Besides earning millions for, in essence, 16 three-hour and 15-minute work weeks, the fortunate few who gain admittance into the pampered NFL easily can be spoiled by the structured schedules.

There are few reasons for deviating from the tradition: Mondays are reserved for meetings and postgame review; Tuesdays grant coaches time to refine gameplans, while players lounge; Wednesday practices at times get physical; Thursdays and Fridays, see Wednesday; and Saturdays are spent working at half-speed.

But for Thursday's primetime game against the multi-dimensional Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium, the Panthers have been forced to alter their weekly itinerary for the first time in franchise history. Coach John Fox addressed the week's abbreviated preparation.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done this,” he was quoted as saying. “We turned down the tempo of practice some to get the guys refreshed and still try to get our work done ... hopefully, we can cram two days work in (Wednesday).”

Hopefully, the Panthers will be able to take advantage of an injury to Ronnie Brown, the catalyst to the Dolphins’ Wildcat offense.

“We’ve been preparing for it all season," Fox said. We played them in the preseason. That wasn’t even ridiculously close to how we’ll play them this time. I think we’ve got a good plan.”

A good, but shortened, plan that changed more without left tackle Jordan Gross, who became the seventh key player placed on injured reserve after suffering an ankle injury Sunday.

Said Jake Delhomme: “All the guys will have to step up.”

Does that include the Panthers' quarterback executing a forward pass of more than five yards? The work week probably was too short to contemplate that outlandish concept.

-- JEFF HAWKINS