Panthers' offense hoping last week's Packers' defense shows up this week

By Darin Gantt - The Herald

CHARLOTTE -- Even though the offense they run is essentially the opposite of New Orleans', the Panthers still have to be encouraged by what they saw this past Monday night.

Green Bay's pass defense has been its strength all season, but Saints quarterback Drew Brees lit the Packers up for 320 yards and four touchdowns in a 51-29 rout.

Green Bay's passing defense was third in the league prior to that game. It fell to sixth following the loss.

"I was surprised," wide receiver Steve Smith said of the New Orleans' strafing. "I like it. As a wide receiver, I like that. I think you're hoping to have similar success in the way you go about it.

"But you're only going to have similar success if you attempt or try to duplicate that. You can't do that by establishing the run. But each team has its own unique identity."

Smith wasn't complaining, he just knows that the Panthers aren't likely to air it out like the Saints usually do (though they got it in just 27 pass attempts last week).

The reality is, with the personnel the Packers have on the back side, throwing is going to be tough for most. Safety Nick Collins is tied with cornerback Charles Woodson for the league lead with five interceptions, and has returned three of them for touchdowns. Cornerback Al Harris' return from a spleen injury, has helped the team shut down most opponents.

The Packers allow opposing quarterbacks to complete just 53.2 percent of their passes (second in the league behind Baltimore), holding them to a combined passer rating of 66.1 (third behind the Ravens and Tennessee).

"It usually comes down to a couple of close plays, and that's what happens," coach John Fox said when asked about the Packers' pass defense. "They've got two outstanding corners. They've got a Pro Bowl safety and a very capable young safety (Atari Bigby). They had a couple of injuries in the game, and that doesn't ever help because now you are putting guys in the game that haven't gotten the reps all week.

"So those kinds of days happen. It happened to us late in the game Sunday. You look at it, you learn from it and you move on."

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said the combination of little pass rush (only one sack) and a few coverage breakdowns led to Brees having a breakout game.

"It's like any pass defense: It's a combination of pressure on the quarterback, the discipline and the ability to win in the coverage unit," McCarthy said. "We obviously didn't have any pressure on Drew Brees throughout the evening and it definitely didn't help us on the back end. They won a number of the one-on-one routes, particularly the underneath routes. His ability to stay in rhythm, he made very good decisions, threw the ball accurately, made big-time throws and it definitely got away from us."

• EASING UP ON THEM: Fox said he was hoping his unusual decision to let his team practice without pads this week helped freshen them up, in hopes of avoiding another slow start (as has been the norm since the bye week). They generally go in pads throughout the season, but he's giving them a break now.

"I like changing up," Fox said. "If you become stale, you have to change up, whether it's pads, time of practice, the way you meet, the way you practice. I think change sometimes is good to freshen them mentally and physically."

They've gone back and forth before. In 2004, they stopped wearing pads when injuries wracked their roster. But in 2005, they took the pads out of storage prior to the last regular season game, and wore them through the playoffs.

"There's a lot of ways to skin a cat," Fox said. "I don't think anybody has it figured out, including me. So it's kind of an ever-evolving deal. It's whatever works with whatever the state of your team is."

• LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK: In addition to catching the break from not wearing pads in practice (for the first time since the regular season started), the Panthers' defense has a little extra bounce this week.

Something about giving up 45 points last time out will do that for you. Two weeks ago, the Panthers were second in the league in scoring defense, but they fell to seventh after the Atlanta debacle.

"Yeah, I personally (had a chip on my shoulder)," linebacker Na'il Diggs said. "Not only from getting my butt kicked the other day, but we're to the point in the season where there are teams that are going to be packing it in and others that turn the heat up. I want to be on the team that turns the heat up, and I want to be one of the players that turns the heat up.

"I think everybody kinda stuck that on their backs going out there and we've got to use that to our advantage. Hopefully, that was a little wake-up call the other day and opens everybody's eyes and we get back down to business like we're capable of doing."

• EXTRA POINTS: Linebacker Adam Seward (ankle) was again held out of practice, the only player to miss Thursday's Thanksgiving workout. Running back Jonathan Stewart (heel) was the only other player listed on the report, and he practiced fully. ... The schedule was cut a little short, as players didn't have afternoon meetings, allowing them to get home early to spend time with their families.