Panther Article Roundup

by Jaxon on Sep 6, 2007 2:48 PM EDT in Panther News & Notes

Did Tye Hill Call Out Steve Smith?

Apparently Hill made some comments to DeAngelo after last seasons game.

"It was after the (2006) game we played them. He told DeAngelo something. ... And I've just been kind of marinating on it for a whole year."

"Marinate" what a great word to use in this context. "Stew" is so bland, but marinate suggests flavor. Smith is going to torch Hill with pizzazz, Wolfgang Puck style maybe. I can’t wait to taste it!

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Offense Looking to Open Up

The Carolina Offense is looking for an identity.

"There are obviously things we didn't do in the preseason that we're going to do Sunday and I'm excited about that," center Justin Hartwig said.

Like score a touchdown? The Panthers offense looked like it belonged in one of those identity theft commercials from Capital One.

I truly feel good about what we can do," Delhomme said. "That's just my opinion. I like what we're doing. I like both our backs."

I like them too. I think the DeShaun is underrated and that he and DeAngelo will make a lethal tandem this year.

"We need to show that we can move the ball downfield," Hartwig said. "We need to be better than we were last year. In the preseason, we've had a chance to do that in spurts. But now we're going to get a chance to put our starters out there and put it all together for a whole game.
"We're all excited to see what we can do. We all believe in it. There are a lot of new wrinkles this year and I really believe we have a chance to keep some defenses off balance."

That would be nice. The St. Louis defense should be improved but not that much. I think Jenkins will make them wish they had parted with that #1 pick they kept.

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Panthers Name their Captains

This year the NFL has decided to identify captains with a "C" stitched into their jerseys, similar to how captains are identified in the National Hockey League. No real surprises here:

Defense: Peppers & Morgan
Offense: Jake & Smith
Special Teams: Goings

"I always tell them that's the guy who grabs the bull by the horns when things are going bad to make sure he leads us in the right direction," Fox said

Mike minter used to be that guy. Let's see who steps up this year.

"I feel good about our locker room chemistry and our leadership," he said

The best way to keep it going is to rack up the W’s.

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Panther Season Predictions

This a pretty vanilla article but I have to pick a few nits with it. With Colbert being named the starter Drew Carter is not a key. It falls more to Colbert at this point to take some pressure off Smith.

All far as the season W-L prediction, I’ve posted that I think we’ll go 11-5 and win the division. I think we beat St. Louis in game 1 & we beat New Orleans at home. On the flip side, I think we lose a game we shouldn’t like a road game either at Arizona or at GB. Otherwise I agree with the prediction.

Madden weighs in too:

John Madden doesn't see good things for the Panthers. Asked whether Carolina is the team that reached two NFC Championship Games in three years or the one that was 8-8 last season, Madden's voice dipped low.
"I did see Panthers in preseason," he said, "and they looked more like an 8-8 team than the Super Bowl team of a few years ago." -- Langston Wertz Jr.

Who can argue with that? We didn’t impress in our 1-3 preseason but those of us who watched the tape in detail know the facts. We didn’t show our playbook and we ran vanilla defenses.

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Dan Morgan is Ready to Whirl

As expected Dan Morgan is chomping at the bit.

This is the first real game I've been in, in a year. So I'm excited to get back out there and enjoy the game."

Adam Seward will enjoy the show as well.

He's going to be flying around, a whirling dervish, just out there hitting everything," Seward said. "We joke around about it, just turning him loose in that first game."

Players like Morgan can only play this game one way, at full speed.

I always tell myself to just go out there and play within myself," Morgan said. "But I always go out there and play like myself."
By that, he means aggressively storming all over the field.
"So I'm not expecting to hold back at all."

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Taye Biddle Gets Waived Again

Man, this guy can’t catch a break. Maybe the Panthers will bring him back.

TAMPA: Four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, 30, signed a one-year contract, two weeks after he was released in a surprise move by Philadelphia. To make room on the roster, the Bucs released former Panthers receiver Taye Biddle. The team also signed receiver Michael Spurlock to the practice squad.

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News of the Weird

This isn’t Panther related but I had to mention it anyway. I thought I had problems but reading about I guy like Travis Henry let’s me know it could always be worse.

DENVER: Running back Travis Henry's will not face discipline from the NFL despite court documents in a Georgia child support case that show Henry, 28, has fathered nine children by nine women in four southern states, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

One word for ya Travis: "Condom"

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your notes

For all the Vick dogkilling news, I'm hoping bad things for the Rams' Leonard Little who killed a woman while driving drunk and hasn't missed a game because of it.

