When asked if there's a temptation to rest Kalil and Otah this week given the team has a bye after Sunday's game - essentially giving them two more weeks to recover from their injuries -- coach John Fox replied, "No, my feeling has always been that if they're ready, they play; if they're not, they don't. So if they're ready next week (and) they're cleared, they'll play."

PLAYER NOTES

--RB DeAngelo Williams will remain Carolina's starting running back, even though he has four fewer rushing touchdowns than backup Jonathan Stewart.

--KR Mark Jones will be returning punts and kickoffs until further notice.

--RG Keydrick Vincent and the Panthers offensive line has only allowed one sack in the last four games and that came last week on a coverage sack where Jake Delhomme should unloaded the football.

--LB Na'il Diggs enters this week's game needing nine tackles to surpass 700 for his career.

--K John Kasay, who is 14-for-14 on field goal attempts this season, needs one more to tie Jan Stenerud for eighth place in NFL history with 373. Kasay, the lone original Panther from the 1995 team, has shown no signs of slowing down.

GAME PLAN: Defensively, the game plan should be pretty similar to last week against New Orleans with Carolina's cornerbacks pressing Arizona's receivers at the line of scrimmage while the line attempts to pressure Kurt Warner. The Panthers aren't really scared of Arizona's running game, which ranks 31st in the league at 3.2 yards per carry. The Panthers are only allowing 14.9 points per game, so they should slow down Arizona's high-powered passing game.

On offense, the Panthers will look to attack through the air. Arizona ranks 20th in the league in pass defense and 21st in points allowed. They don't really have anyone who can cover Steve Smith, who has victimized the Cardinals in his three previous games against them. He should have a big statistical game.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Cardinals QB Kurt Warner vs. Panthers secondary -- The Cardinals comes into the game with the third-best QB rating in the league (102.8). But it will be strength vs. strength as the Panthers rank second in the league in pass defense, allowing just 168.7 yards per game.

Panthers OL vs. Cardinals DL: The Panthers have allowed only one sack over the past four games, while the Cardinals come in fourth in the league in sacks per play (9.1 percent). They have 18 sacks on the season. As long as the Panthers can protect Delhomme, he should have a great day at home. Delhomme manages a game very well when the Panthers have a lead.

INJURY IMPACT:

--WR Dwayne Jarrett should be the No. 3 receiver again this week even though D.J. Hackett is back on the field practicing on a limited basis.

--OT Jeff Otah (ankle) sat out practice on Thursday and it's likely the team will hold him out through the bye week to give him extra time to rest.

--RT Jeremy Bridges will start this week if Jeff Otah can't go.

--C Ryan Kalil (ankle) sat out practice on Thursday and it's likely the team will hold him out through the bye week to give him extra time to rest.

--C Geoff Hangartner is likely to start this week if Ryan Kalil can't go.