Comments from Fox

[Wp28]

Q. With four quarterbacks on the roster, is that a position you will avoid in the draft?

"No, because if you have a guy there that you thought was maybe the best player and he slipped to the ninth player, he'd be hard to turn down. What you try to do in free agency is get yourself to the draft where you're not forced to do or don't do anything in the draft. Otherwise, you make mistakes and you reach."

(Sounds like Leftwich at #9)

Q. You have Muhsin Muhammad and Smith at receiver and Dyson also has been a starter. How does he fit in?

"Those guys will sort that out when we start practicing. But we think Kevin has the type of ability to be a starter."

Q. Is Dyson completely recovered from his hamstring injury?

"Our medical people feel it's just a matter of time until he's completely healed. He'll definitely be ready for training camp. He could do the mini-camps."

Q. Is right tackle your biggest need heading into the draft?

"That's obviously one of them and we know that. It's just that if you attack that in free agency, you're going to pay a lot of money. That's something we'll be looking at through free agency, maybe after June 1 and possibly even in the draft."

(Sounds like Collins is still an option)

Q. Are you still going to be active in free agency or do you plan to slow down until after the draft?

"We've got some guys we're still tracking. There comes a point where a lot of people have been offered minimums and the top guys fall out of the way and that's when guys start deciding maybe it's time. I don't know when that date is and nobody really does."

 

[Wp28]

Here's the first half.

PHOENIX - He came to the Carolina Panthers last year with a reputation as a defensive wizard. As John Fox prepares for his second season as a head coach, he's been focusing on offense.

The Panthers signed free agents Stephen Davis, Jake Delhomme, Kevin Dyson, Ricky Proehl and Doug Brzezinski to upgrade an offense that ranked 31st in the league last season.

During Wednesday's NFC coaches breakfast at the NFL spring meetings, Fox discussed the offensive adjustments and other issues facing the Panthers.

Here are excerpts from the conversation:

Q. Do you feel you have the offensive firepower to compete in the NFC South?

"I'm not sure yet. If Kevin Dyson is 100 percent. If Steve Smith grows another year. If we get DeShaun Foster back ... I think we've definitely improved. I feel like we're better offensively than we were a year ago. Are we there yet? That would be a stretch. We've got to see how the draft goes. However that first pick falls and who that might be will be a critical factor in getting more weapons offensively."

Q. Speaking of Foster, what is his health status?

"Everything's going great. I know it sounds iffy to (reporters) and it's iffy to us. It's one of those things where, until he really starts banging around on it, there's no way to know."

Q. Could Foster and Davis be an effective one-two punch?

"It could be absolutely perfect. It's something I kind of envisioned last year and that didn't happen. ... It's kind of nice to be able to have a wave of runners coming in. Hopefully, that works out."

Q. Why did you pursue Delhomme and not some of the more experienced quarterbacks available?

"Of the hot names out there, he was probably the least known and least productive. But I tend to look at that as a positive, not a negative. I played against Jake Plummer, Charlie Batch, Kordell Stewart and you knew a lot about them. I studied Jake on tape and he did really well every time he went in. His negative was he never really got in that much. But Brett Favre never got in that much and Kurt Warner never got in that much. I don't profess to have all the answers. There's just something about the guy and he has a lot of the intangibles that I look for in a quarterback. The only real negative on (incumbent starter) Rodney (Peete) is that he's older. He played well. He's a very accurate passer. But his movement and his age ... he may or may not hold up. We need to get a younger version of Rodney and we think we did. Time will tell."

From Charlotte.com

 

[y2b]

No time to comment, but that's cool.

 

[Toll Booth Willie]

And Fox said, "Let there be Leftwich!!"

 

[hasbeen99]

Originally posted by Toll Booth Willie
And Fox said, "Let there be Leftwich!!"

And there WAS Leftwich. And the fans saw that Leftwich was GOOD...