Thread: Panthers preparing to play Bears without Steve Smith

Panthers preparing to play Bears without Steve Smith


By Darin Gantt
dgantt@heraldonline.com
Posted: Monday, Oct. 04, 2010
Carolina Panthers coach John Fox wasn't ready to go beyond his normal "day-to-day" prognosis, but even wide receiver Steve Smith seemed willing to admit that he's unlikely to be able to play this weekend.

Smith suffered a high ankle sprain in Sunday's loss at New Orleans, and is expected to be out beyond the Panthers' next game against Chicago and the subsequent bye week. While he talked to reporters Monday, he sat in a chair with a large walking boot on his left ankle.

"No, not really," Smith replied when asked if he was feeling better. "I'm not a doctor, but I can't walk without a boot.

"I don't think they're going to allow this (boot). ... I mean we could probably figure out some way Reebok could throw some cleats on the bottom of it."

After joking that he felt like "a trillion dollars," Sunday, he downgraded his own currency to "a money order." Monday, he laughed and said if that was true the day before, he was feeling like "food stamps" a day removed from his third-quarter spill.

Fox tried not to dwell on the absence of his only proven playmaker in the passing game. Although that is a dubious title this year, since Smith has 13 catches for 174 yards, which ranks 32nd and 28th in the NFC in those categories, respectively.

"When you lose a player, it happens to a lot of teams," Fox said. "They're out there to begin with for a reason. So I can't sit here and say it didn't affect us. It's not been the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last."

Without him, the Panthers will get even younger, with Dwayne Jarrett, 23, the veteran alongside rookies David Gettis and Brandon LaFell. Rookie Armanti Edwards might also get his first action this week, after being inactive for the first four games.

"I don't know that anything about this is comfortable," Fox said. "I feel confident, otherwise they wouldn't be on our 53-man roster."

It's not an enviable position for rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen, though it does resemble a lot of his days during training camp.

"I don't think it's really going to change anything, except for missing one of our best playmakers on offense," Clausen said. "It's just going to be a young group, with Dwayne being the veteran guy in the group. It's just like last night, you have to go out there and make plays with whoever you have.

"I think all of us feel real comfortable with each other. Whether it's Dwayne or Armanti or Brandon or David. We all feel real good with each other, got a lot of reps together."

Bouncing back

Linebacker Jamar Williams said he hoped to return to practice Wednesday after missing a week with what he termed a "spinal concussion."

Williams was knocked out of the Panthers loss to Tampa Bay when teammate Tony Fiammetta hit him in the top of the head during a punt play. He said Monday that upon impact, he lost feeling in his arms and legs for a few moments. Then, in the days that followed, he felt a burning sensation in both arms. He said he was feeling better each day, and had visits scheduled with specialists to see if he'd be clear to play.

"It was real scary," Williams said. "I never had any problem like that where for a couple of seconds I really couldn't feel anything. But I'm coming back strong, really realizing, couldn't do much, but I'm getting better every day.

"Overall, it was just a good hit in a very vulnerable position. Kind of a flukish position. Hit me on top of the head and the rest of it just happened."

This week is special to Williams since he was with Chicago the previous four seasons, coming here in the April trade for safety Chris Harris.

"I've had this game marked on my calendar, circled three times ready for this one," he said. "I have a lot of friends on that team, a lot of guys I definitely want to line up against across the ball and give them a couple of smacks."

Extra points

Fox said reserve running back Mike Goodson had a "sore neck" after being pulled down by the face mask on a fourth-quarter kickoff return. Goodson didn't return to the game. Otherwise, Fox offered no other updates on any other players.

Despite scoring the previously elusive second touchdown in a game, the Panthers are still ranked 32nd in the league in scoring. They've scored 46 points in four games, and have yet to score an offensive point in any fourth quarter. Their only two points came on Greg Hardy's blocked punt for a safety against New York.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...y-without.html