"Oh, yeah," coach Rod Marinelli said, looking ahead to Sunday's game at Carolina. "We're putting that pack on his back. Let's go. He likes that."

Does he ever.

Smith, a third-round pick out of Central Florida, set a major college record with 450 carries last year. He racked up 2,567 rushing yards -- just 62 yards shy of the record set by Lions great Barry Sanders at Oklahoma State -- and 29 touchdowns.

"That's what I'm known for," Smith said. "I heat up as I go along. I would love to be able to do some great things with less carries. That would be a mean average. But it's just who I am, the type of running back I am."

Smith didn't get many carries the first half of the season. He started the first four games. Veteran Rudi Johnson started the next four. Within games, they alternated to varying degrees. The Lions often fell behind badly and abandoned the run.

"We tried to do some different things, but it just wasn't working," Johnson said. "I couldn't really get in a rhythm, and he couldn't really get in a rhythm. So the coaches made the decision, and that's cool."

--Quarterback Dan Orlovsky has not given up on the season, despite two fractures and a torn ligament in his right thumb. "I'm not going to get surgery," Orlovsky said. "I'm going to try and do everything I can not to have surgery. I'm going to give it time to let it heal on its own, and we'll reassess it in a couple weeks."

--Coach Rod Marinelli thinks rookie right tackle Gosder Cherilus is more equipped now to face a guy like Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers than he was earlier this season. "He had a really good game" against Jacksonville, Marinelli said. "He really did. Every week he's really stepping up. He's on the fundamental work, and he's on everything. Each week he has really made some nice gains. So I'm excited about him."

--The Panthers play the way Marinelli has always wanted the Lions to play - strong defense, good running game, play-action passing. "When I came from Tampa, that's what we wanted to be - a defense that could be a suffocating defense and be able to run the ball and then as we got better, you've got a chance to throw the ball," Marinelli said.

--Why do the Lions have only one interception by a defensive back? "I really can't put a finger on it to be honest with you," cornerback Brian Kelly said. "We obviously want them. Teams are obviously trying to keep them away from us. But we've got to do a better job of getting the ball back for our offense. We just haven't been able to do that this year. I don't know exactly what one thing more than the other is the reason why. We just haven't been able to do it."

--The Lions are the only winless team in the NFL. But Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme insists they're not the worst team in the league. "No," Delhomme said. "I honestly would say no. I don't want to get into saying who I would think, because I'd rather not have that on the air. But I would say emphatically no." Does Delhomme actually have another team in mind? Or is he just saying that because he faces the Lions on Sunday? "Oh, I promise you," Delhomme said. "Yes, I do. There's a couple I have in mind."

Delhomme said the Lions had Minnesota beaten Oct. 12 (they still lost, 12-10) and led Chicago on Nov. 2 (they still lost, 27-23). "They've got a lot of talented guys," Delhomme said. "It's just, some things haven't kind of gone their way. ... Sooner or later, things are going to go their way."

BY THE NUMBERS: 1 - Victories for the Lions in their past 17 games, the worst stretch in team history.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We're like Cro-Magnon man right now. We're trying to evolve." - TE Marcus Pollard, after the Lions' last game against Carolina, a 21-20 loss in 2005. Pollard has long since left Detroit, and the Lions are still trying.