Panthers DT Kemoeatu Schedules Surgery; Other Injury News

by Jaxon on Aug 4, 2009 7:44 PM EDT Comment 31 comments

Darin Gantt was a twittering beast today at Day 2 of Panthers Training Camp. The big news continues to be the bites of the fierce injury bug:

daringantt Rookie OL CJ Davis went down with a right ankle injury, after being doubled over by DT Corvey Irvin. Trainers working on him.

Nice to hear Irvin is showing some power. Tough break for Davis if he misses some time but he has to be a long shot to make the roster. Kemo has made a quick decision to go under the knife:

daringantt Kemoeatu having surgery tomorrow, not ready to rule out a Dec/Jan return. Can't imagine how that's possible

We will hope for a quick recovery big guy.

daringantt G Duke Robinson hauled off in cart. Didn't see him go down. Might be a heat thing

The heat always gets somebody the first couple days. An update on Robinson came soon enough:

daringantt#Panthers officials are now saying that G Duke Robinson left the field because of heat-related issues. The heat in Oklahoma must be drier.

Ummm...heat is usually dry. There is less humidity though in OK land. ;) Might there be something to Robinsons' conditioning issues?

In other camp news:

After we mentioned yesterday that DE Everette Brown was far too quick for fellow rookie Patrick Brown in one-on-ones, the blocker got his revenge Tuesday. If Everette can't the first step in, he's going to struggle against bigger, stronger linemen. It's just something he's going to have to figure out, because Patrick locked him down several times.

As Brown said himself his quickness will only get him so far in the NFL. Lets not put unrealistic expectations on this rookie. He might need a year to make an impact.

Forget any notion that turning 30 means anything to Steve Smith.

There were a few nice plays downfield, perhaps the best by WR Steve Smith, with a five-cut reverse run that left a number of players standing still, including DE Julius Peppers. I've always said that of the top 10 plays Smith ever made, only four were in games. It might be three now.

He's playing at a very high level...still.

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Kemo-tut looks awefully happy to be relaxing in the shade

Watch the video of him going down…
http://www.panthers.com/media-vault/videos/camp-news/da0d5038-eb2f-42ed-b8ec-0c37e61321fe

He is barely running! Dude is like 10 feet behind everyone else. Must have been seriously out of shape. Obviously this is the first time he has ran in 7 months or this would have happened sooner.

We rip Pep, even though it has been mentioned numerous times how hard he works to stay in shape in during the off season. If there was ever a time to get out of camp it was this year, yet like always he was as ready as anybody… Yet Kemo obviously does nothing but sit at Bobcat games chowing down fried chicken.

Sorry had to vent.

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Aug 4, 2009 10:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Talk about Pep's lack of emotion

Kemo looks as hapy as ever…
http://www.panthers.com/media-vault/videos/maake-kemoeatu-hopeful/4312eab7-a371-4e35-8e68-380e3e877066

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Aug 4, 2009 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ummmm

How does running slow translate into a guy who is out of shape and “obviously does nothing” all year? The guy is shorter than Peppers and yet over 60 pounds heavier than him. Kemo is a load and isn’t paid to be quick. He is there to stop the run and draw as many o-linemen to him as he can. Why does the fact that he was slow getting to the ball carrier in a TC drill on the first day translate into worthless load for you?

What would you say if I saw Peppers loafing during a meaningless TC drill and then called him out on it saying that he doesn’t work out ever and it is obvious he is out of shape? It would be way off base and factless but it seems no different than what you are doing here. And yes, I’m aware Kemo is big and probably isn’t in the best shape…..but to be fair we really don’t need a 350 DT to be quick or good in pursuit.

Personally, I don’t rip Peppers for his work ethic in the offseason. But I can imagine that people question Peppers alot because he had a year in which he had 2.5 sacks. Plain and simple. Is it fair that everyone does it? Probably not…..but when a player as good of caliber as Julius has a year like that people are going to look for reasons.

by R-F on Aug 4, 2009 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i gotta agree with southtunnel

It would be great to have a DT who is quick and good in pursuit…think Warren Sapp in his prime. Kemo is not going to be as quick as Peppers, but he could have been woring on conditioning drills and quickness over the offseason. Regardless of his actual weight on the scale, he could’ve turned some fat into muscle….maybe a little bit. I think he has a hard time avoiding being cut next year, and his “goal” of coming back this year is a ploy to keep him off the IR. He’s not coming back this year.

Of course, I do hope I’m wrong about that. It would be nice to have him back in December.

by usana_gaines on Aug 5, 2009 2:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We are not commenting on his speed or quickness...just his offseason conditioning

when a guy tears his achilles on the first play I think its safe to say he has not been running lately. Is it so much to ask for a guy making a couple mil a year playing football to stay in semi-shape in the offseason? Unless he confirms he’s been working out and getting in shape prior to TC then its a valid assumption.

I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com

by Jaxon on Aug 5, 2009 8:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How does it not translate?

He got injured during the first run. Do you think he was really running all offseason, and it was complete irony that it snapped this time?
It. Sounds like you guys think it’s ok for him to not be in great shape, as long as he’s fat! If that’s the case then we can easily find his replacement at Dennys.

