Here’s an article on Jeff Otah that had me a little worried at first as it highlights his ‘sluggish’ 40 times at the combine and his Pro Day. Yet we now know it was due to a lingering ankle injury. Don’t worry about Jeff Otah, he has a plan :

"I play to the whistle," he said at his post-draft press conference. "I try to dominate a guy the whole game."

A lot of people think the Panthers paid too much to his services but I’ve beat that subject to death.

 Carolina's first choice in the draft was power back Jonathan Stewart out of Oregon, leading to speculation that John Fox was going to move even more to a grind-it-out running game. A key component of that strategy is Otah, described as a "massive mauler" by one scouting service. Another scout observed "He never loses a battle once he's locked on."

Hence the numerous YouTube videos showing Otah bulldozing opponents (he had 101 knockdown blocks as a Pitt senior). He even handled Virginia DE Chris Long, the No. 2 pick in the draft.

So here are a couple of the videos in question. I love this first one as he clearly just drives his opponents out of the play.

Here’s another analysis on Otah by Trev Alberts.

I get exciting watching this guy play and thinking of the dimension he adds to the Panthers running game.

One word comes to mind: Dominate!

My apologies for missing my usual Sunday post but I had a tornado knock out my power all day and night Sunday. I watched it go by my house about a 1/4 mile away. Close call and quite the excitement for a few hours!

This is the fourth installment of a series where I feature each of the Panthers recent draft picks.

I have to admit I was questioning the Panthers shortly after making Dan Conner their 4^th selection, #74 in the 3^rd round. Since then I’ve come a full 180 degrees. If he truly is first round talent snatched in the 3^rd round then the Panthers just upgraded their LB corps to the point of being not only deep but one of the top corps in the league. Let’s take a closer look at Conner, his Penn State career and how he may impact the Panthers defense in the 2008 season.

 Here’s Dan Conner's scouting report : 

Blue collar. That's the word heard most often when describing Dan Conner. The Penn State Senior linebacker has been nothing short of a tackling machine since the first game of his freshman year. In fact, according to an article by Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Conner has failed to register at least 5 tackles in only 2 of his 45 career games. Conner even set the record for career tackles at Penn State against Purdue. The best tackler ever at a place referred to as Linebacker U, that's quite a ringing endorsement. Conner led Penn State with 145 tackles this year, helping their team to its stingy 93.8 rushing yards against average per game.

 

Conner will wear #44 for the Panthers. Pretty damn impressive resume I must say, which pains me a little since I don't particularly like PSU because of the Kerry Collins debacle. He's a Panther now so WTF right?

Here's his draft preview, where everyone calls him a first round lock .

Penn State linebacker Dan Connor is 6'3 231 lbs. The Nittany Lions senior had 6.5 sacks last season. Connor won the Bednarik Award for outstanding defensive player for last season. Dan was named MVP of the North Team at the 2008 Senior Bowl. The awards helped established Dan Connor as a possible first round draft pick in the 2008 NFL draft.

 I saw one scout who thought he might slip into the second. When told he ended up in Carolina Conner was caught off guard given the already deep corps the Panthers boast.

"I didn't expect it," Connor told the Panthers' official web site when asked about falling out of the first two rounds. "But I'm still excited to be on the team right now and have mini-camp coming up. I don't think it's the worst thing in the world. I'm more excited about this being the start of a long NFL career.

You have to love a guy who plans to play along time. The best description of him is ‘tackling machine’. The best LB in PSU history, just amazing we got him in the 3^rd round.

You  can’t find a better video of his highlights than this:

 That's an impressive video. I particualrly like the way he takes on blockers and just moves them aside when its time to make the tackle.

I think Conner could end up starting the Chargers game either in the middle or on the weak side. I could see Conner in the middle and Beason at the Will and Thomas Davis at the Sam. The combinations at this point are many but rest assured the Panthers are going to start three damn good LB’s come September. I’m expecting the Panther run defense to be very formidable in 2008 and I think Dan Conner will be a big reason why.

