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CHARLOTTE -- Everything moved a little quicker for the Carolina Panthers at practice Wednesday. There was less time between drills. Players broke the huddle faster and got set on the line of scrimmage sooner.

Three days after Jake Delhomme berated his teammates at halftime for their lackluster starts, the Panthers began a weeklong plan to eradicate an alarming trend: big early deficits.

"I was like, 'Let's not wait until we get hit in the mouth to react. Let's get going early,'" Delhomme said.

The altered practice routine was inevitable because something had to change after the Panthers faced 10-0 and 17-0 holes in the last two games. The Panthers haven't picked up a first down until the second quarter in the last two weeks. And while they were able to rally two weeks ago against lowly Detroit, their comeback bid came up short Sunday in an ugly 45-28 loss at Atlanta.

"We started practicing at a faster tempo," lineman Damione Lewis said. "We're trying to get it corrected. I think guys came out with the right mind-set today at work. Guys were flying around, making plays and being where they're supposed to be, which is the most important part of it all. I think we're trying to do everything in our power to correct that."

The Panthers' knack for comebacks had lessened the attention on the sluggish beginnings. The Panthers rallied from a 17-3 deficit to beat Chicago. They trailed New Orleans 7-3 in the second quarter before winning. They fell behind 10-0 to Arizona and Detroit and won those games, too.

But the Panthers couldn't overcome a 14-0 first-quarter hole in Tampa Bay last month. Trailing 17-0 before gaining a single yard against Atlanta on Sunday proved the problem could no longer be overlooked.

"You have to be ready to play when you strap on the chin strap," Delhomme said.

The loss dropped the Panthers (8-3) into a tie for first in the NFC South with Tampa Bay. Atlanta (7-4) and New Orleans (6-5) are also still in the hunt. So in what's become one of the NFL's toughest divisions, slow starts have to be avoided or the Panthers could miss out on the playoffs. "When you lose you come in and you look at everything, from warmups to how you get dressed," left tackle Jordan Gross said. "When you win everybody is happy however it came about.

"Maybe we can now have a sense of urgency that we kind of covered up the last couple of weeks."

Lewis believes the up-tempo practice can be helpful, after he acknowledged the Panthers were caught trying to keep up with the Falcons on Sunday.

"I think it's more game-realisitic," Lewis said. "It seems like last week we were getting beat out of the huddle, and there were a couple times we didn't' have our hands down on the D-line when they were snapping the ball."