Defensive shortcomings irk Panthers

[Rod Butsecks]

(By DAVID SCOTT, [email protected]) p//pp/With the regular season closing in fast, the Carolina Panthers seem to be facing up to how serious their defensive shortcomings might be./pp/They're at least talking ndash; and talking tough ndash; about it./pp/ldquo;We have miles to go to get better,rdquo; said defensive tackle Damione Lewis after Baltimore's first-team offense dominated the Panthers' starters in a 17-13 Ravens NFL exhibition victory Saturday at Bank of America Stadium./pp/Said safety Chris Harris: ldquo;It's something that needs to be fixed, and fixed soon.rdquo;/pp/The much-discussed problems on the defensive line's interior weren't the only trouble spots against the Ravens. The Panthers gave Ravens ball carriers second chances by missing several tackles. And the secondary ndash; particularly cornerback Chris Gamble ndash; was no match for the precision passing of Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who threw just five incompletions in 28 attempts./pp/ldquo;The tackling was horrible tonight,rdquo; said linebacker Jon Beason, who missed the game with a sprained knee. ldquo;We're not where we need to be.rdquo;/pp/And with starters unlikely to play much ndash; if at all ndash; in Thursday's preseason finale against Pittsburgh, opportunities for the Panthers to get their defensive house in order are dwindling fast./pp/Saturday's performance was enough to prompt coach John Fox ndash; who usually keeps critical thoughts to himself when reporters' pads and recorders are nearby ndash; to speak out./pp/Fox said the defense sometimes lacked crisp tackling and that the pass coverage was ldquo;shoddy at times.rdquo;/pp/In fairness, the defense was without four injured starters ndash; linebackers Beason and Thomas Davis (knee), safety Charles Godfrey (hand) and nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu (out for the season with a torn Achilles)./pp/But the defensive problems haven't been unexpected. This is a unit that allowed 30-or-more points in five of the Panthers' final eight games last season. Although a new defensive coordinator ndash; Ron Meeks ndash; was hired, no significant personnel changes were made./pp/Meeks' defense relies on fast players who fly with abandon to the ball, gang tackling and forcing turnovers./pp/ldquo;We're trying to get this new defense down, get the hustle down, get the tackling together and just get out there and make plays,rdquo; said Lewis. ldquo;The most important thing is we need some success.rdquo;/pp/Said Beason: ldquo;We'd like to see more turnovers. It's such an emphasis from (Meeks) and his philosophy. Throughout training camp, against our offense, we had a lot of takeaways. It's just something to focus on.rdquo;/pp/The Panthers have one fumble and two interceptions in the preseason. Both interceptions were by backups Dante Wesley and Quinton Teal./pp/The Panthers weren't especially crisp offensively against the Ravens, either. But with injured running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart out, that wasn't surprising./pp/There were some offensive bright spots: Jake Delhomme threw impressively downfield, completing long passes to Muhsin Muhammad (38 yards) and Jeff King (31). Receiver Steve Smith played for the first time this preseason and caught two passes for 37 yards./pp/ Recovered from a training-camp shoulder injury, he appeared to be his old self when he stiff-armed Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth in the face on one play ndash; drawing a face-mask penalty./pp/ldquo;It just felt great,rdquo; Smith said of his shoulder. ldquo;I just kind of listened to my body and my body was feeling good. There was no sense in waiting until (Thursday against the Steelers) because (it) is going to be very limited (playing time for starters). I didn't have the opportunity to really do much even in camp because of the injury. I'm happy I got in the game I felt good.rdquo;/pp/And rookie Mike Goodson, filling in for Williams and Stewart, ran well (52 yards on 11 carries for a 4.7-yard average), caught well (three receptions for 26 yards) and even threw in a 27-yard kickoff return./p

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