Panthers have troubling issues

For an NFL team to be in serious trouble, four things must be apparent.

Let's see if the Carolina Panthers qualify in the wake of their 20-7 loss to Tampa Bay Sunday.

* First, the team must have a serious problem at quarterback: Check.

Jake Delhomme might require season-ending elbow surgery, and David Carr's black gloves might as well have been oven mitts Sunday.

* Second, the team must be inept at stopping the run on defense and unable to run the ball on offense: Check.

The Panthers allowed 189 rushing yards Sunday, ran for a paltry 99 yards and got manhandled on both lines.

* Third, at least one star player must be calling his teammates out: Check.

Panthers defensive tackle Kris Jenkins unleashed a diatribe Sunday, calling the performance "garbage," saying the players owed the fans an apology and labeling Carolina a team with no heart and no passion.

* Fourth, the coach must be on the hot seat: Check.

The Panthers' John Fox -- as well as general manager Marty Hurney -- gambled in the offseason by sticking with the status quo. While teams like Tampa Bay gobbled up quality free agents, the Panthers mostly sat on their hands (except for the Carr signing), figuring they were good enough to win if healthy. By standing pat, the Panthers might have sealed their fate this season, and Fox and Hurney might have sealed theirs as well.

Only one number fails to mesh with the whole scenario: Carolina is 2-2, not 0-4. Although the Panthers looked like one of the NFL's worst teams again Sunday, their record doesn't show it. They still have plenty of time left to salvage the season. But is there really anyone in that locker room capable of leading a charge?

Sunday's defeat was more complete than the score suggests. Carolina didn't cross Tampa Bay's 45-yard line until the final two minutes. Julius Peppers was a ghost again. Boos showered the field. The stadium was empty for the final 10 minutes, just as it was two weeks ago in the loss to Houston.

Carr was good at exactly one play -- scrambling to his right and throwing out of bounds. He ran that one a lot.

Where was Steve Smith? He dropped one 20-yard pass, caught five for 32 yards and looked as mundane as his name. Tampa Bay's defense dominated the game so completely it became boring.

"They whipped our tails up and down the field," Panthers fullback Brad Hoover said. "We're angry and we're frustrated."

So what next? The Panthers must figure out Delhomme's situation first. A testy Fox reversed course and admitted Sunday that Delhomme might need elbow surgery and that such a surgery would "thwart the majority" of Delhomme's season. Delhomme wasn't available for comment.

The best news for Carolina is that it goes on the road, where the Panthers have played better, for games at New Orleans and Arizona.

The Panthers don't play another home game until Oct.28.

Maybe by then someone will have taken the garbage out.