In no particular order, we start with a blog post about influential Panther players. Since I can never resist a chance to talk about Sam Mills, I had to link this one up:
The 5 most influential players to wear a Carolina Panthers jersey
The reason he is number one on this list is for his contributions after his retirement. He was hired as a coaching staff for the Panthers 1998. In 2003, he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. He underwent the grueling process of chemotherapy, but continued to coach for the Panthers. He started the "Keep Pounding" campaign for the Panthers. That campaign is still the most inspirational aspect to the organization and is still honored to this day. Mills is the only player to be accepted into the Panthers Hall of Fame, and currently there is a statue in front of Bank of America Stadium to honor this fantastic player, coach, and person. Mills is the most influential and inspiring player to ever wear a Panthers’ jersey. For this, he takes the No. 1 spot on the list.
I liked his list including having Mills in the top spot. It's a no-brainer.
Rivera has always said he measures a player's performance by impact plays per game. In talking about Greg Hardy's performance against the Giants, I think he is suggesting set a new record for the metric:
Notes: Hardy's impact, Williams' fast start, Barner's return
"If you play 50 plays and you make five impact plays, your grade, your production is one out of every 10," Rivera said, adding that defensive ends typically make one impact play every four to seven snaps. "I believe Greg was one out of every 2.3."
Yeah, that's pretty much what I saw.
Rivera says Barner should be ready to play soon and then when he can play they intend to use. What I like most about this quote though is what Rivera says at the end:
Defensive backs, running backs on mend
"That's the thing about these injuries – it's always the day after," Rivera said. "It may look good, but they come in and it may swell up, it may ache or throb or something. Then we have to slow it down." When he's ready to return, the Panthers plan to take advantage of Barner's diverse skill set. "(The plan is) to use him," Rivera said. "He's got the ability to run the football, the ability to catch it and he's learning how to pass protect. We'll see. A lot of it has to do with the play calling and the flow. "Every time you come in you can't be the guy that they are going to throw the ball to. He's got to be able to protect. He's got to be able to run. He's got to do the whole package."
Remember the Jeff King-Dante Rosario rotation deployed by Jeff Davidson? Rivera says that's not a good idea as it telecasts your plays. Pure genius that guy ;)
This next one for some reason reminded me of a scene from Step Brothers that ends with "Did we just become best friends!"
Gano, Nortman feeding off each other's success
"When Graham has success it tends to bring up my level of play," Nortman said. "When he's feeling confident, I'm feeling confident and then vice versa. We really do work off each other." Gano said, "I feed off these guys and how well they do. When Brad kicks the ball a mile, it makes me want to match that."
Isn't punting and kicking FGs really apples vs. oranges? Hey, whatever gets you fired up I guess.
From the WTF question file:
Kuechly, secondary getting job done
Hi Bryan! Maybe I'm just mistaken or is it because of this dominant defensive line, but isn't Luke Kuechly having a sophomore slump? – Alex in Florence, S.C. From where I sit on game day, Kuechly isn't slumping at all, but there are a couple of things could leave that impression. You mentioned one of them - the play of the defensive line. The rapid development of that group has stolen headlines so far, as has – as mentioned below – the injury issues in the secondary. In some ways, that has left the linebackers stuck in the middle.The other thing feeding that school of thought is the pass interference penalty against Kuechly in Week 2 at Buffalo, a flag that nullified what would have been a game-clinching interception. It was a tough call on what looked like an uncatchable pass, but it's the play that's drawn the most attention to Kuechly so far this season. Kuechly, however, also had an interception in that game, representing half of his 2012 total. He's fourth in the NFL with 29 tackles, a 9.7 average per game that's on pace with the 10.3 average when he led the league as a rookie. And remember his truly dominant stretch of play in the preseason victory at Baltimore? It's simply not possible to make that many impact plays every time out, but Kuechly will enjoy similar days going forward. So will Panthers fans.
Only fourth in tackles! What a slackard!
Moving from delusional fan to delusional national pundit, we have this:
Robert Lester Bolsters Secondary But Lotulelei Gives Panthers A Star To Hang Dreams On " CBS Charlotte
It has been like that for Rivera and defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. The decision making has been spot on and that part of the Panthers game keeps improving, seemingly on a game by game basis. Lester is just the latest to etch his name on their long list of successes, but there is one player who has just two more games on his NFL résumé and he is already a star in more ways than one.
Um, 'spot on'?...Exactly what long list is he referring too? if this were true they would be 2-1 or better instead of 1-2. I do agree Lester and Melvin White for that matter were good calls. What else is there?
I remember reading the Forbes piece mentioned here and thinking the NFL will probably jump on this.
Cam Newton Fined $10K Because Of Forbes Magazine? | The Smoking Section
The most obnoxious part about Cam Newton getting fined $10k for wearing a non League-approved, from the outside looking in, isn’t even the fact that he got fined. It was the notion that Chris Smith of Forbes – the publication which broke this important news – just seems like an act of dry snitching. Newton’s presumably worn black Under Armour visor clips throughout his career, which probably isn’t notable in and of itself, except that Nike took over as the league’s official apparel partner. After Smith’s story broke, the NFL stepped in and issued the fine, citing the rulebook, which reportedly states "No invisible identification of a manufacturer’s name or logo on the exterior of a helmet or on any attachment to a helmet is permitted unless provided for under a commercial arrangement between the League and manufacturer."
I assume they meant 'visible' instead of invisible or maybe they meant 'clear;'? Anyway I'm sure Newton probably forgot the tabs were there, or the equipment manager did. I mean, don't the players have people that put this stuff together for them? 10k seems kind of harsh for something you can barely see.
I wrap up with a comment form our young QB:
A 1-2 record really is better than 0-3 - NFC South Blog - ESPN
"We're not going to say going on a run or anything,'' quarterback Cam Newton said. "Our main focus is trying to become 2-2. We're not looking down saying where we want to be. Our main focus is going to Arizona (Oct. 6) and taking care of business.''
That's Cam keeping it grounded.