Panther Paw Prints - UDFA Update Edition

Panthers.com writer Andrew Mason has been running a series of pieces on the undrafted players hoping to make the roster. This edition of Paw Prints links to three of those posts starting with former PSU safety Anthony Scirrotto, who had an untimely hamstring injury derail his Pro Day.

Rookie Scirrotto no longer hamstrung
"It (was) still lingering a little (during OTAs)," Scirrotto said. "Just a chronic injury; nothing serious. I just have to rehab and treat it right. Since I got here, they put me on a program where every day it's getting better.

Having pulled a hamstring myself I know how painful it is and how long it takes to get 100%.

One of the guys Scirrotto is competing with is Joe Fields:

Just like starting over for Fields
"There's definitely a lot of new terminology, (and changes) how we've played certain techniques, like looking at the quarterback as opposed to looking at the man last year in zone coverages," Fields said. "It's just nuances that you've got to get used to. "It's like all defenses. You've got a chance at flexibility come down, drop back, lurk in the middle. Coach definitely has a lot of tools for the safeties to be successful; it's just a matter of us learning them and going out and executing."

WR Markus Monk is also a pretty good hoops player:

Hoops helped Monk to another NFL chance
Yet the on-field work wasn't so much about what Monk could do, but what he could learn from Carolina's veteran receivers and their longtime position coach, Richard Williamson. "Coach Williamson, he's teaching me a lot," Monk said. "Coach is on us about splits, getting in and out of your routes, separation, all those small things that you've got to concentrate on. "I'm (also) learning from Moose (Muhsin Muhammad) and Steve (Smith). As far as me as a receiver, I feel like I've gotten a lot better just in a month, just from listening and taking everything in."

Here's a good post that echoes many sentiments we've had about the defense being the key to the 2009 season:

Panthers camp countdown: Defensive line critical to curing Panthers' hangover - Roy Cummings, Vinnie Iyer & Darin Gantt - NFL - Sporting News
Defense: Meeks is a product of the Tony Dungy school of defense, so look for him to play a lot of cover-2 zones and emphasize speed and mobility over size and strength. Meeks won't lean on the blitz but will look to pressure the quarterback with his front four linemen. The back seven will be asked to limit big plays by keeping the ball in front of them, but the safeties will do a lot of filling in the run game. Meeks' approach isn't much different from the one employed by predecessor Mike Trgovac.

Here's one for the Jake Loyalists from the Bleacher Report:

Carolina Panthers Doomed With Jake Delhomme? Don't Count On It. | Bleacher Report
The idea of being no better than your last game is absurd, and shouldn't even be discussed. Jake's not the first quarterback to have a terrible game in the playoffs. Hall of famer Dan Fouts had two five-interception playoff games during his tenure with the Chargers. Peyton Manning threw four against New England in 2004. This happened just a year after an awful game, where in a playoff loss to the Jets he finished with a rating of 31.2.

And from the humor closet, you won't believe this. Former Panther WR Keyshawn Johnson is starting a business, interior decorating. That's funny in itself but check this quote when Kesh was asked about his design style:

Keyshawn Johnson's next book: Give Me the Damn Throw Pillows - Shutdown Cor... - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
That was it. That was the whole answer Not having a "whole bunch of s---" everywhere. What a tremendous design concept. I think I read about it once in "Whole Bunch of S--- Everywhere Magazine."

Just too funny!