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Kemoeatu reportedly at 360+?

Discussion in 'Carolina Panthers' started by CarPanthers20, May 8, 2006.

  1. CarPanthers20

    CarPanthers20 The Other Godfrey

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    I'm assuming that this is not his playing weight?

    Kemoeatu a big addition to Panthers defensive line


    By Darin Gantt The Herald
    (Published May 8‚ 2006)


    CHARLOTTE -- The cruelest -- and at the same time funniest -- joke of the Carolina Panthers minicamp came when defensive line coach Sal Sunseri was putting his charges through individual drills. He had two sets of two tackling dummies set up like offensive linemen, roughly two feet apart. As his guys lined up across from them, prepared to make a move and get through, Sunseri would yell: "Get skinny."
    That was fine when the narrow little ends were working. But everybody started to grin when the new guy got close, and many of them broke into audible laughter when Maake Kemoeatu took his turn.
    "It's hard to get skinny when you're already 360-plus (pounds)," Kemoeatu said after the drills in question. "It's tough to do that."
    It should be noted, however, that Kemoeatu was able to turn his hips as he came out of his stance and knife between them, barely grazing the one on the left with his ample rear as he shot through the gap.
    That's why the Panthers were on the phone seconds after midnight on the first day of free agency to get him, and that's why they were comfortable handing him a five-year, $23 million contract to get him off the market less than 14 hours later.
    "For a big man, he's a good athlete, you know," Sunseri said plainly, attaching the qualifier that the 6-foot-5 Kemoeatu will never shake.
    The Panthers defense got by last year after Kris Jenkins went down for the second straight season, but a defense predicated on pressure from the ends and fast linebackers simply works better with a big man occupying the middle. Jenkins is expected to come back from last year's knee injury, but even if he doesn't, the Panthers believe they've found an answer in Kemoeatu, who they stole away from Baltimore.
    The Ravens wanted to keep him but couldn't keep pace with the Panthers' quick strike. Desperate to make up for his departure, they traded up in the first round to the 12th overall pick to take Oregon's Haloti Ngata, the only comparable player available. Kemoeatu, they had signed as an undrafted rookie four years ago.
    "We wanted to get a real big defensive tackle in here," Panthers coach John Fox said. "In that mold, he was the one guy out there we found as a priority. I think that's why you saw Baltimore go out and do that in the draft with the Oregon kid (Ngata), and we knew we weren't going to be able to get one of those guys high in the draft, knowing where we picked (27th).
    "We had to address that need in free agency, and so far, so good."
    The Panthers were wooed by more than just his size. Particularly impressive to them was a preseason game from last year when he faced former New Orleans center LeCharles Bentley. On several occasions, Kemoeatu launched the perennial Pro Bowler into the backfield, dominating a man considered one of the best linemen in the game.
    "I tell you, when you go back and look at the preseason games last year, him playing against LeCharles Bentley, he showed a lot of very, very good talent," Sunseri said. "And he did some things that I've never seen done before to Bentley.
    "It would be advantageous for anyone to look at that tape.":ylsuper:
    Perhaps the most impressive thing about Kemoeatu is that he does have a quick first step, maybe not as quick as Jenkins but not that far off. Combine it with his sheer size, and the Panthers began to ponder the options he presents. Certainly he can play the basic two-gap technique he was used to in Baltimore. (Essentially, that's football jargon for taking up space and blockers so the smaller guys can run to the ball.) But they think he can do more as well, even rushing the passer with the success of smaller men who are ostensibly faster.
    "He's capable of doing anything else we've done here in the past," Sunseri said. "We're going to do what we do on defense and he fits into our scheme."
    "I like it, it gives me more to do," Kemoeatu said of the potential for more big plays. "It feels good to have a defensive line coach with confidence in me. They're going to let me freelance a little bit, and not just take up room and blockers. They're going to let me shoot the gap and try to get more sacks. I'll get more QB sacks and more tackles behind the line of scrimmage."
    Of course, to do so will require getting skinny, which is no mean feat. Simply put, he's huge, even by Jenkins' standard.
    "I'll be honest with you," quarterback Jake Delhomme said recently of Kemoeatu. "He's the biggest human being I've ever seen in my life."
    He's currently testing the tensile strength of the threads in the size 54 jersey he was issued by equipment manager Jackie Miles. He wears the largest helmet available from the manufacturer, and Miles said the interior pads have been shaved down to accommodate his sizable skull.
    That doesn't, however, equate to having the big-head. He's quiet and humble, aware of his roots as an undrafted player and grateful the Panthers thought enough of him to bring him here and make him rich.
    "He's a lunch pail guy," Sunseri said. "He brings it in, he wants to learn. He understands he's coming into a new system and all that. But he hasn't said boo. He's got a smile on his face, and when he messes something up he lets you know.
    "He's a good person, and as a coach that's what you like to bring into the program."
     
