Davis injury typifies Panthers' woes

By John DeLong

For the AJC

Charlotte -- Thomas Davis simply was dropping back into pass coverage.

Then in one split second, the former Georgia linebacker’s season was over.

Davis slipped on the turf Sunday in the fourth quarter of the Carolina Panthers’ 30-20 loss at New Orleans and tore the ACL in his right knee.

That’s typical of the way things have gone for the Panthers this season.

They opened with three consecutive losses, including a 28-20 loss to the Falcons at the Georgia Dome in Week 2. And though they have played better in the past couple of weeks, they haven't been able to get any real traction.

They’re 3-5 going into Sunday’s rematch with the Falcons at Bank of America Stadium on the verge of becoming completely out of the playoff picture, if they aren’t already.

Quarterback Jake Delhomme insists that the season can be salvaged, even though the Panthers face what is currently rated as the second-toughest remaining schedule in the NFL.

He is confident that the Panthers aren’t about to pack it in.

"I think we’re playing better football the last couple of weeks; we just didn’t get it done last week," Delhomme said. "I think we’re making strides. I know we have a lot of guys that have a lot of want. I see a ton of fight in this team. I’ve seen it pretty much throughout the course of the season. We’ve got guys that are not going to stop."

Delhomme has been a lightning rod for controversy in Charlotte since the first game of the season, when he threw four interceptions and had a fumble returned for a touchdown in a 38-10 home loss to Philadelphia. He was picked off three times in a 20-9 home loss to Buffalo.

He is worst in the league with 13 interceptions, and he has only five touchdowns and has been sacked 16 times. He hasn’t thrown an interception in either of the past two games, but he’s still having trouble getting the ball to Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith, who has caught only 34 passes and has one touchdown in eight games.

Delhomme’s best game by far came against the Falcons, when he was 25-of-41 for 308 yards and a touchdown.

The running game, with the tandem of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, ranks third in the NFL (153 yards per game) and has salvaged the offense. Williams rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns, including a 66-yarder on the second play from scrimmage, Sunday. He ran for 158 with a 77-yarder the previous week in a 34-21 win at Arizona.

"We’re doing some good things running the football," Delhomme said. "And the passing game, there are some glimpses here and there, but we’re not totally connecting. That’s the frustrating part. We have to be more consistent, I don’t think there’s any doubt, but I think we are close to having some good things happen. We’ve been decent against two pretty good football teams the past two weeks."

"We need to get more dangerous on offense," tackle Jordan Gross said. "We need to get better in the passing game. I know people are preparing for our running game, and we need to counter it up with our passing game."

The Panthers’ defense ranks fourth in the NFC, allowing 303.9 yards per game.

It clearly will miss Davis, who was having the best season of his career before the injury. He ranked second to Jon Beason in tackles with two sacks and two interceptions.

"He was having a great season, Pro Bowl numbers," Beason said. "I can’t think of any outside linebacker in the NFL who was playing better than him."

The defense had already lost defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu in the preseason and was without safety Chris Harris for the first three games.

Julius Peppers, who drew the "franchise tag" and a $16.7 million paycheck during the off-season, has dominated some games and stayed silent in others. He ranks third in the league with 7.0 sacks and had a 13-yard interception return for a touchdown that helped turn the Arizona game.

Hollis Thomas, signed before Week 5, has added stability at defensive tackle. Beason leads the team with 80 tackles.

The Panthers’ secondary led the league until Drew Brees threw for 330 yards and a touchdown last week. Matt Ryan was 21-of-27 for 220 yards and three touchdowns against the Panthers in Week 2.

"There’s definitely been a lot of improvement since the first Atlanta game," said linebacker Landon Johnson, who will replace Davis. "The defense is playing well the last couple of weeks and hopefully we can continue that Sunday."

Sunday’s game opens a rugged second-half schedule, which includes the Falcons, Dolphins, Vikings and Saints at home and the Jets, Giants and Patriots on the road.

"We’ve got half the season left, half the race left," Coach John Fox said. "We were 1-3 in the first quarter. We were 2-2 in the second quarter. The upside of that is there is improvement. We’ll define where the body of work is after 16, but nobody comes and rescues you. We’ve got to man up and get better."