CHARLOTTE — There was a lot of talk about balance on Wednesday, which is weird on the day before everyone's afraid to get on a scale.

But for the Panthers, finding consistency on offense was a hot topic, whether it was Dave Canales talking about the run game or quarterback Bryce Young Young talking about his own game.

A week after throwing for a franchise-record 448 yards against the Falcons (which followed a 124-yard day against the Saints), Young threw for 169 yards in the loss at San Francisco.

And with all the emphasis on getting the ball downfield prior to that Atlanta game, the fact that they only had two pass plays of 15 yards or more was clearly on the quarterback's mind.

"Yeah, it just boils down to execution," Young began when asked why they haven't found the consistency they're looking for there. "Obviously, it goes week to week; you've got to be able to turn the page, whether it be good or bad. And we have all the guys in there with the right mindset. It's just execution. I think, first just growing that identity, all of us, especially as a younger unit. But everyone's pros, everyone's embraced it, there's no excuse for us not to be consistent.

"So that's just the challenge for us, at the end of the day, we want to do whatever it takes to win. Obviously the pass game helps out the run game, helps out the explosives, helps out the team, so, we're working to be more consistent there."

Injury updates for a number of defenders

Cornerback Jaycee Horn and linebacker Claudin Cherelus are both in the concussion protocol after leaving Monday's game at San Francisco, and didn't take part in Wednesday's practice.

"They're in the protocol, so they have to make sure they pass all the necessary tests with all that," said Dave Canales on Wednesday.

The Panthers are coming off a short week after playing Monday night, and given the holiday on Thursday. As such, coupled with the runway needed to be done with the protocol (players have to be cleared by an independent neurologist) Canales admitted it might be difficult to get either defender back in time for Sunday's matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.

"The short week does have a significant factor in it," said Canales. "And again, we just have to go through the right protocol and make sure that they're clearing each hurdle along the way."

Carolina did have some good injury news this week, though. Linebacker Trevin Wallace was back at practice as a full participant. Asked if he believed Wallace would be available for the week, and possibly even Sunday, Canales said, "We should, yes; he was out there today, participating."

Mike Jack paying close attention to everything Davante Adams has to say

Corners will look for any and every advantage they can find against top receivers. So when Mike Jackson gets ready to face Davante Adams on Sunday, he'll be relying on game tape, but also some podcast tape.

"He has a game plan. If you go look at an old podcast, he says he uses run downs to try to see what the DB wants to do," shared Jackson on Wednesday. "So, knowing that, it's kind of like it's a chess match-up."

And Jackson has long been a fan of chess.

"I ain't out there trying to trick him," he said. "But at the same time I ain't going to just do the same thing over and over so he knows what you want to do."

One thing Jackson will also be paying attention to?

"Just look at his hips," said the veteran corner.

Because, as Shakira has long said, the hips don't lie. And whether it's Davante Adams' moves off the line, or his unintentional but valuable insight provided on a podcast, Mike Jack is paying attention.

"Receivers like to talk," grinned Jackson, "and I like to listen."

Short week compresses Thanksgiving plans

This amounts to a Thursday-night week of prep for the Panthers, since their week was shortened by the trip to the other coast to play the 49ers on Monday.

The team didn't land until slightly before dawn on Tuesday, so their week has been compressed, including a Wednesday practice that was more of a walkthrough in Bank of America Stadium.

"All right, Wednesday got here quick," Canales said. "We landed pretty early on Tuesday and got right to work, fired up about the game plan and getting back to work with the guys, so a really focused group, hungry, and ready to go."

Canales knows his team lost the normal game-week process, since they jumped right into the traditional game-planning day, which compressed their entire operation.

"The Tuesday is the day that really gets crammed a little bit because playing on Monday night, that's typically a prep day, afternoon, evening, once you've gone through, Tell The Truth Monday," he explained. "So when we get to Tuesday, we have to kind of condense some of the information to make sure that you know we can get all those things done. We've just got to be really efficient with our time.

"The good part about it is this at this point in the season we know what we're doing, we know the concepts, and so then it's just a matter of making those decisions quickly to put our guys in the best position."

Of course, Thursday's also something a lot of people recognize as Thanksgiving, but it's also a thing in the world of football they call Thursday. So they'll be in like normal in the morning, and go through the practice that's typically the heaviest of the week before ducking out mid-afternoon to enjoy time with their families and friends.