Carolina Panthers

Moving the ball doesn't seem to be a problem for the Carolina Panthers.

Scoring is another issue entirely.

In what has become a reoccurring problem for the Panthers, they put up decent numbers (383 yards and 22 first downs) but couldn't find the end zone enough and lost a crucial game to the Miami Dolphins 24-17 in their first appearance ever on Thursday night.

Carolina has seven trips into Miami territory yet only came away with one touchdown and three field goals.

Although the Panthers managed a fourth-quarter touchdown by Steve Smith, it was missed opportunities in the red zone that would be their demise in this battle of 2008 division winners. Jake Delhomme was intercepted once in Miami territory and sacked twice in the red zone forcing the Panthers to settle for field goals.

"It came down to on their opportunities they scored touchdowns, and on some of our opportunities we scored field goals," coach John Fox said. "That is probably the difference in the game. I thought both sides played very hard. Our guys gave great effort. We just came up a little short in those areas."

"It's execution because we're not getting it in," Delhomme said of the team's red zone woes. "It's not play calling. They were doing a good, especially down in there on a couple of third downs with their four-man rush. They were dropping seven and those windows were really tight to try to find some guys in there. There's no pointing fingers. We just didn't get it done."

The loss leaves the Panthers all but out of the playoff hunt at 4-6 entering their next game a week from Sunday against the New York Jets.

"Our backs are against the wall," Delhomme said. "There is no doubt. Playoff talk is something that is not even brought up. It's one-game-at-a-time talk. That is how this team has looked at it and that is how we are going to keep looking at it."

—On his way to the game Thursday night, Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith was sideswiped in his new Maserati causing damage up and down the driver's side.

"I was pulling out of the hotel coming down the road and just kind of cruising," Smith said. "I'm not lying, I wasn't speeding. I was just kind of cruising. I had an hour to be (to the stadium) so I was just kind of cruising. Then a guy comes over and decides to become one with me in the lane and sideswipes me and basically (there was damage) from the front end to back on the driver's side."

Smith said he had to forcefully push the door open to get out.

"I said, 'Man, you've got to be freaking kidding me,'" Smith said. "He kind of looked at me and was like, 'You want to call the cops.' And I was like, 'Yeah.' So we exchanged information and the cops came. We were in a predominantly good area so they were there in three minutes. Back home (in Los Angeles) they never came that quick in my neighborhood. So we exchanged information and he said, 'I was in a hurry to get to the game.'"

At that point, Smith gave the guy a look like, "Uh, no kidding."

"I was thankful nothing bad happened," Smith said. "But I feel bad for his insurance (company). It was an accident. Things happen."

• Dolphins running back Ricky Williams didn't have trouble finding the end zone, scoring three times against the Panthers. Williams finished with 138 total yards from scrimmage and proved more than capable of handling the full-time starting role he inherited earlier in the week when Ronnie Brown was lost for the season.

  Carolina's tackling was a problem for the second straight week as Williams averaged 5.4 yards per carry.

  "We didn't tackle well," said defensive tackle Damione Lewis. "Ricky is a hard running, big tailback. He broke tackles and that's him. If you let him get going and running downhill then he can give you problems. On third down he caught us and broke some tackles. We had a good stretch (of games) there where we were playing great but now there is a missed tackle here or there but we just need to get it straight."

  Added cornerback Richard Marshall: "It wasn't good at all. We always preach getting to the ball and hitting the person with the ball. We didn't do that tonight at all. There was a lot of missed tackles out there tonight. They were getting a lot of yards after the first hit tonight and that is something that usually doesn't happen against us. We have to come back in and correct that."

• Running back Tyrell Sutton saw increased action as Carolina's back in the two-minute drill. He's performing well and the Panthers have found themselves a keeper.

  "I'll do whatever they ask me to do," said Sutton.

• Panthers Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jordan Gross said he broke both his tibia and fibula when Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Vance Walker landed on his leg during the Nov. 15 game at Bank of America Stadium, not his ankle as coach John Fox had told the media last week.

  The good news for Gross is it was a clean break and there was no ligament or cartilage damage in his ankle, which will make the rehab process easier. Gross said he'll be on crutches for about six weeks and it should be completely healed in about three months.He said he'll be back on the field by the time the Panthers return for minicamp next spring.

  The injury occurred during the second quarter of Carolina's 28-19 win over the Falcons when Falcons defensive end Vance Walker fell on his leg as Gross was attempting to block defensive end John Abraham.

  Gross was taken off the field on a cart and within hours was being operated on by team physicians Dr. Robert Anderson and Dr. Patrick Connor at Carolinas Medical Center. After seeing the x-rays Gross, joked with doctors that he "wanted a second opinion" because he didn't know if it was broken. He wound up having a rod, plate and several screws inserted into the bone to hold it in place.

  "Once it heals up, they say it'll be stronger than before, because I'll have titanium down in there," Gross said. "They said 100 percent recovery, everything should be good. They said in three months, it'll be healed. It's a long time because there's not a lot of soft tissue there, not a lot of blood flow, but three months, I'll be able to start doing pretty much everything."