  2. chipshot

    chipshot Full Access Member

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    What's 10 pounds at that point?
     
  3. CarPanthers20

    CarPanthers20 The Other Godfrey

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    If he is still physically fit then its not a big deal but if its just extra weight/fat then I think that it increases the chances of knee troubles. I guess I'm just worried that we'll go through another Jenkins type injury that could maybe have been avoided. The minicamp pictures don't make him look like overweight, though.
     
  4. Foxman

    Foxman Don't read th

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    I bet O-lineman dread lineing up against anyone that large. 6'5" 360lbs is mamoth.
     
  5. magnus

    magnus Chump-proof

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    350, 360. he doesn't look that damned big, and as long as he gets off the ball without it being a problem, 360 is fine.

    still stoked about him signing. Never would've figured we'd go for a situational runstopper, esp at that money, but I love it.

    BTW, the video of a couple of those plays from the NO game are on youtube.com, just search kemoeatu
     
  6. Collin

    Collin soap and water

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    I sincerely hope we're not thinking of using him on passing downs. As I noted when we first signed him, I went back and looked at tape of Baltimore and he was consistently the farthest lineman from the quarterback. He can't rush the passer worth shit, but we're not paying him to do that anyway.
     
  7. meatpile

    meatpile 7-9

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    Gant:

    The Panthers were wooed by more than just his size. Particularly impressive to them was a preseason game from last year when he faced former New Orleans center LeCharles Bentley. On several occasions, Kemoeatu launched the perennial Pro Bowler into the backfield, dominating a man considered one of the best linemen in the game.

    "I tell you, when you go back and look at the preseason games last year, him playing against LeCharles Bentley, he showed a lot of very, very good talent," Sunseri said. "And he did some things that I've never seen done before to Bentley.

    "It would be advantageous for anyone to look at that tape."

    Perhaps the most impressive thing about Kemoeatu is that he does have a quick first step, maybe not as quick as Jenkins but not that far off. Combine it with his sheer size, and the Panthers began to ponder the options he presents. Certainly he can play the basic two-gap technique he was used to in Baltimore. (Essentially, that's football jargon for taking up space and blockers so the smaller guys can run to the ball.) But they think he can do more as well, even rushing the passer with the success of smaller men who are ostensibly faster.

    "He's capable of doing anything else we've done here in the past," Sunseri said. "We're going to do what we do on defense and he fits into our scheme."

    "I like it, it gives me more to do," Kemoeatu said of the potential for more big plays. "It feels good to have a defensive line coach with confidence in me. They're going to let me freelance a little bit, and not just take up room and blockers. They're going to let me shoot the gap and try to get more sacks. I'll get more QB sacks and more tackles behind the line of scrimmage."
     
  8. Gen Scope

    Gen Scope Marginal

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    Wasn't he a two gap guy in Baltimore? They don't tend to rush the QB that much if memory serves.
     
  9. Collin

    Collin soap and water

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    meat:
    That's what I was responding to. Hopefully they were either stroking Kemo's ego or having a little fun with Gantt. Leaving him in on passing downs instead of bringing in Damione Lewis would be foolish.
     
  10. Fred Smoot's Father

    Fred Smoot's Father the future is bright

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    The video of Kemo blowing Bentley up is floating out there somewhere. It's terrifying.
     

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