CHARLOTTE, N.C. –

Carolina Panthers fans had better enjoy Rob Chudzinski while they have him.

He won’t be there for long.

Carolina’s first-year offensive coordinator accompanied new head coach Ron Rivera from San Diego, where Chudzinski tutored a group of tight ends that included Antonio Gates.

Chudzinski’s impact has been immediate, stamping him as an intriguing candidate for an NFL head coaching job in 2012.

A year after finishing last in the league in total offense, the Panthers rank No. 5 heading into today’s matchup against the Buccaneers.

Chudzinski has tailored his attack around the impressive skill set of rookie quarterback Cam Newton and Carolina has averaged 30 points per game in the past five weeks.

“He does an awesome job,” veteran left tackle Jordan Gross said of Chudzinski, a former tight end at the University of Miami and a long-time Hurricane assistant. “He challenges us constantly.

“I’m coming into our meetings in December and I’m still writing pages and pages of notes because of new stuff he’s installing. It’s been a lot of fun watching him do his thing.”

When Chudzinski served as Cleveland’s offensive coordinator in 2007, the Browns scored 402 points and sent four offensive players to the Pro Bowl – quarterback Derek Anderson, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, tackle Joe Thomas and tight end Kellen Winslow, who is finishing his third season in Tampa.

“Chud’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around,” said Winslow. “His offensive creativity and mindset are outstanding and he’s got talent around him in Carolina. The guy’s top-notch.”

As Bucs fans can attest, Chudzinski’s innovation knows no bounds. In Carolina’s 38-19 victory in Tampa three weeks ago, Newton caught a 27-yard pass from wide receiver Legedu Naanee to highlight a scoring drive.

Last week, in a 28-13 triumph at Houston, Chudzinski burned the NFL’s second-ranked defense with a trick play inspired by the 1994 movie “Little Giants.”

Lined up in the shotgun, Newton cradled the ball between the legs of fullback Richie Brockel before he began rolling to the right. With the Texans defense flowing toward Newton, Brockel scampered to his left and went into the end zone untouched from seven yards out.

“Rob’s an innovative guy,” Rivera said, “and the nice thing is we have the tools, the kind of players you need to run this offense.”

A year ago, Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson was a hot commodity.

Josh Freeman was finishing up a stellar season in his first full year as a starting quarterback, rookie wide receiver Mike Williams was catching touchdown passes every week and running back LeGarrette Blount was vaulting over defenders as Tampa Bay won 10 games.

Now, Olson is dealing with an eight-game losing streak and Chudzinski looms as the NFC South coordinator on the rise.

“I wasn’t really sure about this offense,” Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams said. “In training camp, some things worked and some didn’t. But Chud is putting us in great situations to succeed.”

Chudzinski’s name will come up often in the next few weeks as an array of NFL head coaching vacancies opens up. Who wouldn’t be interested in a crafty coordinator who has helped Carolina lead the league with 80 plays that have gained 20 yards or more?

“I love challenges and the NFL is a challenge every year,” Chudzinski said when arriving in Carolina. “We will be an attacking-style offense and you have to make big plays.”

For the 43-year-old Chudzinski, the biggest play lies just ahead.

Nearly 14 minutes remained and the Panthers seemed like they were behind even though they actually were ahead by eight points and 80 yards from the Houston end zone.

You remember how it felt if you were watching. Somebody at your house had to have said, “Here we go again,” to somebody else.

But then Carolina did something different. Something grown-up. Something right.

The Panthers clinched a game with two gorgeous fourth-quarter drives. The first went 80 yards in seven plays for a touchdown. The second ran the final 7 minutes, 25 seconds off the clock – five first downs worth of coffin nails hammered down in a hostile stadium against a team that had won seven games in a row.

This was a first in a couple of ways for the 2011 Panthers: The first win against a team that is actually very good. And the first win in which the Panthers (5-9) finished a game like a big-boy NFL team should.

“We had a lot of guys grit their teeth,” quarterback Cam Newton said, “and say they’re fed up and execute and make first downs and move the football … We knew it couldn’t happen again. So we just consistently kept fighting and kept fighting and had a successful drive and another one to finish the game off.”

The Panthers had felt the momentum shift on the sideline, as their harvest from a near-perfect first half started to wither away.

“In the flow of a normal football game,” offensive tackle Jordan Gross said, “there’s going to be a stretch where maybe you’re struggling on offense or defense. You’ve got to get through that. And that’s what we haven’t been able to do much this year – overcome a little lull in the action. I was going up and down the sideline telling everybody, ‘Hey, we’re still up eight,’ or whatever it was. Because a lot of times you get that momentum change, even though you’ve got the lead, it doesn’t feel like it. I said we’ve got to play like we’re playing with a lead.”

