CHARLOTTE — It's never as simple as what you want to do, because the other team gets a vote in it too.

But for the Carolina Panthers as they enter a critical final four games, finding the balance they seek on offense is paramount, because they've shown what can happen when they're not.

In the first meeting against the Saints, they weren't able to get the run game going because the Saints were intent on stopping it.

"Heavy boxes from the start, safeties dropping out of the sky, things like that," Rico Dowdle said with a shake of his head at the Saints' defensive emphasis. So when he was held to 18 carries for 53 yards (2.9 per carry) and Chuba Hubbard got only three attempts, the entire plan failed to come together.

And that's been a pattern for the Panthers this year.

When they're

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