Panthers' defense on alert

Cardinals' receiving corps, along with Warner, getting Carolina's attention

CHARLOTTE -- The Carolina Panthers know what they're getting into on Saturday when they host the Arizona Cardinals in an NFC Divisional playoff game at Bank of America Stadium (8:15 p.m., WRAZ, WFXI).

No matter how happy the Cardinals seem at apparently finding a running game last week in a wild-card victory over the Atlanta Falcons, quarterback Kurt Warner and a dangerous trio of receivers are Arizona's main offensive threats.

That was the case for the regular season -- in which Warner threw for 4,583 yards and 30 touchdowns. And it's how it was on Oct. 26 in Charlotte, when the Panthers beat the Cardinals 27-23 despite Warner completing 35 of 49 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns.

On that warm, muggy afternoon, Warner had a quarterback rating of 99.1 -- not much better than the 96.9 he ended the season with but certainly far below some of the bigger days he had. Those included a robust 158.3 against the Miami Dolphins for which he was 19-of-24 for 361 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

In other words, Warner will come out throwing -- even if the Cardinals do try and take pressure off him early by having Edgerrin James run the ball.

Everybody knows that, including the Panthers' secondary. And they welcome it.

"We know people will be watching us," said Richard Marshall, the Panthers' third cornerback who plays on obvious passing situations. "We know there's going to be a lot on us."

The Panthers, who ranked 16th in the NFL in pass defense at 211.7 yards per game, don't pretend they can completely shut down Warner and his three 1,000-yards-plus receivers -- Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston.

But the Panthers' defensive backs say they've got to accomplish two things if they want to at least slow the Cardinals' passing attack:

* Be ready for Warner's passes coming out quickly. He has among the fastest releases in the game.

* Tackle well. The Cardinals' receivers -- especially Boldin -- specialize in picking up big chunks of yardage after the catch.

"He's going to throw it 50 times a game," strong safety Chris Harris said. "And since he does that, they're going to get their yards. We've just got to be smart and physical and limit them to what they can do."

It's not all on the secondary, which will need lots of help from the defensive line and linebackers.

"It starts in practice," cornerback Chris Gamble said. "You get a good rush from the line and they get their hands up if he gets the pass off. The linebackers drop back in the zone -- sometimes in the deep zone. And in the back, we've got to cover tightly and not give them too much cushion."

But getting pressure on Warner and flustering him are two different things. He has said he thrives on blitzes.

Then there's what to do after Warner releases the ball. In the Panthers' regular-season-ending victory over the New Orleans Saints, Marshall was burned for a late touchdown by the Saints' Lance Moore when he lunged for the ball rather than lay back and tackle Moore after he caught it from quarterback Drew Brees.

In the locker room after the game, coach John Fox and Marshall had a spirited discussion about Marshall's decision to go for the interception rather than make the safe play.

"When [Brees] threw the ball, instead of me running through [Moore] and making the tackle, I tried to slap at the ball or make the pick," Marshall said. "That's a mistake I made, and I can't do it again."

So it will be all about containing the Cardinals' offense -- and making a big play at the right time.

In October, the Panthers were clinging to a 24-23 lead early in the fourth quarter. Warner quickly took the Cardinals down the field, where they faced a second-and-3 at the Panthers' 15.

Warner thought he had running back J.J. Arrington open at the 5. But Panthers linebacker Jon Beason intercepted the pass. The Panthers got a John Kasay field goal out of it, then forced the Cardinals to punt on their final possession.

Beason's interception came on a Cardinals play the Panthers already had seen.

"They were doing same type of routes for a lot of that game," Gamble said. "It had been working for them. If you run the same play and it does work, you're going to come back with it. That's what we saw on that one, and Beason made the play."