Panthers mailbag: Can Carolina use more no-huddle? Where’s Ian Thomas? And more...

Carolina Panthers fans can’t possibly feel any better than they do after a wild and historic comeback victory at Philadelphia.

But the team only had a brief moment to celebrate the 23-17 victory, because they’re preparing to host the Baltimore Ravens (4-3) this Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. The Ravens have the league’s ninth-ranked offense and the No. 1 defense, including one of the most challenging front sevens the Panthers will see this season.

Naturally, you have questions. I picked the five best that I received on Twitter this week to answer. Let’s get started.

Question from @bestsportnascar: What’s the key to having four fourth quarters? Explain it to me like I’m 5.

Answer: In case any of the folks reading this have been in the woods for the past week, Carolina’s fourth-quarter comeback against Philadelphia was nearly perfect. Quarterback Cam Newton was 16 of 22 for 201 yards and two touchdowns, and the Panthers’ defense came alive to force a three-and-out and then make a game-sealing stand inside the 15.

But the first three quarters were dismal on both sides of the ball.

So, how does this team play lights-out earlier in the game?

I think it’s a little simpler than some might assume.

▪ Avoid mental mistakes. Carolina turned the ball over three times in the first half against Washington in Week 7, which put them in an early hole. Against Philadelphia, penalties pushed Carolina out of field goal range twice on consecutive attempts.

▪ Avoid long second and third downs. Negative plays (such as sacks and penalties) hurt Carolina a few times in the first quarter. At the half, Carolina adjusted to get the ball out quicker, which helped enormously. Expect to see that from the jump against Baltimore’s aggressive pass rush.

▪ On defense, Carolina’s secondary will be tested Sunday. Shoring up the middle of the field by bumping and jamming receivers on crossing routes when in zone and playing physically off the line in general can help the Panthers’ secondary stay competitive.

Question from @PanthersFan_inAfrica: Curious why Ian Thomas isn’t in at tight end at all since Greg (Olsen) came back?

This is a valid question, considering the promise Thomas, Carolina’s rookie tight end, showed with Olsen rehabilitating his re-fractured foot for the first five weeks of the season.

Carolina likes their No. 2 tight end to be a solidifying factor in the run game as a blocker — as we saw several times this season, Thomas is pretty skilled at that. And Olsen will get the lions’ share of targets being that he’s, well, Greg Olsen.

Because Carolina has had to play from behind often in the last couple of weeks, the Panthers have been in more 11-personnel, meaning one tight end and three receivers are on the field, along with one running back.

But coach Ron Rivera admitted this week he would like to see young guys get opportunities, mentioning Thomas and second-year receiver Curtis Samuel. Speedy Damiere Byrd will likely get some chances as well.

That brings us to ...

Question from @ATH2o88 (truncated for clarity): When can we expect (wide receiver) Curtis Samuel’s snaps to go up?

I think we see a lot more Samuel this week, and not just in the intermediate routes, sweeps, or reverses. With veteran deep threat Torrey Smith ruled out, Samuel could get a shot to show off his speed.

Question from @Justin_Coach_1: With Cam and the offense playing better in no-huddle, do you see them implementing more of it against the Ravens?

The thing that gets lost in the excitement about the success of Carolina’s no-huddle is the fact that it’s a situational tool, and should be used as such.

A big part of an NFL offense’s attack is longer, methodical drives that eat up time and force the opponent to scramble when they finally get the ball back. We saw this on Sunday, when the Eagles ate up 9:22 on a 17-play, 94-yard scoring drive. It wears out an opposing defense and creates a hurried situation for the opposing offense.

Now, in Carolina’s case, left without other options last Sunday, no-huddle was extraordinarily effective. But the long drives can be too, and a balance is needed throughout the game. And the offense has to score, too.

As offensive coordinator Norv Turner said on Thursday, he doesn’t want to take only 40 seconds off the clock just to punt.

However, I don’t have any issue with Carolina going no-huddle earlier in the first half to grab some momentum and put a defense on its heels.

Question from @CalamityJames: Can they stop trying to kill the cardiac-challenged in the fan base, please?

After three roller-coaster games in a row, it might be another good week to take a baby asprin before Sunday’s kickoff and strap on a heart-rate tracking device.

But stress burns calories, right?