The noise machine was cranked up at practice Wednesday, Jake Delhomme kept talking about concentration and Jeff King acknowledged he barely slept Sunday night.
It all had to do with the same thing: the Carolina Panthers' penalty epidemic.
"There aren't a lot of third-and-long plays in the play book,"
receiver Muhsin Muhammad said. "I haven't seen a third-and-34 play yet. That's kind of tough."
The Panthers have been going in the wrong direction a lot in the past two weeks. After overcoming a sea of yellow flags in a comeback win over Chicago, the Panthers were undone by 12 penalties in Sunday's 20-10 loss at Minnesota.
In the past two weeks, the Panthers have committed 11 false start penalties, including five in the first half against the Bears. Carolina's 28 penalties in three games is tied for the league lead. It's part of the reason the Panthers (2-1) have scored only four offensive touchdowns.
"The false start penalties are bothersome. That's something that you should be able to fix,"
said Delhomme, who has one touchdown pass in three games. "We had a ton here at home, which is very disappointing. On the road, you really have to hone in on the snap count, the silent count or whatever you have to use and just concentrate. That's the biggest thing."
Even with a home game Sunday against Atlanta, the Panthers spent part of Wednesday practicing as a machine pumped in noise. Several players said the crowd at the Metrodome played a role in the false start penalties against the Vikings.
But Carolina made numerous other mistakes, too. Coach John Fox mistakenly thought there were 12 men on the field and called a timeout that wiped out Chris Harris' blocked field goal early in the fourth quarter. Earlier, King was called for an illegal block in the back that erased Jonathan Stewart's 87-yard kickoff return.
"You beat yourself up over it,"
King said. "I can tell you guys I didn't sleep a whole lot on Sunday night. It happens, it happens every week. There's always one play that you'd like to have back - some you guys see and some you don't. You've got to learn from it."
Fox said responsibility rests with the players and coaches, and it's an issue that is being stressed this week.
"I'm a big believer that you get what you emphasize,"
Fox said. "And it will definitely be emphasized."
The Panthers' unbalanced offense may have played a role in all the miscues. Playing without suspended receiver Steve Smith, the Bears stacked the box with eight, nine and sometimes 10 players to try to stop the run, putting tremendous pressure on the offensive line.
Smith returned against the Vikings, but the Panthers managed only 47 yards rushing. That allowed the aggressive Vikings to blitz often, and the offensive line flinched. Missing left guard Travelle Wharton because of a sprained right knee, the Panthers gave up five sacks.
Wharton returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday and could play against the Falcons Sunday.
While his return would be welcomed, the Panthers must stop making mental errors for it to matter much. Carolina has also been called for not having enough men on the line of scrimmage. Nate Salley was called for being offside on a kickoff against Minnesota, wiping out a touchback.
"The more you're prepared for your opponent the more relaxed you are,"
Muhammad said. "You don't feel the pressure you apply the pressure. So we just need to be totally prepared for this game, be it film study or whatever means we need to study for this opponent. Just be totally prepared so when we get out on the field Sunday we're relaxed, but we're intense."
The Panthers hope that approach will prevent another third-and-39, like the Panthers faced against the Vikings after three penalties and a sack.
"We have a bad taste in our mouth from Minnesota,"
King said. "Atlanta is always a tough game for us, no matter what their record is. We know they're going to come in here fired up, 2-1, and we've got our backs up against the wall a little bit now that we didn't play so well last week."
