CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -It’s been more than two months and 169 pass attempts since Carolina Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen threw a touchdown pass. His two interceptions returned for scores are one more than his touchdown total for the season.
The rookie is 0-6 as a starter and learning tough lessons on the NFL’s worst team with plenty stacked again him. He’s getting little protection from his offensive line, has no reliable No. 2 receiver and is coached by a man who Monday was all but talking about his tenure in Carolina in the past tense.
And Clausen’s future may hinge on whether he can finally lead the Panthers to a win.
If not, Carolina (1-11) will finish with the league’s worst record, get the No. 1 draft pick and perhaps take Stanford’s Andrew Luck. It could make Clausen the permanent backup or lead to his ticket elsewhere.
“I think Jimmy will get better with time,” coach John Fox said Monday, “and we’ve got some time left.”
But with Fox in the last year of his contract and Clausen putting up shaky numbers, nothing is certain beyond the month left in their miserable season.
The second-round pick from Notre Dame got off to his best start as a pro Sunday at Seattle, leading Carolina on two first-half scoring drives and a 14-0 lead. He said it was “probably in college” that last time he felt so comfortable.
But it all came crashing down when Lofa Tatupu returned his interception 26 yards for a TD during the Seahawks’ 21-point flurry in less than 5 minutes in the third quarter. It ended with Carolina allowing 31 unanswered points and enduring another blowout loss.
“I think early on in the game he fired the ball out there with a lot of confidence,” Fox said. “I think like anybody, that one particular play where they ran it back may have thwarted his confidence a little bit.”
Confidence is in short supply as the losses pile up on a team where the coaches and many of the players are in the last year of their deals.
Fox sidestepped those questions Monday, saying that he “can’t predict the future” and repeating that his contract expires Feb. 1.
“I can say that I have enjoyed every minute I’ve been here and appreciative of that opportunity,” Fox said. “But this is a business and those decisions are made after the season.”
Fox never planned to use Clausen much in his ninth and likely final year in Carolina. But Matt Moore’s struggles and then his season-ending shoulder injury forced Clausen in there perhaps before he was ready.
He’s completed barely 50 percent of his passes with one touchdown – in a 16-14 loss at New Orleans on Oct. 3 – and six interceptions. His 55.3 passer rating ranks 32nd in the NFL and perhaps is the best example of his inconsistency.
“It’s tough, playing as well as we did in the first half and coming out slow in the second half,” Clausen said. “We just could never get back on track.”
While Clausen appears to get rattled when he’s pressured and is quick to throw the ball away, he has little to work with. No receiver after Steve Smith has stepped into the No. 2 role. The run game has been spotty. The offensive line is often porous.
Clausen has been sacked 19 times and missed a game with a concussion. Combine that beating with all the losses and there’s some fear Clausen’s could be harmed long-term. Carolina went 1-15 in 2001 with rookie Chris Weinke at QB and he was never a regular starter in the NFL again.
“I think there are some pretty successful guys that had some pretty inauspicious starts in the National Football League. Troy Aikman comes to mind,” Fox said. “I’m sure there are some other guys. You’re going to have setbacks in this league and sometimes those are setups for better things to come.”
Things just don’t get any easier. Carolina still has to play Atlanta (10-2) twice, including Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. There’s also a trip to Pittsburgh (9-3) on a short week and a home game against lowly Arizona (3-9).
Win a game or two and Buffalo, Cincinnati and Detroit, all 2-10, might move ahead of Carolina in the draft order. That would mean Luck, if he leaves school early, wouldn’t be available and maybe Clausen will be the Panthers’ QB next year and for the long-term.
“We’re going to coach our rear ends off. These guys will play their rear ends off,” Fox said of the final four games. “Hopefully we can get some results.”
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