CHARLOTTE -- With 78 yards from scrimmage and 169 all-purpose yards, Mike Goodson leads the Panthers in preseason yardage amassed, and no one -- not even a quarterback -- is within 80 yards of second place.
But it stands to reason that Goodson should lead the Panthers in yardage, since no one other than the quarterbacks have touched the football more often the last two weeks than Goodson, who's taken 14 handoffs, caught three passes and fielded four kickoffs.
Unfortunately for Goodson, two of those 21 touches resulted in fumbles. Both came against the New York Giants on Aug. 17, and even though his effort against Miami five nights later was fumble-free, the shadow of the bobbles lingers.
There's little Goodson can do on the practice field to work on this; hitting the JUGS machine after a two-hour session doesn't provide much assistance.
"It's more of a mind thing," You've just got to wrap up, and know that when you're in traffic, you've got to cover up the ball. I think most fumbles occur when you have the ball out away from your body in traffic. Really, it's just concentrating on it and being conscious of it."
Both of those fumbles came behind the Panthers' No. 2 offensive line against the Giants' second-team defense. In Miami, Goodson rotated in with the first team as
He held onto the ball against the Dolphins, but nevertheless found himself trying to adjust to a tempo beyond anything he'd ever experienced.
"I think the ones go at a different speed," Goodson said. "Going with the twos, you get the work, but with the ones, they go at a different level, so it's always good work.
"With the ones, you've really got to hit the hole and come out of it. They (the holes) are not there that long, and when they are, they close up in seconds. So you've really got to hit it."
THAT PHILOSOPHY HOLDS TRUE on kickoff returns, where Goodson has been the first man up in the last two games.
"I'm learning how to set up my blocks a little better and learn how to hit the holes a little bit harder," he said. "Stopping your feet is a big thing on kick returns; if you stop your feet, you kill yourself, so I'm trying to get to where I don't stop my feet as much."
Goodson has a 22.8-yard average on his four kickoff returns, and adds that he hasn't been affected by the NFL's new kickoff rules, which prohibit three-man wedges from forming to clear a path for returners.
"I just follow my blocks. Three-man wedge, two-man wedge; it really doesn't matter," he said.
GOODSON MIGHT RECEIVE MORE TOUCHES than expected if
His status, as with that of the other injured and/or healing Panthers, won't be known until Saturday.
"Those are game-time decisions," head coach John Fox said.
Williams and defensive tackle
Left guard
SATURDAY'S BIG-PICTURE OUTLOOK remains for the starters to play into the third quarter, as is the custom for most NFL teams in the next-to-last preseason game.
"That's the plan, but a lot of times you have to adjust some of the best-laid plans," Fox said. "We'll make those adjustments during the game."
This week comes the closest of any in the preseason to approximating a regular-season schedule, but Fox said there won't be much game-planning specifically tailored to the opponents, the Baltimore Ravens. The focus remains on building to Week 1.
"Just improvement," Fox said. "Neither side does much (game planning). You let your starters play a little bit longer and you just want to see them improve in the things you're doing offensively, defensively and in the kicking game."
