Panthers could be preparing for life after Muhammad

By Darin Gantt - dgantt@carolina.rr.com

CHARLOTTE -- What has become apparent all season will become official Sunday — Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad won't be a factor.

Muhammad, the 36-year-old receiver whose production has fallen off precipitously, didn't accompany the team to Arizona on Friday because of a knee sprain and won't play in Sunday's playoff rematch.

Free safety Charles Godfrey and tight end Dante Rosario were also left home, but Muhammad's absence could be the one ushering in a new era.

Once a premier receiver and then a capable complement to Steve Smith upon his return last year, Muhammad has struggled to get open this year. He has 24 catches for 219 yards this year, and that 9.1 yards per catch average is the lowest of his career by far.

He has a 13.5-yard average in his 13-year career, and his low in Charlotte was an 11.7 in his injury-plagued 2001 campaign. Even last year, he averaged 14.2 yards per reception.

As a result, teams have been even more willing to concentrate their defenses on Smith.

Muhammad's also been one of the Panthers' more durable players, at least since an early career run of hamstring problems. This will be his first missed game as a Panther since Oct. 26, 2003, when he was held out of a game at New Orleans with a concussion. Since the start of the 2002 season, Muhammad's only missed four games prior to this weekend.

Third-year man Dwayne Jarrett's expected to start for him, which will finally give him a chance to play. He's been active for every game but has only been targeted five times this season. The Panthers face a hard decision on Jarrett this year, as they need him to step up since Muhammad's clearly near the end of his career. He's looked good in practices but hasn't produced in games.

Rookie Sherrod Martin is expected to start for Godfrey, while Gary Barnidge should get most of Rosario's work at tight end. Barnidge caught his first three NFL passes last week, for 77 yards, and could be an important part of the passing game moving forward.

As for the rest of the injury report, five players are listed as questionable: linebackers Thomas Davis (hamstring), and Landon Johnson (shoulder), fullback Brad Hoover (back), running back Jonathan Stewart (Achilles) and kickoff man Rhys Lloyd (right ankle). All but Johnson practiced fully Friday in Arizona, while the backup linebacker was limited.

The Cardinals are much healthier, with four players listed as questionable: Wide receiver Anquan Boldin (ankle), defensive end Kenny Iwebema (knee), safety Antrel Rolle (foot) and tight end Stephen Spach (ankle). Of that group, only Spach isn't expected to play.

FINE TIME — Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams was fined $5,000 for an illegal chop block last week, but defensive end Tyler Brayton escaped further sanction from the league.

Brayton was flagged in the fourth quarter of last week's loss to Buffalo for roughing the passer, and officials mentioned helmet-to-helmet contact. But replays showed any contact he made with Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick with his head was incidental if not glancing.

Bills defensive tackle Spencer Edwards was fined $5,000 for hitting Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme in the head.

BOUNCING BACK — While many Super Bowl losers struggle mightily the next season — eight of the past 10 failed to make the playoffs, including Carolina in 2004 — the Cardinals have thus far avoided those pitfalls.

They started 1-2, including a three-touchdown loss to Indianapolis, but have since won three straight, including an impressive road victory over the New York Giants last week. That puts them 4-2 and a game up on San Francisco in the lackluster NFC West.

“I think we were up and down with it,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

“I think that every team handles it differently. From our perspective, coming from a team that has never been there before, the playoffs or the Super Bowl, to have that success and get on that stage and lose it, it's tough to recover from that because you have never experienced something like that before.

“I think that a lot of times it will come down to making some plays in certain games that give you confidence enabling you to shake that off. We have been lucky to be able to do that. It was tough after we lost to Indianapolis, especially the way they beat us pretty well. We were 1-2.

“I still think we are a work in progress but we definitely have made some strides as far as being able to let last year go and just be focused on the opponent we play this week and trying to get better as a team.”

EXTRA POINTS — Is the Panthers' luck starting to turn? Maybe not, but they did catch an indirect break Friday. Tennessee placed return man Mark Jones on injured reserve with a hamstring problem that his agent told The Tennesseean would take four to six weeks to recover from.

The Panthers were set to sign Jones after Week 1, but he failed his physical in Charlotte because of a related hamstring problem. The Titans, who gave him a $200,000 signing bonus but cut him after training camp, eventually re-signed Jones, before shutting him down Friday so they could sign Alvin Pearman (coincidentally, from Charlotte Country Day). ...

Though they needed a league-granted extension, the Cardinals finally sold enough tickets Friday to avoid a local television blackout.