Tye Hill is faster than me, but neither of us can cover Smith. The last guy who had something to say, Fred Smoot, got to read the back of Smith's jersey all day en route to a 200-yard game.

I'm not worried about our preseason performance. But when guys say we didn't show our hand during the preseason, is that an exaggeration of what? I mean I want to see single-back, 3 WR sets with Colbert and Carter on the field at the same time, or one of those two and Jarrett - a 2nd rd talent who is the 4th receiver. Is he going to be covering kick-offs now? We have 5 WRs, and the number 4 usually covers kicks, and the #5 is Robinson who is returning kicks. What's going on with the WRs?

I also want to see some two TE sets. Rosario is a natural pass catcher, and it would be nice to see him and Jeff King on the field at the same time in two TE, two RB sets and other formation shifts. We have to change it up and go after teams.

None of that means anything if our guys drop passes on third and long because they can't catch and we can't get more than five yards total on 1st and 2nd down runs. I want results this year, not this childish whispering optimism the players are doing. Just bring it!

I think that Biddle never had a shot in TB. They gave him a signing bonus to get secrets about our offense from him, and let him go - cooperate espionage.

Maybe we planned on signing him to the practice squad, but TB claimed him off waiver before we got a shot. So now maybe we can bring him in for when we realize that Colbert and Carter are no better than last year. Colbert beating out Carter doesn't make him better than last year. Keyshawn had 70 catches last year. Will Colbert and Carter even combine for 70 this year? We'll see. We should've kept Keyshawn to teach Jarrett, since he obviously doesn't get it yet, or he would be starting.

by usana_gaines on Sep 7, 2007 5:55 AM EDT reply actions

Agree

I generally agree with what you have written, particularly getting tougher with the thugs and dirtbags in the NFL. You might be interested in checking Pro Football Talk's website, with a rather inelegant name: www.profootballtalk.com/turdwatch.htm This website should be given broad coverage until the league is embarrassed into cleaning up its act.

It might start with banning all these stupid self-centered celebrations, and limit them to pumping their arms in the air as they run back to the bench after tossing the ball back to an official. Why not have a little class and dignity instead of acting like an idiot? (Tom Landry or Vince Lombardi would not have tolerated that crap.) They only did what will be done hundreds of times by other players during the season, nothing unusual or extraordinary, for which they are being paid ungodly sums of money (paid by the fans through outrageous ticket prices). Saving a life or building a hospital, now that's something worth celebrating! (Did you see the Peyton Manning children's hospital last night?)

And I really liked your ideas about creating an exciting offense. Such a variety of sets and plays should make everything the Panthers do be more effective, especially with several options off each of those formations. It would sure make the job of the defense much tougher and keep them guessing. Look at the way the Colts mixed their plays last night, for example the way Clark was moved around, sometimes as a tight end and others as a wide receiver.

I'm with you -- I like Rosario and Biddle too. It is still a puzzle why Biddle didn't make the team as a punt and kickoff returner and an alternate wide receiver.

My slight disagreement is your comment on Jarrett. He may be coming along a little slow but apparently the staff thought Keyshawn would hurt more than help. In that case, good riddance. I think he will be playing regular, sooner rather than later. That was a great catch he made on that long pass from Carr against the Steelers and showed the potential he has. Added to his height and speed are good hands and the ability to go up high for a catch.

by A J on Sep 7, 2007 8:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Answered prayers

Maybe our hopes for an exciting offense will be realized. Below are more comments from Steve Smith as reported in the Charlotte Observor today:

[Smith's excitement] happened earlier this week, when Smith got to look at what Carolina had in store for the Rams. He thought, "Okay, that's what I'm talking about." He called his wife and said, "This thing's nice."
Smith, standing in front of his locker, touched on a number of subjects. But he kept returning to that game plan, his enthusiasm evident in his words.
"People will be surprised at what's going to happen Sunday as far as offensively. I was very surprised and excited. Coach (Jeff) Davidson and the offensive staff have done a great job as far as some of the new wrinkles that we have in there. Actually, I was excited about coming in today to see what else we have new."
"I think those guys stayed up `til late the last two nights and you can see that they did some good things and people will be surprised."
Fans already know of the new zone-blocking scheme that Davidson, the new offensive coordinator, hopes will give the team's running backs more holes and freedom of movement. They know the tight end is supposed to become more of a receiver. And that Davidson has stressed different ways of putting the ball in Smith's hands.
Smith elaborated as much as he could without getting into specifics.
"From the perspective up in the press box to say it looks different, no. But there are some different formations; there are some different things that change maybe the same play to be able to do it out of four different looks.
"And we haven't always had that around here. ... To be able to know the whole concept of a play which you're supposed to do, and actually really be able to apply it, as a receiver that's good.
"It's different; I'm telling you it's different. ... I can't say much more than that but it's different."

