Sackem90
Misplaced Panthers Fan
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over at Charlotte.com and ran across this good article on our camps:
Pompei's SportingBlog
Panthers run most intense NFL camp
August 7, 2006
I've been to training camps all over the NFL, and my feeling is that here in Spartanburg, South Carolina, John Fox's Panthers prepare for the NFL season with more intensity than any team.
The Panthers go twice a day almost every day, which, these days, is considered an ancient ritual. This team is in pads every day. Unheard of. Their practices can be long and grueling. And the Panthers aren't just going through the motions when they're out there. I hear more big thuds and see more players on the ground here than I do anywhere.
Fox is unapologetic about making his players get physical. "There is nothing like practicing football," he told me in the team cafeteria. "You can't simulate it. You have only three and a half weeks to get ready for a marathon. If you run only one mile a day, you'll be fresh, but that won't get it done. It's not just a macho thing. Even for quarterbacks -- throwing in pads is different. Receivers -- it's different catching the ball in pads. It takes training. Same with hitting."
Panthers general manager Marty Hurney says Fox has a great feel for how to manage his players during camp. "He knows when to push and when to let up," Hurney said.
It is not an exact science, and Fox acknowledges as much. But what he's doing seems to be working.
If Fox were working his players too hard, it would show up at two times of the year: in September, because the players would be beat up from camp, and in December, when the long grind finally would catch up with them. In his four years in Carolina, the Panthers are 9-4 in September, and 13-6 in regular season games played in December and January.
Fox says he would rather work his players hard in August and back off during the season. He lets them go without pads during the season sometimes, but only if they earn it. If he looks at game tape and sees poor tackling and blocking or high pad levels, back in pads they go.
Last season, Panthers players reported to Fox that they saw Seattle coach Mike Holmgren tell his team on NFL Network they wouldn't have to wear pads the rest of the season. "Great," Fox cracked. "That's what I hate about NFL Network."
But for the most part, the players go along with the program. "He came here the first year and set his rules early," safety Mike Minter said. "It worked, so we don't complain. If it doesn't work, that's when we'll complain."
Pompei's SportingBlog
Panthers run most intense NFL camp
August 7, 2006
I've been to training camps all over the NFL, and my feeling is that here in Spartanburg, South Carolina, John Fox's Panthers prepare for the NFL season with more intensity than any team.
The Panthers go twice a day almost every day, which, these days, is considered an ancient ritual. This team is in pads every day. Unheard of. Their practices can be long and grueling. And the Panthers aren't just going through the motions when they're out there. I hear more big thuds and see more players on the ground here than I do anywhere.
Fox is unapologetic about making his players get physical. "There is nothing like practicing football," he told me in the team cafeteria. "You can't simulate it. You have only three and a half weeks to get ready for a marathon. If you run only one mile a day, you'll be fresh, but that won't get it done. It's not just a macho thing. Even for quarterbacks -- throwing in pads is different. Receivers -- it's different catching the ball in pads. It takes training. Same with hitting."
Panthers general manager Marty Hurney says Fox has a great feel for how to manage his players during camp. "He knows when to push and when to let up," Hurney said.
It is not an exact science, and Fox acknowledges as much. But what he's doing seems to be working.
If Fox were working his players too hard, it would show up at two times of the year: in September, because the players would be beat up from camp, and in December, when the long grind finally would catch up with them. In his four years in Carolina, the Panthers are 9-4 in September, and 13-6 in regular season games played in December and January.
Fox says he would rather work his players hard in August and back off during the season. He lets them go without pads during the season sometimes, but only if they earn it. If he looks at game tape and sees poor tackling and blocking or high pad levels, back in pads they go.
Last season, Panthers players reported to Fox that they saw Seattle coach Mike Holmgren tell his team on NFL Network they wouldn't have to wear pads the rest of the season. "Great," Fox cracked. "That's what I hate about NFL Network."
But for the most part, the players go along with the program. "He came here the first year and set his rules early," safety Mike Minter said. "It worked, so we don't complain. If it doesn't work, that's when we'll complain."