I’m not sure how I missed this post back before the draft but it took me by surprise. I was surprised to see the Panthers ranked so low  in draft success yet I really couldn’t argue with it too much.

25. Carolina Panthers

Current roster: 21 of 40 (9 starters). The Panthers haven't drafted a Pro Bowl player since defensive end Julius Peppers in 2002, but linebacker Jon Beason (2007/first) showed that kind of potential as a rookie.

Best pick: Whether at left or right tackle, Jordan Gross (2003/first) hasn't missed a game in five NFL seasons.

Biggest mistake: Running back Eric Shelton (2005/second) couldn't garner playing time on a team lacking a big-bodied rusher. He had just eight carries in two years before being released. Shelton spent 2007 out of football but is now with Washington.

Front office: Panthers general manager Marty Hurney has missed on too many second- to fourth-round selections. Four of them taken in 2005 and 2006 (Shelton, defensive tackle Atiyyah Ellison, quarterback Stefan LeFors and tackle Rashad Butler) are no longer with the Panthers. Wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett (2007/second) could be headed for that same fate.

Comment: Hurney has done an excellent job identifying defensive players like Beason, linebacker Thomas Davis, and cornerbacks Richard Marshall and Chris Gamble. The Panthers must find more offensive help in this draft, including a power running back and quarterback to groom behind Jake Delhomme.

If you had asked me prior to seeing the ranking I would have guessed the Panthers were around 15^th not 25^th. I suspect I’ve been giving Hurney a bit of a pass these last couple years. What stands out to me is the lack of Pro Bowl players. He hasn’t hit one since his first pick Julius Peppers. Jordan has a good chance if he plays well this year. Richard Marshall and Chris Harris are other possibilities as is Jon Beason if he moves weak-side.  

For the longest time I was in my mind giving credit to Marty Hurney for the Panthers fantastic 2001 draft (3 Pro Bowlers first three picks).

So I was wondering who does get credit for that great draft?

I scanned the Panthers chronicles and can only offer the following guesses:

• George Siefert -  He was Head Coach at the time and is the only Panther official I saw quoted in all the articles I could find written at the time of the draft.
• Jerry Richardson – He hasn’t been known to get too involved in the draft process
• Mark Richardson – He was still too inexperienced at the time to have had too much control
• Marty Hurney – He was Director of Football Operations at the time but may have a behind the scenes influence considering he was later promoted to GM.

Bill Polian was long gone and Mike McCormack had already retired so they are not considerations. It seems I've heard that Hurney was not involved but that just seems unliekly to me. I don’t think the Panthers had a GM between the reins of Bill Polian and Marty Hurney, a span of about five years.

 Does anyone else have a better recollection of the brains behind the Panthers 2001 draft?

All I really knew about G Toniu Fanoti prior to his signing by the Panthers was that he essentially ate himself out of the league two seasons ago. His top weight supposedly pushed close to 400 lbs at one point. So I was very curious to see what kind of shape he would show up in at mini camp . See for yourself below.

Now at 340 lbs Fanoti is still a very laaarge man but he looks fairly trim in this picture. I was expecting a huge gut. I certainly wouldn’t call him fat (but maybe Phat)! Not really….I bet he's thinner than Kemo. Fanoti carries the hopes of a last chance to reclaim his place on an NFL roster and even potentially a starting position.

"I was only 20 years old" as a rookie, said Fonoti, an American Samoan who lives in Hawaii. "I had to grow up. I don't think I had matured like I should have. I think I took some things for granted and it didn't pan out the way I wanted it to.

 Spoken like a guy that has truly looked inward and decided he needed to make a change in his life style. He also decided he needed to heed the age old saying "Birds of a feather…"

Fonoti said one of the main changes he's made has been to be more careful about the people he spends time with and allows to influence him.

"Now I have a tight little group which just consists of my family, me and one or two people outside of my family," he said.

If I could get either of my teenage daughters to learn this lesson any time soon I would be a lucky man. Fanoti appears to be very focused at this point and that could in turn be a pleasant surprise for the Panthers. Keydrick Vincent may have the inside track right now but if Fanoti can get in game shape over the summer he might just yet return to battle in the trenches every Sunday.

