Dolphins' unusual scheme has Panthers concerned

By Darin Gantt - daringantt@carolina.rr.com

CHARLOTTE -- The Panthers might not have as much of a Wildcat problem, but they still have a run defense problem heading into Thursday's game with Miami.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano announced Tuesday that running back Ronnie Brown — the key to their old-school running scheme — won't play this week against the Panthers because of a foot injury suffered last week. But that doesn't change the fact the Panthers are coming off their worst run defense game in more than a month, as they allowed 176 yards to Atlanta last week.

That makes this a twofold challenge, as the Panthers are playing an opponent they have no experience with, at a time they need to fix themselves.

“Since their offense is not very conventional, it's pretty tough,” defensive tackle Damione Lewis said. “It looks we won't see again all year, unless we end up playing them again. It's going to be a lot of film stuff, guys will have to go the extra mile, get a feel for them, because they have so many pullers, so many different things they do out of their Wildcat and their base. It's going to be a week of plenty of film study.”

Lewis said the temptation against the Wildcat is to play slowly, to sit back and read their motion before you commit. But that creates bigger problems for the misdirection offense.

“That's why film study is so important this week, because you can't go out there and play slow,” Lewis said. “That's what they're banking on you doing, is going out and trying to read everything. They have so much going on in the backfield, you just have to know your keys, know what you're attacking, and get after it.”

Without Brown, the Dolphins will rely more on running back Ricky Williams. Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme played with him in New Orleans and called Williams “one of the smartest football players I've ever played with, at any position.” But it also opens the door for quarterback Pat White, meaning the Panthers can't truly know what to expect from Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning, who called plays in Charlotte from 2002-2006.

But beyond the Dolphins, the Panthers rush D looked shabby against the Falcons. It seemed they had gotten their problems fixed after a slow start, but they came back.

The Panthers allowed 182.7 rushing yards the first three games, but trimmed that to 85.8 over the next five when they added nose tackle Hollis Thomas and got some players back from injuries.

Last week, the Falcons spent more time single-blocking Thomas, and didn't have to contend with defensive end Julius Peppers or linebacker Thomas Davis as they gashed the Panthers for 6.1 yards per carry.

LIKE IT'S HIS FAULT — The Panthers placed left tackle Jordan Gross on injured reserve Tuesday, ending his season — as if the surgery to repair his broken right ankle didn't take care of that.

Delhomme said it was weird not having Gross in practice, since he had started 112 of 113 games (including playoffs) since the two of them joined the team in 2003. Delhomme said he visited Gross in the hospital, and got the expected response

“Typical Jordan fashion, he apologizes for getting his leg broke,” Delhomme said. “It happens and you see it so often. His big thing he said was, ‘Hopefully, I can be out there Thursday night.' And it's kind of like, ‘I don't think you need to be out there Thursday night. Rest up a little bit, you just had surgery.' But he'll be around shortly.”

INJURY REPORT — Lewis laughed and said he must be feeling better, since he was upgraded to limited participation in practice.

The Panthers had to submit a report Monday even though they didn't practice, which left the training staff to turn in a list of guys they guessed might not work if they would have worked out. So Lewis was listed as out of that nonexistent session with a shoulder problem.

“I'm OK now, I guess,” Lewis said. “I mean, I was even here yesterday.”

As for the rest of the report, defensive end Charles Johnson was out of practice (pectoral muscle), along with fullback Brad Hoover (high ankle sprain), safety Charles Godfrey (ankle) and running back Jonathan Stewart (typical first practice rest).

EXTRA POINTS — To fill Gross' roster spot, the Panthers promoted wide receiver Charly Martin from the practice squad.

Martin, an undrafted rookie from West Texas A&M, went to camp with San Diego.

Last year, he led NCAA Division II with 95 catches for 1,867 yards and 22 touchdowns

“He's a guy that's been working real hard,” coach John Fox said. “He's out here practicing every day. He's definitely caught the coaches' eyes as far as what he's done on the practice field working against our first-unit defense. He's a bigger guy that could help in the kicking game as well as at receiver.”

The Panthers also made three other practice squad moves, signing offensive lineman Brian De La Puente from California and defensive end Eric Moore from Florida State. They released tight end Jason Pociask to make room. ...

Before making the practice squad decisions, they worked out De La Puente and tackle Elliot Vallejo on Monday. Vallejo spent most of 2007 and 2008 on Arizona's practice squad, with a few brief stints on the active roster.