I thought the biggest play in the 80-yard, fourth-quarter TD drive was a 13-yard run by Newton. It didn’t have the trickery of a 26-yard pass to Jeremy Shockey or the dazzle of DeAngelo Williams’ 24-yard touchdown run up the middle, but it gave the Panthers their initial first down of the march. You should have heard how quiet Reliant Stadium got when Newton ran for those 13 yards.

That run broke the gate open. The Texans (10-4) – let’s not forget, the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense entering the game – literally couldn’t stop Carolina for the game’s last 14 minutes. The Panthers had 148 yards and nine first downs on those final two drives.

“Some people may say we’re not playing for anything,” wide receiver Steve Smith said. “What’s the point? Shut it down. But we’re playing for the next three Sundays.”

Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera says he won’t decide until Saturday if Olindo Mare will remain the team’s kicker this Sunday against the Houston Texans or if he’ll hand the job over to rookie Adi Kunalic.

The Panthers signed Kunalic on Tuesday after Mare missed a 36-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter that would have given his team a 26-24 lead against Atlanta. The Panthers went on to lose the game 31-23.

Rivera says Mare “kicked the ball well” this week.

He also says Kunalic is a little sore from the extra kicking.

Pro Bowl left tackle Jordan Gross is expected to play this week after missing the Atlanta game with a right ankle injury. The only Panther unlikely to play is cornerback Darius Butler (concussion).

Rivera says Mare “kicked the ball well” this week.

He also says Kunalic is a little sore from the extra kicking.

Pro Bowl left tackle Jordan Gross is expected to play this week after missing the Atlanta game with a right ankle injury. The only Panther unlikely to play is cornerback Darius Butler (concussion).

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

If only the NFL would shorten its games to 45 minutes instead of 60, the Carolina Panthers might just be in playoff contention.
Instead, they’re 4-9.
In what has been an all too familiar refrain this season, the Panthers blew yet another fourth quarter lead Sunday in a 31-23 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The Panthers led by 16 at halftime and by 6 entering the final quarter, but their offense bogged down, and they were outscored 24-0 in the second half at home.
It’s the sixth time this season the Panthers have led or been tied in the fourth quarter only to lose.

“We still have a long ways to go as a football team,” coach Ron Rivera said. “We are a young team that has to understand you have to keep going and put the foot down on the accelerator, which we didn’t do.”

Cam Newton started strong, completing 9 of 14 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as the Panthers built a 23-7 lead. But Newton was intercepted twice in the second half, one of them on a poor decision when he tried to shovel the ball ahead with his non-throwing left hand as he was falling to the ground.

“Both interceptions were my fault and you can’t do that,” Newton said. “If you expect to win in this league, you have to protect the football. I did a poor job in doing that today. Without those two picks, the team would have had a better chance of winning today.”

Matt Ryan seems to have Carolina’s number. He’s won six of his last seven starts against the Panthers.

Ryan threw for 320 yards, and his four TD passes matched a career high. He threw two of them in the fourth quarter to rookie Julio Jones to lead the Falcons (8-5) back.

The first time the teams met, the Falcons trailed by three points in the fourth quarter but rallied for a 31-17 win Oct. 16.
Jones, who finished with 104 yards receiving, was quiet for most of the game but caught a 17-yard touchdown pass to give the Falcons a 24-23 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Despite their struggles in the second half, the Panthers looked poised to regain the lead, but Newton couldn’t hook up with Greg Olsen in the back of the end zone, and the Panthers had to settle for a 36-yard field goal attempt.

Olindo Mare, just as he’d done against Minnesota, pushed a potential go-ahead kick wide left.

“You can’t do that; you really can’t,” Rivera said.

Rivera said he planned to sit down with Mare—who was given a four-year, $12 million contract this offseason—to talk about what’s wrong.
“It’s the second one he’s hooked left, pretty much from almost the same area (on the field),” Rivera said.
The Falcons seized the momentum.

Two plays later, on second-and-11, Jones caught a pass over the middle, broke a tackle and raced 75 yards to the end zone.
Ryan was particularly sharp in the second half, throwing for 232 yards and three scores.

Looking to increase the tempo, the Falcons went to a no-huddle offense quite a bit in the second half and tried to take advantage of a matchup with reserve cornerback Darius Butler on Jones.

Both of Jones’ touchdown catches came against Butler.

“You know, they were coming at me a few times with Julio,” Butler said. “They like that matchup. I made some plays early, and he made some big plays late. You’ve got to hold up. That’s the name of the game. You got to finish it out.”

The Panthers were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

A glum Newton called his decision to try a shovel pass to Jonathan Stewart as he was being tackled “terrible.”

“I tried to get the ball to Stew and tried to avoid the sack,” he said. “I should have just ate the ball and taken the sack.”

Earlier this week, Rivera said this was a statement game for his young team. The statement was that their youth still shows.
And the Falcons took advantage.