It seems most of the buzz at the Carolina Panthers recent mini-camp centers on a WR named Carter. I’m not talking about the departed Drew Carter but instead 2^nd year player Jason Carter .

Receiver Jason Carter was a dazzler during practices. He's quick, elusive and made a nifty one-handed catch on the run that had even the veterans cheering.

Carter was undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2006, partly because of his lack of outstanding speed (4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash). But he sure seems to have everything else.

I had a blurb on him myself in my mini-camp article round-up.

On the surface it seems almost impossible for Carter to make the team. We have our top three well set with Steve Smith, Musin Muhammad and DJ Hackett. Ryne Robinson should most likely take a spot as the punt returner and therefore the fourth WR spot. That leaves the enigma Dwayne Jarrett, last year’s 2^nd round pick and Jason Carter to potentially battle for the final spot.

Carter went undrafted after a fine career at Texas A&M and the Panthers kept him on the practice squad for part of 2007. I doubt he will escape the attention of other NFL GM’s another season. Carter has played well every time the Panthers have called on him.

 Dwayne Jarrett on the other hand got off to a shaky start in mini-camp by forgetting his routes but in the end showed why he was drafted so highly, displaying leaping ability and making catches. The guy certainly has soft hands and kind of reminds me of Michael Irvin (and I hate using Cowboy references).

 So the question begs, will the Panthers keep five or six WR’s?

 If the number is five then they will have a hard decision to make this fall. Do you bail out on the 2^nd round draft pick and go with the dazzle or do you stick with the investment you’ve made in the 2^nd round draft pick?

 I have a hard time thinking the Panthers will break camp with six WR’s considering they are using two spots just for the kicker position. I imagine we’ll want to keep nine offensive linemen as well. We also drafted a 3^rd TE and I can’t imagine the Panthers parting ways with either Jeff King or Dante Rosario. The numbers just start getting tight when you consider all these other position issues. It’s a problem but it’s a nice problem to have.  

Charles Godfrey has selected Mike Minter’s old #30  while DJ Hackett has claimed #18, Drew Carter’s number. What a contrast.  On the one hand we can only hope that Godfrey plays up to the standard of Mike Minter. With Chris Harris setting the tone Godfrey will have his own example to learn from right in front of him. Godfrey comes with a reputation as a hard hitter, a trait that will serve him well if he wants to reach such lofty status. Of course, the Panthers were not his first love:

Forgive Carolina Panthers rookie Charles Godfrey the Houston Texans logo that is tattooed on his right hand.

And don't worry that, until a few days ago, Godfrey didn't know who Mike Minter is or that he's wearing Minter's old number -- 30 -- as the newest member of the Panthers' defensive secondary.

That cracks me up he has the Texans logo tattooed on his hand. Will he get a Panther on the other hand to balance it out?

Hackett meanwhile wants to show Panthers fans how a number 18 is supposed to play. He wants to be the reliable-handed #18 that Panther fans will cheer on Sunday.

Only this No. 18 wasn't the underachieving speedster with suspect hands. The Panthers have traded out Drew Carter for D.J. Hackett.

 If he plays for the Panthers like he played in the recent playoffs for the Seahawks then we will have plenty to cheer. He caught everything in sight and ran across the field with reckless abandon. He can truly be the guy that takes the pressure off of Steve Smith and make us forget the old #18. .

 I have to comment on this play:

It was only mini-camp, but Smith made one of his trademark athletic, over-the-shoulder grabs for a touchdown near the end of Sunday's practice. He spiked the ball and then turned to about the two dozen fans watching the workout through a fence and raised his hands in celebration.

Oh, and he was single-covered when quarterback Matt Moore found him along the left sideline.

This would be great except that it was our secondary that got torched though it is nice to see Moore getting on the same page with Smitty.

Update:

I totally missed that Darwin Walker is wearing Mike Ruckers #93 .

