Passing could weaken Panthers

CHARLOTTE -- 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 week's game at New Orleans might suggest?

How can it be that wide receivers have combined to catch only one touchdown pass in 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 in recent weeks but still are searching for ways to become more efficient through the air.

Carolina might need to pass better to have a chance to beat the 5-3 Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in Bank of America Stadium.

On the plus side, Delhomme has not thrown an interception in the past two games after getting picked off 13 times - still the league high - in the first six games.

Coach John Fox decided to stick with Delhomme rather than make a quarterback change after a 20-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 25. However, in the first six quarters that followed that game, Delhomme threw only 19 passes - 14 in a win over the Cardinals at Arizona and five in the first half this past Sunday against the Saints at New Orleans when the Panthers built an 11-point halftime lead.

But once the Saints rallied, Delhomme had to throw 25 times in the second half. Though he wasn't intercepted, he didn't get the Panthers to 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 Panthers' problems in the passing game have been especially frustrating for Smith, who led the league in receiving yards per game last season but ranks 30th so far this fall.

Smith has 34 catches for 478 yards, including a lone 50-yarder for a touchdown.

Earlier this season, Smith said he felt like he was no longer an asset to the team.

Then last week at New Orleans, TV cameras caught him fuming after getting hit late out of bounds by Saints safety Darren Sharper. Rather than being angry 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.

Smith dodged questions about the matter Wednesday.

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