“This game is about playing 60 minutes,” Falcons coach Mike Smith. “They’re not 30-minute ballgames, and I think that’s what our guys did good today.”

NOTES: Carolina’s Steve Smith became the 35th player in NFL history to reach 10,000 yards receiving for his career on a 16-yard catch in the second quarter. … Travelle Wharton moved from left guard to left tackle for the Panthers to replace Jordan Gross, who sat out with a right ankle injury. Mackenzy Bernadeau started at Wharton’s regular spot at left guard. … With starting defensive tackles Sione Fua and Terrell McClain going on injured reserve earlier this week, Frank Kearse and Andre Neblett got the start for the Panthers.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Slowing down running back Michael Turner has never been an easy task for the Carolina Panthers.

But it might be even more difficult to put the clamps on him in Sunday’s divisional rematch against the Atlanta Falcons (7-5) with both starting defensive tackles moving to injured reserve.

The Panthers were hurting from injuries on defence even before losing rookies tackles Sione Fua and Terrell McClain for the year on Tuesday. They’ll be counting on second-year player Andre Neblett and undrafted rookie Frank Kearse to plug the middle and keep Turner from running wild — again.

Turner has destroyed the Panthers since joining the Falcons as unrestricted free agent in 2008, running for 651 yards and scored 11 touchdowns in his last six games.

“It kind of takes the wind out of your sails a little bit,” Rivera said of the injuries to Fua and McClain. “They both hit the rookie wall a few weeks ago and recovered and starting playing well again. It was disappointing.”

Fua suffered a significant right hamstring strain prior to Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay and didn’t play. McClain sprained his left knee during the first half and did not return.

Rivera said it’s unclear if either will need surgery.

“It’s a shame because just as Fua and McClain were learning and growing and finally realizing where they need to be something like this happens,” said linebacker James Anderson. “But that’s been the story of the season.”

The Panthers, who have 14 players on injured reserve, have learned time and time again the lesson of “the next guy up.”

In this case it will be Kearse, signed off Miami’s practice squad earlier in the year, and Neblett, who has bounced back from a slow start this season to play extremely well. Rivera said Kearse will start at nose tackle for Fua, while Neblett will play the three-technique in the team’s 4-3 defence.

“I have to do the same thing I’ve been doing, now I just have to do it as a starter,” Neblett said.

Said Rivera: “I’m excited to see what they can do.”

The Falcons are coming off a big loss last week against Houston and need to make a strong push the final four weeks of the season if they hope to return to the NFC playoffs beginning with Sunday’s game.

Falcons wide receiver Roddy White has seen what Turner can do to the Panthers and expects they’ll lean heavily on him again this week.

In Atlanta’s 31-17 win over the Carolina in October at the Georgia Dome Turner ran for 139 yards and scored twice

“He’s going to be real big, especially this week,” White said. “He’s had a lot of success against these guys. We always get off to a good start and get the ball in his hands. He opens up the play action pass for us. In this game, it’s really crucial to get him off to a really, really good start, just let him pound those guys for a little while then throw it over their heads. He’s going to be a real focal point this week.

Then White added with a smile, “Hey, we might run it 50 times. I don’t know if he’s going to have 50 carries, but we might run it 50 times.”

In the past six games against the Panthers, Turner has eclipsed 100 yards rushing in five games.

“I don’t know what it is about Carolina,” Turner said. “It always seems like we’re playing them coming off a loss. We lost last week, so we’ve got to go out there and play hard.

Turner said there’s no extra added personal motivation in playing Carolina, adding that he’s simply doing his job.

But Turner is certainly aware of how well he’s run against the Panthers since coming to Atlanta.

So too are the Panthers.

“He’s a big physical back and we know we have to come ready to play, similar to what we did last week,” Neblett said.

A week ago the Panthers held Tampa Bay’s LaGarrette Blount to 19 yards on 11 carries in part because they jumped out to an early lead.

That’s something the Panthers may need to replicate against the Falcons.

Rivera said the key for the team’s new defensive tackles will be to stay in their gaps and not try to do too much.

“He has a great low centre of gravity and runs with his shoulders over his knees and his pad level down,” Rivera said of Turner. “The big thing with him is you can’t allow him to get started because he is tough to bring down. And they have a good scheme and block it very well.”

Notes: Rivera gave a pair of veterans — wide receiver Steve Smith and tight end Jeremy Shockey — Wednesday off to rest. Also, free safety Charles Godfrey (sprained right shoulder), Travelle Wharton (back), offensive Jordan Gross (right ankle), tight end Greg Olsen (right knee) and linebacker Jason Phillips (right calf) sat out practice, although none of the injuries appear serious. … Kick returner Kealoha Pilares practiced full after missing last week’s game with a strained right quadriceps.

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AP Sports Writer Paul Newberry in Flowery Branch, Ga., contributed to this report.