Injuries continue piling up after latest defeat

By Darin Gantt - daringantt@carolina.rr.com

CHARLOTTE -- The Carolina Panthers left New England with another loss and even more battered bodies.

Panthers coach John Fox mentioned three new ones Monday, adding right tackle Jeff Otah (knee), running back Jonathan Stewart (toe) and cornerback Richard Marshall (ankle) to the list.

Otah left Sunday's loss with a shoulder injury, and Fox said the knee problem wasn't discovered until later, indicating it was the more problematic of the two. Otah has been experiencing shoulder problems throughout the year, but hasn't missed any game time prior to Sunday.

He was replaced by second-year backup Geoff Schwartz for the end of the Patriots game.

Stewart could be more of an issue, as he has battled problems related to his left big toe throughout his pro career. It's the one Panthers team doctors operated on prior to the draft, and he has said compensating for that led to this year's Achilles problems.

“All I know is it's his toe,” Fox said. “I don't know if it's the same one.”

The Panthers are deep at the position, but would lack a power back if Stewart is out.

Tyrell Sutton has proven to be a capable third-stringer and return man, having leap-frogged fellow rookie Mike Goodson for a game-day jersey.

The Panthers were also careful with linebacker Na'il Diggs. He dressed for the game but did not play, with Dan Connor taking over for him at strongside linebacker.

Fox said because the other reserve linebackers ( Jordan Senn and Quinton Culberson) are primarily special teamers, they kept Diggs at the ready in case someone needed to step in and play defense.

“He wasn't 100 percent healthy; he didn't start,” Fox said of Diggs. “We don't have a long list of backups at the linebacker position that are familiar with what we're doing defensively. Jordan Senn and Quinton Culberson are learning. They've only been with us for a few weeks. They contribute pretty heavily on special teams. We were kind of ‘just in case' with Diggs.”

WAR OF MEANINGLESS WORDS — Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble and safety Chris Harris touched off a firestorm (or a tempest in a teapot) when asked after the game about New England wideout Randy Moss. The Patriots wideout was shut down throughout the day, through his own efforts or the Panthers. He was held to one catch and fumbled it, and there were several instances of him short-arming catchable balls.

“We knew he was going to shut it down,” Gamble said to the Boston Globe after the game. “That's what we wanted him to do. That's what we did. ... He'd just give up a lot. Slow down, he's not going deep, not trying to run a route. You can tell, his body language. ... I know everyone who plays against him, they can sense that. Once you get into him in the beginning of the game, he shuts it down a little bit.” Harris likewise mentioned that Moss could be taken out of games if he's not having early success.

The Patriots were leaping to the defense of their own Monday, with quarterback Tom Brady telling radio station WEEI: “I've seen plenty of plays made on Chris Gamble, too, over the course of the season.”

Pats coach Bill Belichick was even more direct.

“My response is, that's a lot of conversation coming from a team that just lost another game,” Belichick said during his Monday news conference. “I have a lot of respect for Randy. I think he's one of our best players. I think if you watch other teams defend him, you watch other teams play against him, they think the same way. Other than these two guys from Carolina after they lost another game. I guess they didn't think that way. They haven't won a lot of games now.”

Harris shrugged Monday when asked about Belichick's response: “Who cares? ... I don't.”

IF YOU SAY SO — Fox said he was pleased with the performance of defensive end Julius Peppers. The unofficial stats taken during the game credited him with no tackles and one quarterback hurry.

But Fox mentioned that after watching tape, he had Peppers with five hurries.

“I thought Julius rushed the passer well,” Fox said. “(The Patriots') passing game gets rid of the ball fast. I thought, all in all, our pass defense was pretty good. We could have done a little better. I thought we were outstanding on third down; they only converted three of (11). I was a little disappointed in our run defense, but if you go back through the record books, I'm not sure how many games they've been held to 20 and won, but I guarantee you there's not too many times where someone scored 10 and beat them.”

EXTRA POINTS — In case you're keeping up with this, the Panthers' first-round draft pick, which they owe to San Francisco, would either be 11th or 12th at the moment, depending on the 49ers' result Monday night. The Panthers will be on the lower range of tied teams in draft order based on their strength of schedule numbers this year. That's what is used to break ties for draft position, as opposed to head-to-head or the other means they use for playoff positioning. ...

Speaking of playoffs, the Panthers still are not technically out of it, despite their 5-8 record. Chicago, also 5-8, has been eliminated, though the Panthers still technically have a pulse, per the league office. ...

As if to add insult to injury, the Panthers team buses got lost on the way to the Providence (R.I.) airport Sunday night. At one point, the three-bus convoy had to do a U-turn in the middle of a busy four-lane street, leading to a chorus of honking horns and likely worse.

Now the bus drivers know how Fox feels.