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The Carolina Panthers will have two key players back in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons in Bank of America Stadium.
Receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who has missed two games with a knee injury, returned to practice on Wednesday. Rookie fullback Tony Fiammetta, who sat out last week's game in New Orleans because of a concussion he suffered two weeks ago against Arizona, was also back.
The Panthers are still thin at fullback, with starter Brad Hoover continuing to recover from a high ankle sprain. He is still walking in a protective boot.
Both the Panthers' running backs - DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart - didn't practice. Williams has an undisclosed knee injury, and Stewart was resting his Achilles. Stewart routinely misses Wednesday practices as a precautionary measure.
Tight end Dante Rosario (knee) and defensive end Julius Peppers (hand) practiced on a limited basis. Safety Charles Godfrey (ankle) and Hoover also didn't practice.
Fox isn't specific about injuries because the NFL doesn't require him to be. He did, however, say that Peppers' hand is "messed up."
Notes
The Panthers practiced at a Charlotte-area indoor sports facility because of Wednesday's heavy rains.
"We had to adjust our schedule a little because of travel time," Fox said. "It wasn't a full field. But there can be a lot of wear and tear when it's windy and rainy, particularly with our skill (position) people. The ball's heavier and the wind is (blowing). It's sloppy."
Although Hoover missed another practice, Fiammetta's apparent return this week means it's less likely tight ends Jeff King and Gary Barnidge (and Rosario, if he returns) will have to fill in at fullback against the Falcons, as they did last week at New Orleans.
"It's not really any different," said King. "I'm always prepared for when the worst situations might happen."
King said he was trained well by Kris Mangum, the Panthers' starting tight end when King came to the team in 2006.
"(Mangum) told me the more positions you can play, the better," said King. "They might keep you around because of it."
Last season, when injuries depleted the offensive line, King said he was ready to fill in at right tackle.
Defensive tackle Damione Lewis said it's frustrating to see injuries continue to plague the defense. When linebacker Thomas Davis (knee) was lost for the season earlier this week, it was the third time a starter had been placed on injured reserve. Other injuries have kept players such as safeties Chris Harris and Godfrey on the sidelines for extended periods.
"It seems that way," Lewis said when asked if an injury pops up nearly every week. "But you can't take that approach. Injuries happen in this league. It's part of the game. You pray that it's not us, then you keep moving."
Williams isn't the only NFC South running back who is hitting mid-season form.
Atlanta's Michael Turner has run for 317 yards (151 against New Orleans, 166 against Washington) in the past two games. Those performances came after lower-than-normal outputs (for Turner) against Chicago (30 yards) and Dallas (50).
The bruising Turner (he's 5 feet 10 inches tall, 244 pounds) is seventh in the league in rushing with 720 yards (Williams is fifth at 768).
Turner ran for 105 yards and a touchdown in the Falcons' 28-20 victory against the Panthers in Week 2. Fox was asked if he expected more of the same from Turner.
"I thought he had his feet underneath him when we played them before," Fox said.
Receiver Dwayne Jarrett said he couldn't see the long pass quarterback Jake Delhomme threw him early in the fourth quarter last week at New Orleans because of the lights in the Superdome.
"The lights in there were kind of bright, especially on the deep balls," Jarrett said. "One play, Steve (Smith) lost it in the lights. It's kind of tricky. You just have to try to catch it when it comes down."
Jarrett reached out for the pass but couldn't make the completion.
"If you look at the replay, my hands didn't even hit it," he said. "I just tried to dive and hopefully it would hit my hands." Charles Chandler
Before playing New Orleans, the Panthers had given up only one pass play of 30 or more yards this season. They surrendered three completions of 45 or more yards to the Saints. C.C.
