| No-huddle offense ignites Panthers offense in 28-19 win over Falcons |
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| Written by Steve Reed |
| Sunday, November 15, 2009 6:42 pm |
 Steve Smith caught two touchdowns on Sunday, doubling his season output. (Photo by John Clark) CHARLOTTE – Steve Smith refers to it as controlled chaos. After going three-and-out to start the game the Panthers went without a huddle on their second drive, as they’d planned to do all week, and drove 80 yards in nine plays for a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. Delhomme was 4-for-4 for 75 yards on the drive and bore a strong resemblance to the quarterback Panther fans had once come to love. It was a sign of things to come. Delhomme went on to throw touchdown passes to Steve Smith on Carolina's next two possessions as the Panthers (4-5) built a 21-10 lead at the half. “I think it’s something that he’s been historically pretty good at,” Muhammad said of Delhomme running the no-huddle. “I just have memories of that Super Bowl season in 2003 and the two-minute offense was one of the better parts of our offense. I think it gives Jake a level of comfort to be able to look at the defense and pick the plays he knows he can win versus certain coverages.” Delhomme feels “extremely comfortable” running the no-huddle offense, but said the guys in the huddle with him make a big difference. “It helps that you don’t have to flip-flop receivers,” said Delhomme. “Steve and Moose know both sides. The tight ends, if we go two tight ends, can play fullback. Our guys did a great job adjusting to the calls today. It got us going.” Smith said it’s not just Delhomme who feels comfortable running the no huddle -- it's everyone. “I was born in controlled chaos so it’s real easy for me to adapt to,” said Smith, who was born in inner-city Los Angeles. “No huddle is easy and simple for me and like Jake said, me and Mushin take pride in knowing our plays and being able to line up and run each other’s routes. You have the defense running around and they don’t know what they’re doing while we know exactly what we’re doing.” Smith said at one point the Falcons appeared completely confused. “I see guys arguing. One guy on their team said, 'China' (as a play call). The other guy said 'No China.' Then I said to them, ‘He said no China’ and they just kind of smiled,” Smith said. In the past, Muhammad said the Panthers had about four passing plays and two running plays they could run when they went without a huddle, but have added quite a few since. Delhomme called all of the plays at the line of scrimmage. "You take what they give you, be it run or pass," said Delhomme, who had a quarterback rating of 147 after the first half. "You try to be smart and think like an offensive coordinator." Of course, the question beckons, why didn’t the Panthers turn to it earlier in the season when they were trying to find their way in the passing game? Coach John Fox said injuries played a big role in that. “I think it was fair to say we had an unusual preseason as far as playing time, injuries and things like that,” Fox said. “Unfortunately we had to use early regular season games for our preseason. So I think some of those things are starting to work their way through and we felt a comfort level today. It’s always been there. Dropping back to pass was pretty interesting about a month ago.” The fact that the Panthers took the handcuffs off Delhomme this week should go a long way toward improving the veteran quarterback’s confidence, perhaps as much as going a third straight game without an interception. Delhomme said he didn’t blame the coaching staff for being careful with the play calls the last two weeks. “Every time I was touching it, I was turning it over,” said Delhomme, who had 13 interceptions in his first six starts, but none in the last three. As well as the Panthers played on offense in the first half – they racked up 222 yards and 14 first downs – they struggled a bit in the final 30 minutes of action and needed a break to survive a Falcons rally. Atlanta battled back to cut Carolina’s lead to 21-19, but Carolina stopped backup running back Jason Snelling short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt from Matt Ryan. After Carolina’s next drive stalled, the Falcons moved to the Panthers 16 but coach Mike Smith elected to kick field goal instead of going for it. Struggling veteran Jason Elam shanked the kick to the left. When Carolina’s offense stalled again on the next series, the Panthers got a touchdown-saving tackle by Jason Baker on a punt return and Richard Marshall intercepted an overthrown pass by Matt Ryan and took it back to the 49. That helped set up a Jonathan Stewart's 45-yard touchdown run on third-and-4 to secure the victory. “It was great blocking by the offensive line, the tight ends and our fullback,” said Stewart, who had 82 yards and two rushing touchdowns. “It pretty much opened up a lane where I could run scott free and that’s what I did. I realized I was untouched and I just tried to keep running as fast as I could to the end zone. I think I ran all the way to the back of the pylon.” Afterward, fellow running back DeAngelo Williams poked at his buddy. “It was good to see him stretch his legs – it’s been awhile,” Williams said. As well as Carolina’s offense played, the Panthers realize there is still work to be done, especially after they managed just four first downs on their first three drives of the second half prior to Stewart’s big run. “You never want to settle and say, ‘Everything is here,’” Smith said. “You want give yourself room for improvement because we have some big games that are going to require the passing game to be at a very high level and much improved -- even from today.” Carolina has a chance to get back to 5-5 and put themselves back in the thick of the wild card race if they can beat the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night, although they’ll have to do it without Pro Bowl left tackle Jordan Gross who suffered a broken ankle and could be lost for the season. But for at least 24 hours, the Panthers will try to enjoy this one. “I thought we came out swinging,” Muhammad said. “We played with a purpose and played like a team with its backs to the wall and the season on the line.”
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