  That's great news for the Panthers given what an important fixture Gross is on the offensive line

  After a Pro Bowl season a year ago, Gross had a slow start this year but was really playing at a high level at the time of his injury. His replacement Travelle Wharton had a hand in two sacks in Carolina's most recent loss to the Miami Dolphins.

  Prior to the injury Gross had started 104 of 105 possible games since arriving as a first-round draft pick in 2003, so he feels lucky that he's held up as well as he has.

  "I've been lucky for a long time to not have anything major happen," Gross said. "I guess it was my turn. The good news is the rest of my body will probably feel great next season, having a shortened year like this."

  Gross said he plans to be around the stadium to help out as much as he can.

  "You always make fun of the IR guys and say they have the best life ever, until you're one of them," Gross said. "And then you say you'd rather be doing your job."

Player Notes

• DE Charles Johnson said he will not play this week against the Jets. It will be the second straight game he's missed with a strained pectoral muscle.

• FB Brad Hoover said he ran Monday and feels like his sprained ankle should be good enough to play on this Sunday against the Jets.

• FS Charles Godfrey said he's close to returning to action after missing four games with a high ankle sprain. It's unclear if he will get his starting job back.

• FS Sherrod Martin said he doesn't know if coaches will start him this week if Charles Godfrey returns.

• RB Tyrell Sutton is receiving rave reviews from teammates about how well he's fit in.

Report Card Vs

. DOLPHINS

Passing Offense:

D-—It was obvious the game plan was to get Steve Smith the football against Miami's two rookie cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Shaun Smith. Jake Delhomme tried his way 15 times, connecting on seven for 87 yards and a touchdown. Delhomme, who hadn't turned the ball over in the previous three games, had a costly interception in Miami territory when he underthrew Smith. A big problem was pass protection as Delhomme was sacked four times (including twice in the red zone) and hurried quite a bit. But let's get to the real problem. The Panthers need more weapons in the passing game. It's time to give up on the Dwayne Jarrett experience. He was targeted five times and didn't catch a pass. Maybe that's because he's almost never open. Carolina desperately needs to find a No. 2 receiver next season.

Rushing Offense:

B+—The only problem with the run game was the Panthers didn't do enough of it. They ran for 182 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry on the ground but called 26 run plays and 47 pass plays (42 pass attempts, four sacks and one Jake Delhomme scramble). The Panthers surprisingly went away from their running game near the goal line, except for DeAngelo Williams' two-point conversion run. Williams had 122 yards and averaged 9.4 yards per carry, buoyed by a long run of 50 yards that wound up yielding no points. The Panthers had seven trips inside Miami territory, yet came away with only one touchdown and three field goals.

Pass Defense:

C-plus—Chad Henne only threw for 172 yards, but he was efficient completing 17 of 29 passes. He had some big throws in key situations, including a 15-yard pass to Davone Bess on a key third-and-11 late in the game. Williams scored the game-clinching 46-yard touchdown run on the next play. Henne threw one touchdown pass to Ricky Williams and had a passer rating of 87.1. The Panthers didn't sack Henne, which isn't a surprise given Julius Peppers is a virtual non-factor with a broken hand and fellow defensive end Charles Johnson was out of this game with a pectoral sprain. For the second straight week Peppers was limited to pass-rushing situations, but when he played Jake Long completely dominated him, just as he did in the preseason. Rookie Everette Brown made his first start, but he's a pass rush guy, not a run stopper. Chris Gamble struggled a bit against one of the most unheralded groups of receivers in the league.

Rush Defense:

D—Not to make excuses, but it's pretty clear the Panthers aren't the same defense with WLB Thomas Davis out and DE Julius Peppers nursing a broken hand. And over the last two weeks, it has shown up big time. Carolina's tackling is a major concern and the players know it. The Panthers managed to outscore the Falcons last week, but on Thursday night they allowed Ricky Williams to run for 119 and two touchdowns, the big one coming on a 46-yard run to clinch the game with 3:55 left. The Panthers have allowed a rushing touchdown in every game this season.

Special Teams:

C-—Simply put, Carolina's coverage teams are abysmal. They allowed Ted Ginn Jr. to return kickoffs of 49 and 37 yards in a game where field position really mattered. Carolina also allowed Bess to return a punt 22 yards. John Kasay had a solid game hitting from 29, 33 and 48 yards and Jason Baker had four punts inside the 20 with no touchbacks. The good news is it looks like the Panthers have found a decent kick returner in Tyrell Sutton. Still, the Panthers have had only one big play on special teams all year while giving up several.

Coaching:

D—This one started to get away from the Panthers in the second quarter but the fact is they never trailed by more than 11 points, so they were never really out of it. So it needs to be explained why the Panthers called 26 running plays and 47 passes plays. That's a ridiculous number especially since Carolina was averaging 6.7 yards per carry on the ground. There's something wrong with this red zone offense, but that may be personnel more so than play calling.