Shelton sounds like...

our Stephen Davis replacement when he retires. Shelton sounds very interesting.

Shelton learning fast
June 7, 2005

By Brett Borden
Panthers.com

As he approaches the midpoint of week two of summer school, Panthers rookie running back Eric Shelton says he already feels a lot smarter.

"Last week was a little rough, but this week it's all starting to fall in place," said Shelton, the team's second-round draft choice from Louisville. "We've got hundreds of plays in. Now it's all starting to make sense and flow."

Shelton rushed for 1,858 yards in his college career, which included one year at Florida State, then two at Louisville. His running style was compared on draft day to that of current Panthers running back Stephen Davis. Shelton certainly shares Davis' knack for finding the end zone, scoring 20 touchdowns last season at Louisville. He says summer school has two major benefits.

"I think this is great for the rookies. A lot of the vets already know the plays, but for the free agent vets and rookies, it's good to learn the system so it won't be new when training camp comes along. It's also an opportunity to get in shape."

As any NFL veteran will tell you, training camp is one of those things you just have to experience for yourself. Rookies who come in thinking, "How bad can it be?" tend to learn quickly not to ask that question again. The August heat in Spartanburg, SC, where the Panthers hold camp at Wofford College, can feel like a heavy blanket at times. With temperatures pushing 90 degrees this week in summer school, the rookies are getting a brief taste of what it will be like.

"Everybody has to do it so you better get used to it," said a profusely sweating Shelton. "It gets you loose. It's something I have to get used to. I hope the weather stays like this so it won't be a shock when training camp comes around.

"(In training camp) you have to go out there two times a day, with your pads on, so it's going to be hot. It'll test you mentally. You just have to go out there and work hard and work through it. There's no way around it, and everybody around the League has to do it, so you just have to get used to it."

While the oppressive heat isn't exactly something he looks forward to, Shelton IS anxious to show what he can do with pads on.

"Out here, you can run, but you can't really finish a run the way you want to, the way you could if you had pads on," he said. "I just want to show the offensive staff how I run after contact."

The more he learns in summer school, the longer he should be able to run before contact, too.

 

Seems strange that NFL owners pay so much money to those guys and then stick them out in the heat to go through camp. Seems like that would have to increase injury risk with dehydration becoming an issue. I wonder why they do not try to have camp in cooler places or indoors?

 

Some of them do. See the training camps in Thousand Oaks (Cowboys in the Landry years), the Ariz mountains, and in Wisconsin. The Cowboys had their last one in the Alamo Dome, or one year anyway. Others feel the players need to get acclimated to the heat. Its about 120 deg at game time on the field for the 1st month. Others, (us) want the camp close by. For fans, and for the players to pop home several times. A couple teams have camp at home so the players can sleep at home if they want to.

 

I guess they need to get acclaimated but that seems a bit risky to me. If I played in domes or in northern cities for the first month I would certainly not put my players through it.

 

The Raiders hold training camp in northern California's wine country (Napa Valley), where it never really gets intensely hot. And every September they end up going somewhere like Dallas or Tennessee where it's a million degrees and a thousand percent humidity, and most of the players are gassed by halftime.

For example, this year, they'll be in Philly on 9/25. If it's as hot in Philly as I think it'll be, they'll be gassed by the end of the 3rd qtr.

I actually wrote an article on this issue for the Raiders newspaper a few years ago, suggesting they move their training camp to somewhere in the valley like Fresno or Sacramento. Get out of the wine-and-cheese neighborhood and break a good sweat for a couple of weeks.

 

Philly gets really hot in september? They are a cold weather city.....

 

This is another comment that supports my theory of Thelt really being a girl.

 

yes, heard of seasons?

 

Yea but Philly is not exactly a place you think of as ever getting really hot.

 

Shut up before I haze you and your 12 posts.