By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HOUSTON - Carolina plays good defense and special teams and likes to run the ball on offense.

But the Panthers' pass offense, with wide receivers Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad catching a combined 142 balls in the regular season and 25 more in the playoffs, is one of the league's most efficient and could play a pivotal role in Super Bowl XXXVIII Sunday.

New England is expected to play strong safety Rodney Harrison close to the scrimmage line - the "eight-in-the-box" run defense - trying to slow running back Stephen Davis and the Panthers' seventh-ranked rush offense.

That's where Carolina's wide receivers, coached by former Bengals assistant Richard Williamson, could come into play.

The Patriots intercepted the Colts' Peyton Manning four times in the AFC Championship Game, but Williamson - in the won't-back-down fashion of mentor and former coach Bear Bryant of Alabama - said the Panthers won't shy away from cornerback Ty Law or any other New England defensive back. Patriots corners disrupted the timing of the Indianapolis pass offense by physically jamming receivers before they could get into their routes.

"We're going to attack what we need to attack," Williamson, 62, said of the Super Bowl matchup. "We'll stick by our plan. Muhsin will get physical with them, and Steve is very competitive."

Carolina wide receivers will be ready for whatever the Patriots hit them with defensively, say Smith and Muhammad, because Williamson will prepare them - almost to the point of tedium.

"It's his way or no way," Muhammad said of Williamson. "You're going to butt heads with him from time to time, but he has your best interest in mind."

Smith, who had 88 receptions in the regular season, has lifted his performance in three playoff games with 342 receiving yards and two touchdowns - including his memorable 69-yard scoring catch and run from Jake Delhomme in the second overtime at St. Louis.

Williamson, Smith said, "covers all angles."

The eighth-year Muhammad (second round) and third-year Smith (third round) were both Carolina draft picks. Williamson, completing his ninth season as the last remaining original Carolina staff member, has molded Smith and Muhammad into an effective duo - just as he made Bengals draft picks Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott a productive one-two punch on Dave Shula's staff.

With the Bengals from 1992-94, Williamson coached Pickens to his first 1,000-yard season in 1994, the same year rookie Scott posted 866 yards.

"Things didn't go as well as we wanted," said Williamson, whose composite record with the Bengals was 11-37. "But I enjoyed working with Carl and Darnay. They developed well and had good years. It's the same type of satisfaction watching Muhsin and Steve developing. They're making plays and doing the things we want them to do."

Muhammad, like Smith, is having a productive postseason. He has 11 receptions, one touchdown and a 19.3-yard average. Smith is gaining 23.1 yards a catch.

"He's an incredible run-after-catch guy," Patriots cornerback Law said of Smith. "They hit you with play-action passes. They're patient, but when they hit you, they hit you good. They have big-play receivers."

Williamson, Tampa Bay head coach for 19 games in 1990 and '91, had a 21-game stretch as Panthers offensive coordinator in 2000 and '01. Otherwise, he has coached wide receivers for his entire 21-year NFL career and is considered the dean of NFL wide receivers coaches.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com