Panthers' bad gamble shows

CHARLOTTE -- It started with Julius Peppers, continued with Jake Delhomme and ended with a bold draft-day deal.

The normally conservative Carolina Panthers spent the offseason gambling.

They bet that forcing an unhappy Julius Peppers to stay -- with an NFL-high $16.7 million salary -- wouldn't make him a disgruntled nonfactor. The scenario also meant the Panthers would have to remain healthy, because Peppers would eat up about 14 percent of the salary cap and limit depth in other areas.

They risked that Jake Delhomme's abysmal playoff performance was an aberration and gave him a lucrative extension and no competition in training camp.

Finally, they decided undersized, overlooked defensive end Everette Brown was so good they sent next year's first-round pick to San Francisco to grab him in the second round of the draft.

Now after one sack from Peppers, seven interceptions from Delhomme and Brown's bum ankle, the injury-ravaged Panthers (0-3) are facing a bleak season where the corresponding high draft pick will go to the 49ers.

Talk about a bad hand.

With their season spiraling out of control, the Panthers scattered for their bye weekend holding out hope there's still time to get Peppers in gear, end Delhomme's turnover parade and shore up a leaky run defense.

Though Peppers delayed signing his franchise tag tender and skipped all offseason workouts, new defensive coordinator Ron Meeks designed his Cover-2 system around him. Peppers was expected to match or exceed his career-high 141/2 sacks of last season.

Instead, Peppers hasn't even gotten a quarterback pressure in two games, looking a lot like the 2007 player that ended with a career-low 21/2 sacks.

With no clear backup, coach John Fox has to bet that Delhomme's mistakes stop. They also have no option except to hope Peppers begins earning his $1 million-a-game salary.

While the Panthers returned 21 of 22 starters from last season's 12-4 club, several key backups left in free agency because the Panthers couldn't fit them under the cap. They've gone through nearly a half-dozen tackles since Maake Kemoeatu went down, with 35-year-old Hollis Thomas the latest to sign.

While Delhomme insisted Fox hasn't lost the team, he may need a quick turnaround. With owner Jerry Richardson recently removing his two sons from key jobs in the organization, Fox and general manager Marty Hurney can't feel safe.