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CHARLOTTE — The last dress rehearsal of the season was hardly the seamless performance the Carolina Panthers were looking for. And if candid comments by John Fox are an indication, the coming days of practice might be like boot camp.

With key players on the bench and despite a surprise start by Steve Smith, the Panthers continued to struggle to establish anything offensively or defensively and fell to the Baltimore Ravens 17-13.

Coming off a 12-4 season that looks like a dream now, Carolina is having a nightmarish summer. On the sidelines Saturday were DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, the backfield tandem that everything will depend on this year. Williams was kept out as a precaution after a sore knee kept him out of practices this week. Stewart has participated in eight practices since April.

Three more reserves were added to the wounded list, but Fox said there will be no excuses in the coming days. He's concerned his team isn't tough enough, and that's never a good thing late in preseason.

The fourth exhibition is generally reserved for backups. That game will come Thursday against the Super Bowl champion Steelers. Fox hinted there is work to do before the regular-season opener Sept. 13.

"I didn't think we tackled as crisp as we needed to tackle," he said.

He wanted to see his team man up against one of the toughest teams in the league, and he was clearly disappointed in how the Panthers responded, particularly on third down.

"Both sides of the ball was concerning," Fox said. "I thought one of the problems offensively was we got third-and-unmanageable. We had some third-and-very-longs, and those aren't a high percentage anyway. We need to do a better job on first and second down."

Fox has maintained his composure all summer, watching injuries tear a hole through in the middle of the team's defense, watching Smith go down in training camp and watching a team that returns 21 of 22 starters stumble. He now has two weeks to get his team ready for the regular season.

The good news is most all of the injured players will be back by then. The bad news is most might not be good enough.

The first-team offense managed eight first downs against the defense-minded Ravens. Baltimore had 21 first downs through three quarters and finished with 421 yards in offense. Carolina's offense, without its two running backs, managed 281 yards and one touchdown.

Smith, who decided to play after pregame warm-ups, caught two passes for 37 yards and declared the offense a work in progress. Asked where he thought the offense is after three exhibitions, he didn't hesitate.

"I'm only a week in, so I'm not concerned about it," he said.

Jake Delhomme completed 11-of-16 passes for 180 yards in three quarters, the most important being a 38-yard completion to Muhsin Muhammad that set up the Panthers' only touchdown, scored by the reserves early in the fourth quarter. Delhomme said the most important thing about the game was it meant the preseason is almost over.

"You can feel the excitement," he said. "We're getting close to regular season."

Fox hinted that several starters might be in Thursday against Pittsburgh.

"We're trying to get everybody healthy," he said. "If some healthy guys come back we might try to give them a little shot in there just so Philadelphia in our opener's not the first time they're out there."

The bright spots Saturday included Kenny Moore, the second-year receiver from Wake Forest. He said his offseason work with Smith has been the key to his good summer.

"I need some more work," he said. "We still have more work to due as a team. We need another week to prepare."

"I dragged him through the mud during the offseason, so he's running on fresh legs and he's enjoying it," Smith said.

Smith said he learned something from Moore, too.

"Patience," he said.

Smith waited all summer for Saturday night. He and Moore might've been the only ones smiling when it was over, though.

Moore looks like he has a good shot at making the team as the starting slot receiver, and Saturday's performance (three catches, 40 yards) might've clinched it. That was probably the best thing that happened in the game.

With two weeks left the before the season starts, the Panthers will take anything they can get right now. If the head coach has his way, these next two weeks are going to be a lot longer than his players realize.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com