CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers fullback Mike Tolbert has been referred to by many nicknames, from "Bowling Ball" to "Tub of Goo" to "Round Mound" to "Fat Boy."
Not once has he been called "Difference-Maker."
Until now.
Perhaps that’s because the Panthers didn’t realize just what a difference Tolbert made in the offense until he was placed on temporary injured reserve with a hairline fracture in his left leg following a Week 3 loss to Pittsburgh.
In particular, Tolbert was missed in the red zone, where the Panthers rank 28th in the NFL with only 14 touchdowns on 30 trips inside the 20-yard line.
Now that he is set to play in a Nov. 30 game at Minnesota when Carolina returns from its bye week, there is optimism the 5-foot-9, 245-pound Tolbert can make a difference in Carolina’s attempt to make a run at the playoffs.
"I definitely bring a different dynamic to our offense," Tolbert reluctantly admitted.
Without Tolbert, the Panthers have relied on tight ends Brandon Williams and Ed Dickson to play fullback. Because they are not as adapt to taking on defenders with a full head of steam, that has hurt Carolina in terms of pass protection as well as rushing.
Because neither is a threat to run, that has limited the calls of offensive coordinator Mike Shula, particularly close to the goal line. In addition, neither tight end is a big threat to catch passes out of the backfield, so that takes play-action out of the mix.
Tolbert can do it all.
"Because of who he is and what he does for us, he gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of the personnel and formation you can align into," Coach Ron Rivera said. "When you have a pure fullback in there, you know the ball is going to one person.
"With Tolbert in there as kind of a hybrid fullback, you don’t know if he’s going to get the ball running it, catching it, or if he’s going to block. So he’s going to add a dimension to us as far as our offense is concerned."
Red zone struggles have hurt Carolina repeatedly this season. In Sunday’s 19-17 loss to Atlanta, they settled for a field goal after having first-and-10 at the Falcons' 11.
In a 13-9 loss to Seattle in Week 8, they scored only six points on three trips inside the 20 -- in the first half.
A year ago, with Tolbert healthy, Carolina ranked seventh in the NFL in red-zone efficiency with 29 touchdowns on 50 trips inside the 20.
Tolbert admitted it was tough watching the team struggle to five straight losses when he felt he could help.
"We’ve just been out of sync," he said. "We’ve had a lot go on, but we’re not going to dwell on the past. We’re here. We’re ready to go, and we’re going to make a run for it.
"Everybody is counting us out except for the 53 guys in this locker room. So we’re going to put the pedal to the metal and see what we can do."
Having Tolbert could make acceleration much smoother.