This edition of Paw Prints leads with a post by Andrew Mason from Panthers.com that summarizes one of the general feelings coming from the teams recent OTA's.

Mason's Minutes: Fox's final words a reminder

"It's like that elephant in the room; it's there," Fox said. "You can't pretend that it's not. But I think guys have felt that, and I've seen that through their work this offseason -- both in conditioning and in football opportunities, whether it was minicamp or OTAs." "It definitely hurts when you think about it," added middle linebacker Jon Beason. "It comes up in conversation a lot among guys in the locker room. So it's good that we're conscious of it." From the pain of the loss comes motivation. From motivation, the Panthers believe, will rise a better result. "You look at that game -- we know we could beat them," Beason said. "And that's the disappointing part of it. At the end of the day, we know we're good enough to play with them, and on that day, we didn't get it done. So all we can do know is come out, compete every day and get better."

This team should have a very bad taste in its mouth based on how last season ended. Please let it serve as constant motivation.

• Not every Panther is taking a vacation this time of year.
  

Panthers OL hopes strongman skills pay off on field | The Herald - Rock Hill, SC
"The strongman training is something that can bridge the gap between the weight room and the football field," DeFranco said. "To me, it's a more functional strength. When you have to flip a 600-pound tire, you have to manipulate your body into some awkward positions, and it's a lot heavier than anything you're going to see on the field."

I'm liking this guys chances of being a quality back-up on the offensive line more and more.

• A hat tip to Dave Jinxer for putting up this Fanshot I thought was worth more attention. It's nice to know Jake doesn't forget his lessons learned.
  

NFL: Jake Delhomme's style, skills still fit Carolina Panthers' formula - ESPN
"We do play a schedule that will be tough, but I'm not making the mistake I made in 2004," Delhomme said. "We were coming off a Super Bowl, and the schedule was supposed to be easy. I remember San Diego being 4-12. They went 12-4 and killed us. You have to just worry about the next game. If you get too far down the line, you make a mess for yourself. You never know what injures will happen."

Strength of schedule at this point in the off-season doesn't necessarily mean anything. Teams go up and down as we saw the same Chargers team go from AFC preseason SB pick to 8-8. Maybe that NFC South divisional match-up had something to do with it!

• I've been wondering why J-Stew wasn't participating in OTA's
  

The Associated Press: Panthers RB Stewart vows to be ready for camp
Stewart revealed details of the injury for the first time Tuesday. Stewart said the Achilles' first flared up in offseason conditioning in February and likely stems from favoring his left foot after toe surgery last offseason.

Geez, just imagine when this guy gets 100% healthy what he can do.

Update: I found some pix I thought I would share.

via d.yimg.com

(Above) Safety Anthony Scirrotta UDFA, practices hugging up to HC John Fox. Check out slimmed down OC Jeff Davidson below:

Caption this picture:

here's mine: Delhomme: "What, sissors doesn't beat rock?!"