by A J on Sep 7, 2007 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions

A little more

From the AP:

Davidson . . . started with a bang when Jake Delhomme led a 13-play, 81-yard touchdown drive against the New York Giants in the first exhibition game.
The rest of the preseason was a struggle. The Panthers' first team offense managed only one more touchdown in the final three games. Many of the problems that plagued Carolina last year - a poor running game, not converting on third down and not getting the ball to Smith enough - flared up again.
"I can tell you this much, everything we run now is totally different than what we ran in the preseason," running back DeAngelo Williams said.
Smith agreed.
"There are a lot of new things in there you're going to see that haven't been done in a very long time, in the seven years I've been here," Smith said. "Not since the era of Steve Beuerlein."
Smith was referring to the 1999 season when the Panthers threw the ball all over the field and scored 30 or more points eight times.
Davidson has talked about wanting a balance of the run and pass, getting the tight end involved more and finding new ways to get the ball to Smith, whose numbers declined last season after a stellar 2005.
"People will be surprised at what's going to happen Sunday," Smith said.
The uncertainty of what the Panthers will do is also affecting how the Rams prepare.
"That's the advantage when you change coordinators, you change systems," coach Scott Linehan said. "We know we are going to see things that we didn't see in preseason, and we know we have got prepare for things they did in Cleveland, New England and even things they did last year there."
But by the sounds of Smith, the offense won't look much like last year's predictable, conservative system that averaged only 16.8 points per game.

by A J on Sep 7, 2007 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions

An answer on the "Steve Smith comments"

The diary on the questions I raised about Smith's recent critical comments on the offense has been closed. But I think my questions were answered by Smith in the Charlotte Observor today. (I presume this was not an exclusive interview since the Winston-Salem Journal had the same quotes today.)

Here is an excerpt:

For much of the preseason, that excitement was missing for Smith.
"It was tough because of what we did in (offseason training activities) and what we were not doing once the games started," Smith said. "We came to the OTA's and were changing up things, and when the preseason came, it was totally different. We were real vanilla, stripped it down.
"I was frustrated a little bit, saying, `What's going on?' They just kept telling me to just be patient; `you will see.'
"They kept their promise."

by A J on Sep 7, 2007 10:52 AM EDT reply actions

You beat me too it AJ.

Which don't mind at all. I'm relieved to hear Smith's comments. We nned him to be excited about this ofeense. We need every advantage we can have going into the season.

Charlson makes a good point about Biddle. I wonder how much info they pumped him for, if they did it at all. You never know.

by Jaxon on Sep 7, 2007 3:44 PM EDT reply actions

Carte blanche

Listen, if you want to give an article more prominence, feel free anytime to delete my post and repost. You don't have to check with me first. I didn't write the articles anyway. Just trying to get the information out.

I would like to think that Biddle was smart enough not to burn his bridges. But just because you're fast doesn't mean you're not stupid. Some contrarian thought: Maybe he didn't tell them anything and that's why they cut him so fast. Or maybe he was there to learn more about them. We'll probably know which is which if he turns up on our taxi squad or not.

by A J on Sep 7, 2007 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Don't worry about that

I didn't write a post on that article because of you. I had a rough week at work and was just too tired in the evenings to be creative. You kepp doing what your doing as much as you are inclined. I like the participation. I got a good nights sleep last night and so I'm ready to go and excited about the Panthers season opener tomorrow.

by Jaxon on Sep 8, 2007 8:01 AM EDT up reply actions

gameplan

After seeing what the Colts did to the Saints, I am more confident we will win the division, but I would not be surprised if we met the Colts in the Superbowl instead of the Patriots.

I truly beleive our defense is better than last year. Last year's defense shut out the Rams, and also gave up 34 points to Pittsburgh, so we'll wait and see.

As for the offense, I'm glad Steve Smith is excited. This is one of those times where we just have to wait and see what the Panthers do. I hope all this talk doesn't turn into an offensive explosion similar to the Saints 3 point explosion as everyone talked about how great they are.

When I talk about different formations and plays, I'm assuming that everything I said has already been thought of by Davidson. If not, he should be fired.

by usana_gaines on Sep 8, 2007 12:36 AM EDT reply actions