Now he's home again, wearing the retired Mike Rucker's No. 93 as he works through his first mini-camp as a Panther.

That's another number that requires some exceptional play to wear. Let's hope Walker gives us flashbacks to Rucker in 2003.

It’s been a typical mini-camp for the Panthers, all sunshine and butterfly kisses about all the new players and prospects for the coming year. The only interesting topics are the depth chart that can be surmised by who’s lining up with what team and the position changes.

 Saturday Mini-camp Notes

Some of these notes are repeats from yesterday though with slight differences.

The last guy off the practice field was Jordan Gross, who stayed late to work on the footwork he'll need playing left tackle instead of right tackle.

 So moving Gross to the left side seems like a done deal.

Wide receiver Jason Carter put on a show late in the practice. He caught a short pass and zig-zagged his way through the secondary, then made a dramatic one-handed grab in the end zone on the final play of the practice.

We could have another Steve Smith in the making, who knows. Man are we deep at WR.

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 Peppers to Move to the Right Side

Looks like we have confirmation on what’s has been theorized this off-season .

 According to two sources with knowledge of their plans, the Panthers are expected to go with a number of alignment changes, including swapping defensive end Julius Peppers from the left side to the right, the primary pass rush spot in most defenses.

 Here’s another new wrinkle in the defense:

 The other new wrinkle will be in the way they align their defensive tackles. By using Maake Kemoeatu as a nose tackle and Damione Lewis as the "under" or "three-technique" tackle, they're hoping to add more push from the inside. Both Lewis (18.5 career sacks) and Darwin Walker (28.5) are accomplished inside rushers, and they hope by putting them into more aggressive positions, they can make up for what they missed a year ago.

 I’m having a hard time visualizing what he’s talking about here unless it’s a 3-4 alignment. Otherwise it seems we are either leaving a whole or the DE is playing over the  guard. I'll be interested to see this one in TC.

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Moose is Glad to be Back

Musin Muhammad isn’t the only person that’s glad he is back in a Panther uniform .

 "He's somebody I'm not sure we ever replaced," said Panthers coach John Fox.

I could venture that until this off-season we never replaced S Deon Grant or LB Will Witherspoon either. We have upgrades at those positions now. Count Moose as another player who has the right attitude. Also know he's not about to surrender the #2 receiver position to anyone.

 "The last time I checked, man, nothing was given in this world," Muhammad said when asked about that theory.

"I'm just here to play. I'm here to make the team better. May the best man go out there and may the best three be on the field.

"Whatever it takes to get us to the championship game; that's what's going to matter."

Hackett and company better be ready to work hard to fend off Moose. If the Panthers don’t win this year it won’t be because of team discord. Everyone seems to have the right attitude.

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 Fox Stays Grounded in Reality

 You’ll never be able to accuse John Fox of being overly optimistic .

"I like the looks of it on paper and we have put a lot of work into this," Fox said. "Just like a college coach after recruiting season, the prognosticators will pick how you did, but really the reality is until you start playing you don't know."

 Right now there isn’t a single bust in the entire draft but we all know the statistics. I think the Panthers first four picks are as good as they have ever made but as Foxy correctly points out we won’t know for another year or so.

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Williams Welcomes Rookie Stewart

It doesn’t surprise me that DeAngelo Williams has no problem with the Panthers drafting RB Jonathan Stewart.

"It didn't bother me at all. I still have the same mind-set whether I'm the starter or not the starter," Williams said. "I was thinking everybody is going to the two-back system, so whether he starts the game off or I start the game off, we'll both get the same amount of carries, give or take a few." [snip] "It will be fun," Williams insisted. "I'm not going to hold hard feelings toward anybody because that is not the way you play this game. It's we, not me."

 So Williams is not only expecting to split carries but he realizes he may not start in game one. I would be very surprised John Fox did that but still I love D-Will’s attitude. He is such the example of a team player.

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 Jake Throws with No Problems

 It won’t be too long before we stop worrying about Jake Delhomme’s elbow. He is making great strides and I have to tip my proverbial hat to him for following the schedule and not doing anything to jeopardize the elbow.

