CHARLOTTE -- Chris Harris glanced up in the Panthers' locker room Monday and bore a sly smile. The ceiling was not caving in upon them, 0-3 start notwithstanding.
"It's still up there," he said. "We haven't even completed the first quarter of the season."
The safety's perspective on the Panthers' stumbling start is different than most of his teammates; the knee injury that he suffered on the practice field four days before the regular-season opener rendered him a spectator -- first on the sideline, then last week via television, when he was left frustrated in front of his flat screen.
"I saw some things from the film study that we did, and saw us not fitting up some things right, so I wish I could have had a direct hotline to everybody, to give my insight as to what I was seeing on TV," Harris said.
"You get to see some things that you might not see if you were playing. Some plays, you don't see everything on the field, so being able to step back, look at it, watch it and see what's going on, I think it will actually help me once I get back on the field."
Even if Harris hadn't been so studious in the last three weeks, his return -- whether it comes Sunday or in future weeks -- would help the Panthers, whose recent history includes several instances in which they turned losing streaks of three or more games into solid runs.
In 2007, a five-game skid was followed by wins in five of the next seven games -- a 3-2 run to close that season and a 2-0 start to the following campaign. A four-game skein late in 2006 was followed by back-to-back wins to close that year and wins in four of six games to open the next season, giving the Panthers a 6-2 bounce-back from the skid. A six-game losing streak in 2004 became a five-game winning streak; a three-game slide in 2003 turned into a 6-0 run; an eight-loss run in 2002 was followed by a 9-1 sprint that carried over to 2003.
Harris isn't panicking with a four-game slide dating back to January -- which included the three games in which he didn't play last month.
"I tell guys that I was in Chicago when we started out 1-3 and won eight straight and went 11-5 and had a first-round bye in the playoffs (in 2005)," Harris said. "One and three is not the end of the world. It's not where you want to be, but it's definitely not the end of the world. I've experienced it and been through it, so I can testify that.
"It starts with one. You can't look ahead, just focus on this one game and take it one game at a time."
That's the apt cliché in this case. On the surface, October's games would seem to present an opportunity for the ailing Panthers to get better; their next three foes -- Washington, Tampa Bay and Buffalo -- are a combined 3-9.
"Naturally, I think you want to think we've got three games we can win, but you still have to show up and play," said fullback
But some Panthers can't see beyond Sunday.
"There's no doubt. I'll be honest with you: I know we play Washington; I think we play Tampa (Bay) after that and then I don't have the slightest idea (after that). And that's the truth," quarterback
