One of the more popular – and effective – offensive plays for the Panthers over the last few years has been the wide receiver screen to Steve Smith. Some refer to it as a "smoke route."
But the Panthers have not utilized the play all that much this season and I asked coach Fox why.
“I think Steve's drawing quite a bit of attention by defenses in coverages by rolling to him, and that's a little tougher to do when they've got a short, deep coverage on,” Fox said.
It would also help, probably, if the Panthers established more of a running game and got some more help from their No. 2 receiver.