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Aug 5, 2009 10:01 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

Ooops sorry

I replied before reading the other replies

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Aug 5, 2009 12:06 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

It just seems like an assumption to me

Shit happens sometimes. Kemo has had no problems running before and all of a sudden you think he falls over and tears something it’s because he’s out of shape and did nothing all offseason? I tend to disagree with that sentiment as he has been pretty healthy for a d-lineman in his entire career. Unless you can prove me otherwise, I’m going to assume that Kemo did the same things he did every other offseason and he never got injured prior to any other season in his career, so why did it all of a sudden matter this year?

I didn’t mean to imply that I wanted an out of shape DT…..but really, come on guys. Do you think Kemo is just some load who is only good because he’s fat?

And yes, southtunnel, I agree to some degree that we don’t need Kemo to run a great forty time or be good in pursuit. If he did those things, he wouldn’t have the weight/body mass necessary to eat up blockers as well as he does. I’ll take a DT who can stuff the run and take up o-lineman over a DT who is skinny and quick but gets overpowered. Would you?

by R-F on Aug 5, 2009 10:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It is an assumption

But it is a good assumption considering what happened. An assumption that he was in shape makes no sense at this point.

Listen, the only person I know who might injure themself by jogging is my Granma… And that is ONLY because she is out of shape.

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Aug 5, 2009 10:52 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not assuming he was in shape

And you don’t need to be in shape to jog.

by R-F on Aug 6, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Do you guys

have any facts or anything written relating to his weight and/or conditioning being different this year than previous years? Maybe I would be more inclined to believe that.

by R-F on Aug 5, 2009 10:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes I do

It is fact that he injured himself by jogging ;)

I don’t think it odd to question somebodies conditioning when they seriously injure themselves by jogging

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Aug 5, 2009 10:55 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

Yes I do

It is fact that he injured himself by jogging ;)

I don’t think it odd to question somebodies conditioning when they seriously injure themselves by jogging

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Aug 5, 2009 10:59 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

Article I found on the Panthers home site quotes Kemo...

“We were in a pursuit drill and I was just running. I felt it tighten up. With the pursuit drill I’ve got to run it to the line, so I’ve got five more yards to go, and then I figured I could push through it. I took another two steps and it just popped.”

Does that mean he was out of shape because it “tightened up”

by Flowing Willow on Aug 6, 2009 4:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

blockquotes messed up

by Flowing Willow on Aug 6, 2009 4:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's missed five games in six years

So you think a guy who has been relatively healthy all his career, making it through 16 weeks of practices and games for the majority of his career all of a sudden is so out of shape that he can’t run twenty yards? If it were THAT obvious I am sure that we would have heard something about how different he looks because that is a BIG difference than the rest of his career.

It’s just too big of an assumption for me to make without actual facts – like proving his weight or strength coming in was any different than any previous years (in which he stayed relatively healthy).

by R-F on Aug 6, 2009 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

not that dumb

Kemo being out of shape is normal for guys who feel they are good enough. I’m not knocking Kemo’s work ethic, but not everybody has a priority to be that much better the following season. But i doubt he’s dumb enough to sit around watching bobcats games. no one does that. don’t be so hard on the guy.

by usana_gaines on Aug 5, 2009 2:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

easy on the bobcats!!

;)

by packpigskinfan25 on Aug 5, 2009 2:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Unless Irvin or Favorite turn out to be absolute beasts

Kemo stays next year. I think all of you guys are blowing this ankle injury out of proportion, all he had to do was step wrong and snap there it goes. Plus we don’t know the exact details of the injury, like with Delhomme, perhaps that ankle had been bothering him for a while and it just snapped now.

by Flowing Willow on Aug 5, 2009 3:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ok, I know it's not a great source but...

Bobcats fans were calling in on the radio saying that Kemo was always at the games. So many that they thought he might be a season ticket holder. Anyways supposedly every game they would show him up on the screen, and he was constantly digging into a Bojangles box.

Considering the circumstances is it really that unbelievable?

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Aug 5, 2009 6:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Sean May jokes then followed

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Aug 5, 2009 6:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm curious what his 'weigh-in' weight was coming into TC

Any guesses? 340-350 at least is my guess.

I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com

by Jaxon on Aug 5, 2009 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I went to probably 20 Bobcats games

And never saw him. But then again maybe he went to the other 20 games that I missed :)

by R-F on Aug 6, 2009 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

you mean

the bob johnson cats. it’s okay, as soon as we cut michael jordan, we might be able to start winning. (I secretly pull for the home team)

by usana_gaines on Aug 5, 2009 2:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

haha

you might be right…

by packpigskinfan25 on Aug 5, 2009 3:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is their year

In one year Larry Brown has completely remade this team. Wallace andFelton our the only players in the rotation, that were with the team a year ago

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Aug 5, 2009 9:26 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

the arizona cardinals

The following is taken from an article about Cardinals training camp. Some CSR readers have checked out the Panthers camp. Do we see anything like this in our camp?

It’s hard to put into words, but there is a quiet confidence among the group. Instead of acting like it’s a fait accompli that they will return to the Super Bowl, the players approach each day with the mindset of working hard to get better and building on the lessons they learned during their playoff run.

Their commitment was obvious from the start. To wit: For the first time since coach Ken Whisenhunt was hired in 2007, every player passed his pre-camp conditioning test. “In the past, you might have a couple of guys where you would fudge it so they’d pass,” Whisenhunt said. “But there was no need this year. It wasn’t even close.”

by usana_gaines on Aug 5, 2009 3:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs