twitter notes

I think teams are a little reluctant to keep special teamers past a certain age. I agree that he was a stud, but I doubt he would have saved our season or anything.

 

no, he wouldn't.
But the way guys like Senn made a difference after Thanksgiving showed them to be smart enough to go get some coverage.

Now if we can just get some ST blocking.

 

Peter King:

RT @FansEyeView: Over/under 8 wins for carolina this year? ... Over.

First chat w/Carolina QB Matt Moore today. Asked him his reaction to Clausen pick. Pause. "It was unexpected," he said. Don't get too comfy.

Two young skill guys I liked at Panthers PM practice: Rook WR Brandon LaFell (good hands), 2d-yr RB Mike Goodson (good quicks).

 

king's article
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/07/31/panthers.postcard/index.html

Setting the Scene
On the campus of owner Jerry Richardson's alma mater, Wofford College, in Spartanburg, S.C., is one of the really fan-friendly spots of the camp tour. In the middle of campus is the university's soccer field, and this morning, I ran 10 laps around it -- 2.5 miles. The longtime PR czar here, Charlie Dayton, told me this afternoon: "The field you ran around today is the same field Mr. Richardson played his college football career, and the same field Stephen Davis played his high school football.'' Now there's a factoid I bet you didn't know.

Three Observations
1. What a different team. Strange to see the Panthers without Jake Delhomme and Julius Peppers. If the Panthers are going to a playoff contender, there's no question the two players that need to produce at a big-level are quarterback Matt Moore and defensive end Everette Brown.

2. I saw two good young receivers. Actually two good, young, third-round rookie receivers. Brandon LaFell (LSU) is an angular guy with terrific hands (he made a circus one-handed catch that drew oohs from the crowd on campus this afternoon) who is ahead of the Michigan killer, converted Appalachian State quarterback Armenti Edwards. Edwards had two drops this afternoon, but I'm told he's been impressive and will definitely win a spot barring a very disappointing summer.

3. Replacing three starting defensive linemen (Julius Peppers, Maake Kemoeatu, Damione Lewis) won't be easy. And I worry that tackle Ed Johnson -- twice kicked off the Colts for disciplinary reasons -- will eventually disappoint John Fox. That's a huge key to the Panthers' season, whether the new pieces on the defensive front can get similar production to last year's eighth-ranked NFL defense.

New Face, New Place
Because the Panthers did nothing of note in big-name free-agency, I'll nominate a player returning from a 2009 concussion who has a chance to make a little noise this year in the event of a backfield injury -- running back Mike Goodson. At 6-foot and 212 pounds, Goodson plays a little bigger than that without sacrificing speed. He showed a good burst in practice this afternoon taking some of the reps that normally would have gone to Jonathan Stewart, who is on the active Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning he can return to practice at any time. (Stewart had offseason surgery to remove bone spurs pressing on his Achilles tendon.) Goodson's going to have to make every preseason carry count, but he runs violently and has good quickness. He's got a chance.

Rookie Report
Second-round quarterback Jimmy Clausen, wearing No. 2, showed more accuracy with more zip on his ball this afternoon than sixth-rounder Tony Pike -- particularly in the accuracy department. Clausen, very simply, looks like he belongs. He operates confident in and out of the huddle, throws a strong ball, and I'm hearing Jeff Davidson's offense is not too big for him. But Clausen is not in competition for the starting job with Matt Moore. The job is Moore's to lose, and Moore would really have to stink it up early in the season to lose it.

Memorable Image
The hands of Brandon LaFell. I don't know he 'LaFell' to the third round of the draft, but he made one terrific catch and another couple of nabs in traffic that were big-time. I would be surprised if by the end of the year we don't see LaFell making big catches down the field for Carolina. Coaches love him.

On the Menu
Lunch entrée: In keeping with my healthy camp habits (don't worry, they won't last), I threw together a good summer salad -- iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, cucumbers, grape tomatoes -- with balsamic vinaigrette, and a scoop of chicken salad on the side. Excellent chicken salad. Just OK lettuce.

Drink: Dasani water.

Grade: C-plus.

Parting Shots
1. You don't get any sense that John Fox is coaching, behaving or feeling like a lame duck. He's in the last year of his contract, and it's clear that if he wants top-eight NFL coaches' money (which he does), he's not going to get it in Carolina. I expect Fox to be elsewhere next year, but I don't expect it will be a factor with his team this year, because Fox isn't going to air it publicly and his players don't seem to notice.

2. Carolina's going to score. The question is whether they can defend. When they lost weakside OLB Thomas Davis to his second ACL injury in June, that was a blow Fox and company never expected -- and it meant that one of their best two front-seven players (along with Jon Beason) was gone for the year, in a year they couldn't afford to lose him. "Coach Fox brings in fighters,'' Beason told me, "and that's what we've got out here right now. We'll need that this year. I think we'll be fine.'' Beason, who has moved to strongside linebacker with Dan Connor taking over the middle (he would have preferred to stay inside, but understands he needed to move because Connor's a better option in the middle than Carolina had outside) will need to be more of a sideline-to-sideline playmaker this year, to help make up for so many missing pieces.

3. Carolina's the only team in NFL history to have two 1,100-yard-plus backs, Stewart and DeAngelo Williams, and if both stay healthy, Fox plans to use them the same way. Last year, Stewart had 221 carries, Williams 216, and it was the perfect way to keep both relatively fresh -- although Williams missed three games with a knee injury last year.

4. Quickie observations: Armenti Edwards, I thought, would be a duplicate in body type and play of Antwaan Randle El, but he's thicker than Randle El in the shoulders ... Tight end Dante Rosario might have only 50 catches in 46 career games, but if you saw him in practice this afternoon, you'd have said: They've got to use this guy a lot more. Good hands, good power moves over the middle ... Matt Moore is an unlikely starting quarterback, to be sure. He's an anonymous guy, not a holler guy, and it'll be an adjustment for him to be the kind of leader Delhomme was. He throws a good, accurate ball. I'm more bullish on Moore than my peers. I think the proof is in how he played down the stretch last year, and he played very well in winning his last three starts ... Jordan Gross back at left tackle after 2009 knee surgery, looking stout.

5. After practice, I was interviewing Everette Brown, the defensive end whose job, in part, will be to replace Julius Peppers. The aforementioned Charlie Dayton approached and handed Brown a Gatorade. "Thank you, Mr. Charlie,'' said Brown, the epitome of southern politeness.



Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...31/panthers.postcard/index.html#ixzz0vJsx9zRj

 

truth.

i'm as guilty as any. even watching preseason games i make quick first impressions based on 2-3 plays ... usually they are dead-on but sometimes are dead wrong.

fox and co. aren't going to say anything negative about players this time year. if anything they are going to build them up in the press if nothing else to keep them excited about their chances and working hard. so you might as well totally disregard anything they say.

still the little reports coming out give us some things to watch for when the games start rolling around.

QB - is Clausen dumping off too often, when he shouldn't? Sailing balls? QB of the near or far future?

WR - is Moore as good as he's getting hyped. Lafell ("bad hands," "great hands)", expecting somewhere in between. hoping for a younger, better version of Moose. I'll be rooting for Edwards so anything positive he does is all i need, can pass off any mistakes as "he just needs time." Is Jarrett going to blossom this year or is he going to get cut?

RB - Goodson.

LBs - so far good reports on the position changes. I will be glued to Connors. Mixed reports on Anderson. The coaches must love Norwood as they seem to be intent on getting him onto the field. Can he become our answer at SLB?

DL - Hardy getting lots of hype. is Brown going to take a leap forward? Interior going to be okay?

Safeties- expecting/needing them to be a lot better (maybe best tandem we ever had?). Pugh sounds like a player.

CBs - any decent depth?

TEs - sounds like the same ol, same ol. but as every season this time of the year, hoping we can use them more in our offense


this team reminds me of 2003. lots of unknowns. concern about the DL. a change in QB. lots of questions at WR. the team not being giving a chance in the media or by the fans of making the playoffs. but, we're a lot better than that team in a lot of areas. i'm thinking SB is in the realm of possibilities.

not much of a contribution to the forum i know but hopefully better than "pile of dogshit"

 

sometimes that couple of plays can really mean something. I remember in 02, I missed that first preseason game and watched the tape, so I slowed down the first few snaps to watch how fast Peppers got off the ball. When I saw he was fast, but that Jenkins was beating him every single time, I knew we had something.

These WRs are all over the place. Only consistent thing I see is that everyone's all about Kenny Moore. Which means he'd make the team at this point, and be our slot if LaFell can do the little things we need on run downs.

 

apparently because of the back injuries:

Rashawn Jackson is both the first and second string FB. Fiammetta is at RB and Rosario took snaps everywhere from fullback (and got carries), to the slot.

 

What's everyone elses thoughts on this. Pretty much everyone has us having no chance of sniffing the playoffs with the Saints and Falcons getting in and either Green Bay or Minnesota getting the other

 

any twitter notes on the # of interceptions Jake has thrown so far

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2010/08/01/observations-from-browns-training-camp/

Sounds like Jake so far

 

it's all just speculation at this point, but our division is going to be tough haul. we've historically had problems with atlanta, even when they've been awful. we literally ran over tampa, but they used their first 2 picks on dt prospects. and then there's brees. you don't really know how things are going to shake out when we're in august, but right now our division looks to be the biggest obstacle.