Published: Thursday, Oct. 08, 2009 / Updated: Thursday, Oct. 08, 2009 07:26 AM

WR Smith waits for Panthers' passing game to heat up

CHARLOTTE -- Much in the way Steve Smith knows what's coming Sunday, the Carolina Panthers wide receiver knew what was heading his way Wednesday when reporters crowded around his locker.

The easy angle this week is to look back at Smith's back-and-forths with Washington cornerbacks DeAngelo Hall and Fred Smoot, but the reality is he might well be dealing with both of them, or at least some combination of Redskins' defensive backs.

After all, constant double-teams have been a part of his life for years, and he admitted Wednesday he's still learning how to properly deal with them.

“I can sit here and say of course not,” Smith said when asked if he's frustrated by the extra attention. “But I really have to take it as a compliment. It's a challenge. We all say we want to have challenges in life, and we want patience. Well, this is my opportunity to work on patience. I'm actually very impatient. I know that's a shock to some of you guys. But I'm really impatient. It's an opportunity. I wanted to work on being patient, and I wasn't. It showed in the play in Dallas.”

Smith was referring to the play late in the Panthers' loss two weeks ago, when frustrated with the attention given him by Terrance Newman and friends, he popped a slant route to the outside, Newman jumped where he should have been, and took an easy interception back for a game-clinching touchdown.

He said the Cowboys defended him differently than many have in the past, when the standard Smith look was a safety high over the top, and corners trying to keep him in front of them in zone. Newman played far more press than he was used to, and Dallas had safety Ken Hamlin stationed 12 yards deep to collect him at that point.

“It was interesting,” Smith said of their plan. “It just gives me the opportunity to add a little bit to my repertoire.”

Mostly, the Panthers' plan is to still throw it to him.

Smith has been the intended receiver on 35 of the Panthers' 108 pass attempts (32.4 percent). The only top receiver to make up a greater percentage is the other Steve Smith, who's been targeted on 44 of the New York Giants' 130 passes (33.8 percent).

The Panthers' Smith is the only player in the top 10 in targets who's had a bye week already, testament to how important he is to the offense or how locked in quarterback Jake Delhomme is on him.

Opponents know that, and coverage has leaned Smith's way since the 2005 season, when then-coordinator Dan Henning's “feed the stud” plan had it going Smith's way often.

“I'd say I've always gotten attention; I'd say I haven't had a lot of man coverage since the Seattle game,” Smith said of the 2005 NFC Championship Game loss. “It's consistent. Some teams do a better job than others, but I think that's just how it is.”

The problem for the Panthers is that they haven't had the running game to complement him so far, or take the pressure off him downfield.

Delhomme said it's not much different from past games, pointing to last year's game at Green Bay. He mentioned a specific DeAngelo Williams run, saying that the safety draping Smith should have snuffed out Williams 5 yards into a long run.

“But he was so worried about Steve that DeAngelo hit it right down to the 2-yard line,” Delhomme said. “So that is something we're always going to see with someone of his caliber. If we've had some success in the past, we need to get back to doing it.”

To his credit, Smith's still drawing the attention, even though his 15 catches for 190 yards have yielded no scores. Mostly, the Panthers have put nothing around him, as the running game's missing and the lack of a dependable second receiver (tight end Dante Rosario's the other de facto deep threat) keeps Smith in the crosshairs.

“Eight in the box doesn't really change it up, because there's still 11 and there's two next to me,” Smith said. “It doesn't change much.

“I think the running game is going to help the running game, and the passing game is going to help the passing game. We're going to do, whatever we're doing we have to do efficiently, and minimize the mistakes. You've got to do well with whichever one we're doing.”

The patience act is hard for him, and he knew he wasn't selling it all that effectively. After all, the world saw him on the sidelines a week ago Monday, yelling and screaming prior to his flub that allowed Dallas to claim a game the Panthers were very much in at the moment.

“I think he's doing fine,” Delhomme said of his excitable receiver. “But what he brings, and his fiery attitude, when he's not that way or it doesn't mean that much to him, then he needs to give it up. That is kind of the way it is. He brings a certain element to the table and that's him. When I don't see that I know it might be time, when it doesn't mean that much anymore.”

Asked if he saw that now: “Oh God… Not even close.”