!CHARLOTTE - With an NFL-best 76 plays that have covered 20 or more yards, the Panthers clearly have some playmakers.
But with a 4-9 record despite leading in all but one game, the Panthers still don't have enough players making plays.
That was the assessment of head coach Ron Rivera on Monday, one day after the Panthers squandered a 23-7 halftime lead in a 31-23 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium.
A long list of injuries and a need to improve the depth of talent on the roster going forward are factors to be sure, but Rivera believes the current roster should be doing a better job regardless.
"When you lead 12 out of 13, you have a chance to win games. We're a lot better than we're giving ourselves an opportunity for," Rivera said. "We've got to grow up and get past a lot of things. We've got to get past, 'It is what it is,' because it's not. We are better than that, and we have to start playing like that. We have to start growing up.
"Sure, we don't have Jon Beason and Thomas Davis (both on injured reserve), and we didn't have Jordan Gross (out Sunday with an ankle injury), but you're a professional. We're a country of more than 300 million people, and only 1,500 guys play in the NFL every year. That's a very small percentage – that means you're an elite. So when you get your chance to play, you better step up and play."
The Panthers made plays left and right in the first half, piling up 23 unanswered points after the Falcons had claimed a 7-0 lead. The Falcons, however, responded with 24 unanswered points in the second half to snatch the victory.
Over the course of the season, the Panthers have outscored their opponents by 12 points over the first three quarters but have been outscored by 54 points in the fourth quarter.
"You'd like to believe that at some point someone will step up and make a play," Rivera said. "I think sometimes we count on certain people to make the plays instead of wanting to go out and make the play. Sometimes we wait for Cam (Newton) to make a big play or Charles Johnson to make a big play instead of saying, 'You know what, I've got to make a play. I've got to play within the scheme but make a big play.'
"That's something we have to do in terms of growing up and becoming a good football team. I've been on teams where you could honestly say that any of the 11 guys out there could have made a play for you. We have to find that mentality."
Newton tried too hard to make a play early in the second half, when he attempted to complete a pass underhanded and left-handed with Atlanta defensive end John Abraham draped all over him, resulting in an interception that turned the tide.
"You have to be smart about it and know that sometimes a play just isn't going to be there," offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski said. "That's part of the learning process for a young quarterback that they all go through. He'll see that and make progress.
"It's about consistency. Sometimes things are going to click for you, and then nothing is going to work at times, but you've got to be able to overcome that."
Later, kicker Olindo Mare may have pressed given what had happened leading up to a potential game-winning field goal what happened six weeks ago in a similar situation.
After the Falcons came all the way back to lead 24-23, Mare missed a 36-yarder with 5:12 left. He missed it wide left, much like he missed a 31-yarder that could have forced overtime in a 31-28 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8.
"Those are the ones that you're supposed to make, or need to make. Those are the ones that count, and I've missed two this year," Mare said. "You're not going to make them all, but these are the ones that count. That's the frustrating part."
Rivera clearly was frustrated Monday, saying the team would evaluate their kicking situation over the next few days. Mare, a 15-year NFL veteran, is in his first season with the Panthers.
"That's a very veteran kicker, a very experienced guy who has had a couple of misses, and it's very unfortunate the timing of those misses – about as bad as it can get, obviously," Rivera said. "We've got to think this through and go through the process and make sure we make good decisions when it comes down to our players."
There are lots of decisions to be made by Rivera and the front office in the weeks and months to come. Wide receiver Steve Smith, as proven a playmaker as the Panthers have, said Sunday that he suspects there will be significant changes in the offseason.
"With the season winding down, this is an audition for employment next year," Smith said. "There are going to be some people, I hate to say it, that aren't going to be employed. That's just the nature of the game.
"Some people may say that's pretty mean to say, but this is the real world. This is a business, and this is a business predicated on producing. If you don't produce, you've got to go."
That's a message Rivera has delivered to his team, but he has a more positive message as well. While Carolina was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with Sunday's setback, another close loss to a team in the thick of the playoff race still signals that the Panthers aren't that far away.
"Because of what we showed we're capable of doing against a playoff team, I really feel like we took a step forward," Rivera said. "Sure, that step forward wasn't as big as I would have liked it to be, but we took a step forward because we did something very good against a playoff team. Now we've just got to learn to finish against a playoff team."
That next opportunity will present itself Sunday, when the Panthers visit the AFC South champion Houston Texans.
