Panthers cling to slim playoff hopes

By Darin Gantt - daringantt@carolina.rr.com

CHARLOTTE -- It tells you something about the mindset of a professional football player that the following line was delivered with a straight face.

“I mean, we had a chance to get back to .500, getting closer and closer to Atlanta, and now we're 3-5, down two games,” Carolina Panthers safety Chris Harris said last week in New Orleans. “Technically, right now, we're fighting for a wild-card spot.”

Technically yes, and until they are mathematically eliminated, they will cling to whatever slim hope is offered.

But the cold hard truth for the Panthers is that a playoff berth is highly improbable this year, which makes the balance of the season about setting the stage for the future.

“The reality is we're 3-5, and we've got half a season left,” coach John Fox said.

What happens in that half-season will go a long way toward determining the future of the franchise.

Of primary impact will be the fate of Fox himself, who is under contract through the 2010 season. For owner Jerry Richardson to swallow $6.5 million to fire Fox might be tough in what could become the final season before a work stoppage, but the team's record makes it a consideration despite the coach's past success.

But the biggest issues would be how the roster would change depending on whether Fox is in Charlotte or not, as many of the key personnel decisions might hinge on his input.

First and foremost is the quarterback question, as Fox has stuck with and will continue to stand by Jake Delhomme longer than another coach might. The Panthers' lack of a first-round pick makes starting over at quarterback more difficult, but it's reasonable to believe they will add competition there.

Then comes the elephant in the room — the decision on defensive end Julius Peppers. He is set to be an unrestricted free agent, though the team could again use the franchise tag on him. It would cost them more than $20 million to do it in 2010 (as if the $16.7 million this year wasn't enough), but in an uncapped year it's harder to claim that he keeps them from otherwise improving the roster if they want to spend.

Those are the two big ones, but hardly the only decisions they have to make.

Five of their starters will be unrestricted free agents this offseason (Peppers, defensive end Tyler Brayton, nose tackle Hollis Thomas, wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad and right guard Keydrick Vincent), and it's reasonable to think no more than two of them will return.

The expanded restricted free agency that comes with the uncapped year buys the Panthers some time but still leaves them with some big decisions on linebacker Thomas Davis and cornerback Richard Marshall, who would have gotten rich as unrestricted free agents under the old rules.

But for all the particulars about the future, the Panthers — who take the field today against Atlanta — will be trying to save this season, as much as future jobs.

“We've got half the season left, half the race left,” Fox said. “We'll define where the body of work is after 16 (games). Nobody comes and rescues you. We've got to man up and get better.”