Delhomme, who is coming off Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last year, practiced for the first time since last September. The quarterback threw 34 mostly short-to-midrange passes during individual drills in the morning session, though nothing longer than about 25 yards.

 He apparently threw some of the tough out patterns as part of the work out and looked good doing it. He still has two months till TC to get the rest of the throws working.

Here are some line-up notes from day 1 of the Panthers mini-camp.

-- Linebacker Jon Beason underwent wrist surgery Wednesday and didn't practice. He hopes to be back for the summer school practices in June. Rookie Dan Connor took Beason's place at middle linebacker.

No surprise Conner is the back-up instead of Adam Seward. I’m sure the Panthers wish the Patriots had taken Seward for that 5^th rounder. I have a feeling Conner is going to end up in the middle and Beason will man the Will position. 

-- Defensive end  Julius Peppers was used extensively at right end. Coach John Fox said Peppers could be moved to the right side, or could stay at left end, where he has been for the first six seasons of his career.

It only makes sense to move Peppers to the right side. He needs a change of scenery considering all the left tackles that have never faced him.

-- Rookie third-round pick Charles Godfrey worked with the first team defense at free safety.

This one surprises me as I am already guilty of stating I bet Terrence Holt starts over Godfrey. This has to be more of a reflection on Holt than Godfrey considering Godfrey is changing positions. Holt just might struggle just to make the team.

Keydrick Vincent, a free agent signee who played for the Arizona Cardinals last season, worked with the first team at right guard.

This one was expected though I find it interesting that the Panthers gave Milford Brown a larger contract. He must have a better agent. No word yet on what kind of shape Fanoti showed up in.

Here’s the days biggest news, a positive update on Jake Delhomme’s elbow:

"It feels great," he said. "The rehab has gone great. We have been cautious and haven't had any setbacks. I was very satisfied today."

From Scout.com here’s some more notes mini camp I found interesting :

Steve Smith abused Richard Marshall often, used Marshall's aggressiveness against him. It shows how savvy Smith has become.

I’m not worried about Marshall, he was probably trying to make a big play to get oohhs and aahhhs that go with it.

Julius Peppers looks about back to normal; his quickness is back and athleticism is better than everyone else on the field by heads and shoulders.

Tyler Brayton is more athletic than we first thought. He's built like Peppers, looked good in drills.

So we have Salt & Peppers playing bookends DE? What a signing Brayton would be if he could win the starting job opposite Peppers. Sorry, my money is on this guy:

Charles Johnson looked good on pass rushing drills, showing good quickness and burst. Charles Johnson blew Ruben Riley and Jeremy Bridges off the edge.

That’s what I wanted to hear. With the signing of the two FA DT’s Darwin Walker and Ian Scott the only position I’m even slightly worried about is the LDE (provided Pep moves to RDE).

Hilee Taylor is crazy fast -- ran right by left tackles he faced.

 Remember when the Giants essentially lined up four DE’s on passing downs against the Patriots? Maybe this Taylor from UNC will be shades of another certain DE from UNC a few years back (the original LT). Here’s an update on the Panthers problem child:

Allegedly Dwayne Jarrett was verbally berated this morning for forgetting his routes, but ran routes crisp and make 3 nice catches in the afternoon session. Despite the alleged tongue-lashing, Jarrett looks like he's earning respect from his teammates, getting high fives and encouragement.

He’s still forgetting his routes!? AArrgghhh!!! There’s no question he has great size and hands but if he can’t run a route he’s toast in this league. Let’s hope he gets his shit together this summer.

On a more positive note, here’s a guy I think is going to play a key role for the Panthers at some point this season.

Toefield changes direction very well and fluidly for a big back.

It’s nice being deep at RB as I still remember the NFC Championship game when we ran out of RB’s. More sunshine at mini-camp:

Moose has not lost a step and once juked Chris Gamble out of his socks for a catch

Having Moose blocking downfield is going to be huge for our running game. If he still has some moves that’s even better. I think we are going to love having Moose back.

