It's up to the coaches when we're going to be those things."
When Delhomme was asked whether he felt handcuffed at New Orleans by the game plan, he answered: "Not necessarily."
"We were doing a good job running the football. We had some long drives," he said.
"Whatever play is called, we've got to execute it. It's very simple. That's how I look at it. Be it run or be it pass, we've just got to execute it."
It's obvious the problems in the passing game have been especially frustrating for Smith, who led the league in receiving yards per game last year at 101.5 but ranks 30th this season at 59.8.
Smith has 34 catches for 478 yards, including a lone 50-yarder for a touchdown.
Earlier this season, Smith lamented he felt like he was no longer an asset to the team.
Then last weekend, Fox TV cameras caught him fuming after getting hit late out of bounds by Saints safety Darren Sharper. Rather than directing his anger at Sharper, however, Smith appeared to be yelling for the Panthers to stop calling that particular play - a short pass to the sideline that resulted in a 4-yard completion.
"I'm a volatile guy, you know, obviously," he said Wednesday. "Was I upset with multiple things? Probably, probably not. This week is (the time to play the) Atlanta Falcons, so that's what I'm going to focus on."
Told that lip-reading of the TV replay made it appear he was upset with the play called, Smith said, "I would think that would be inaccurate because you weren't me."
Asked what the coaching staff can do to get him the ball more, Smith said: "I'm not dipping up in that can of chili."
Delhomme insisted he's not concerned that Smith is becoming overly frustrated.
"Absolutely not, and I say that with 100percent conviction," said Delhomme.
Delhomme said Smith understands how being double-teamed creates opportunities for the running backs, which helps the offense.
But the lack of touchdown passes to receivers - only Cleveland (zero) has fewer - is a trend they all want to see improve.
"It's something you don't envision," said Delhomme, whose other four scoring passes went to tight ends.
"We were anticipating more - I think we all were - but we're halfway through the season, (so) maybe we can really make up for it in the second half."
