Offensive struggles not tearing apart Panthers

They haven't allowed a 100-yard receiver or a 300-yard passer all season. Drew Brees managed one touchdown against them, Chad Ochocinco 34 yards receiving and Todd Collins posted a 6.2 passer rating.

Those impressive defensive performances haven't mattered for the Carolina Panthers. They lost all three of those games and are 1-6 because of a league-worst offense that's committed 23 turnovers.

Being ranked fourth in the league in defense means little if the offense is averaging an NFL-low 12.1 points and 251.4 yards a game.

''You never want to be a weak link,'' rookie receiver David Gettis said Wednesday. ''Our defense has pretty much been playing their tail off. We have to do a better job of producing on the offensive side.''

But in a locker room divided with the offense in the front and the defense in the back, you couldn't find a defensive guy willing to take a public shot at the anemic offense. Far from it.

''We don't have any animosity toward the other side of the ball,'' insisted linebacker James Anderson, who has a team-best 79 tackles and three sacks. ''We have enough going on that we have to fix before we can point any fingers at anybody else.''

Added defensive tackle Ed Johnson: ''We feel like if we didn't give up 20 points a game then our games would be a lot closer and we'd have a chance to win a lot of them. It's very easy not to point a finger because no one is playing perfect and we all could do better.''

Still, the contrasts are startling.

The Panthers started with Matt Moore at quarterback, benched him for rookie Jimmy Clausen, then went back to Moore. They've combined for 13 interceptions, four lost fumbles and a 54.3 passer rating.

Four-time Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith caught a touchdown pass in each of the first two games, but has none since. He dropped two passes and had a key fumble to set up the clinching score in Sunday's 20-10 loss to St. Louis.

Smith had no problems assigning blame on Wednesday.

''Yeah, me,'' Smith said. ''I believe I have the opportunity to energize this team and help this team.''

The running game, ranked third in the NFL a year ago, used to do that. Instead, it's plummeted to 28th in the league after managing 25 yards on the ground against the Rams. And Pro Bowl running back DeAngelo Williams, who sat out that game with a sprained left foot, missed practice again Wednesday.

And all the turnovers have put the Panthers' defense in tough spots. Eleven of the 28 opponent scoring drives this season have started in Carolina territory. That doesn't count Moore's interception return for a touchdown by San Francisco.

Teams have also held the ball an average of six minutes more per game than Carolina.

''Giving them more time to rest on the sideline, that's really imperative for us,'' said Gettis, who followed up his eight-catch, two-TD effort against San Francisco with no catches against the Rams.

''Put points on the board so opposing offenses will have to force themselves into turnovers and things like that. You don't want to let the team down. It's our job as an offense to produce more.''

Meanwhile, the defense has allowed only 301.7 yards per game and 182.7 yards passing per contest. Safety Charles Godfrey is tied for third in the NFL with four interceptions, Anderson has starred in his first season as a full-time starter and Carolina has made up for a lack of consistent quarterback pressure with its athletic and speedy back seven.

But coach John Fox thinks they can do better. The Panthers allowed Chicago's Matt Forte and Frank Gore of San Francisco to surpass 100 yards on the ground and rank just 12th in preventing third down conversions. They've also given up early scoring drives in games against Tampa Bay, Chicago and San Francisco as they've been outscored 45-9 in the first quarter.

''We have to be more sound technique-wise and start fast,'' Anderson said.

So despite the offensive woes, Fox insists he hasn't had to worry about making sure one side of the ball doesn't start sniping at the other.

Now if they can just figure out how to score.

''I think we've got high character guys in that locker room that understand what it is to be a team,'' Fox said. ''Nobody can be the weak link. Everybody has to step up and we have to play together as a team. We understand that is the way you win and we'll do everything we can do to do that.''