Former Iowa Hawkeye and Panthers 3rd round pick Charles Godfrey (5-11, 205) brings more than speed (4.38), strength and ball-hawking ability to the Panthers secondary. He also brings the experience and flexibility to play corner or safety. It’s pretty safe to say the Panthers do not need another CB but would instead move him to free safety. The Panthers did sign free agent S Terrence Holt this off-season who more than likely will be the starter come game one. Even if he doesn’t start right away Godfrey could have an immediate affect on the Panthers in another area:

That is one thing about Iowa, we take a lot of pride in special teams. I started playing my freshman year. They tried to take me out a little my senior year, because I was starting at cornerback, but I told them no. I trained and I've been training all year to handle that load. I played all four years, and it was great. I'm looking forward to being able to play special teams right away also.

I’m assuming he plays coverage because I’ve heard no mention of him returning kicks. The word is he is ‘gunner’ material. Between he and Richard Marshall be should have a couple guys who can get downfield and make plays on coverage. Godfrey also brings good hands, a quality the Panther secondary could sorely use. He recorded five interceptions in 2007 as the Panthers recorded 14 as a team to tie for 23rd in the NFL. If Godfrey does move to free safety he should certainly provide an upgrade in the INT department over last season’s starter Deke Cooper

.

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Former Scout Tom Marino Give the Panthers an A

Tom Marino is the guy I posted about a few weeks ago who did an amazing job of predicting the 7th round of the 2007 draft. Marino is a former scout who graded each teams recent draft performance. Add Marino to the list of people giving the Panthers an A.

The Panthers addressed some offensive concerns with the first two selections and got excellent value. Although he possesses excellent straight speed and size, I was disappointed in Godfrey's man-cover skills. I'm a big fan of Dan Connor and it wouldn't surprise me to see him in the starting lineup by the midpoint of his rookie season. Barnidge was a very underrated TE who is an excellent receiver. From the late rounds, Hayden is a steady inside player and run stopper, Taylor a nifty nickel-rusher and Schwartz is a massive, wide body. All are solid picks, but in my opinion none will contribute significantly in 2008. The Panthers' seventh selection, Mackenzy Bernadeau from Bentley College, was injured and missed the second half of the '07 season. But I really like his game and playing potential. A solid well planned draft overall.

The Panthers could have four starters from this draft starting by mid-season. If Jonathan Stewart makes a splash it will lessen the sting this time next year when the draft rolls around. The true test of this draft, for the Panthers anyway, if whether they make the playoffs. It’s a relief though that at least on the surface it looks like Fox and Hurney did a good job.

Charles Chandler with Charlotte.com gave an earnest approach to predicting the Panthers defensive depth chart based on the draft and recent signings. His prediction makes me kind of wonder how long he has been watching these Panthers.

DT -- Maake Kemoeatu, Ian Scott, Nick Hayden

DT -- Damione Lewis, Darwin Walker

DE -- Julius Peppers, Stanley McClover

DE -- Charles Johnson, Tyler Brayton, Hilee Taylor

MLB -- Jon Beason, Dan Connor, Landon Johnson, Adam Seward

SLB -- Thomas Davis, Adam Seward, James Anderson, Tim Shaw

WLB -- Landon Johnson, Na'il Diggs, Dan Connor

CB -- Ken Lucas, Richard Marshall

CB -- Chris Gamble, Ricardo Colclough, Dante Wesley

SS -- Chris Harris, Nate Salley

FS -- Charles Godfrey, Terrence Holt

If there is one tag that fits Hurney and Fox it’s this: conservative.

They will always give the nod to the veteran player. For instance, I don’t think there is any way Charles Godfrey starts over Terrence Holt in game one. I also expect Na’il Diggs to start over Landon Johnson. Again it’s only because Fox is smart in giving the nod to the veteran player. He has the reputation of supporting veterans even though he may not have reason too. Many veterans have expressed this quality as a reason players like to play for John Fox. He is a players coach so to speak.