Panthers Fantasy Training Camp Preview
The Panthers has had a very productive offseason, by many estimations. While there are still some detractors out there who believe the Panthers either made the wrong moves or didn’t do enough to improve their team at key positions, the general prevailing line of thought seems to be that the Panthers have moved in the right direction. However, as we enter into the quietest part of the offseason, things have gotten more than just a little still on the North Carolina front. The Panthers have entered into the calm before the training camp storm.
Luckily for everyone, fantasy football exists to keep us informed even during the down times. This ESPN fantasy football training camp preview focuses mostly on Jake Delhomme’s elbow, but it mentions some of the other changes made to the team in the offseason. Whether you play fantasy football or not, this article is certainly extremely informative. However, it is correct in mentioning that Jake Delhomme’s elbow will likely dictate the direction of the Panthers, especially in the early goings of the new 2008 football season.
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Brayton Ready to Excel as a Panther
We’ve talked so much about the Carolina Panthers offseason, it almost seems like a running gag this offseason. However, you really cannot say enough good things about the way the Panthers have handled their business since missing the playoffs last year. As such, I expect a high volume of stories about the new players to pop up during this dead period between the end of mini-camps and the beginning of training camp. With all the new names and faces added to the Carolina Panthers roster, fans are going to need to use this time to get to know their new team.
One of those new names is Tyler Brayton. While he may have had some trouble finding his spot in Oakland, Brayton wants to compete for the starting left tackle job in Carolina. He certainly has a solid shot to do just that. Oakland, in case you didn’t know, isn’t exactly one of the most efficiently run organizations in professional football at the moment, so an inability to stand out there should not be attributed only to the player. If Brayton comes in with the right attitude, there is no reason why he couldn’t start for the Panthers in 2008.
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Panthers Q&A with Scott Fowler
I don’t know if I’ve said this yet, but I feel I should be completely forthright with this information. This is my least favorite time of year. This is literally the deadest possible period for football. It’s this 4 week period between the end of mini-camps and the beginning of training camp that makes me long for the Steve Smith of old, who would say insane things just to get his teammates fired up. It makes me wish for some kind of coaching shake-up, or player controversy or something. Not that I actually want any of those things to happen. It’s just that I’d like to have something to report.
Luckily, the Charlotte Observer has come through again, this time in the form of a Scott Fowler Q&A session. The Q&A covers everything from the Panthers playoff chances to a debate on the greatest Carolina Panther of all time. Fowler is quite knowledgeable and very fair to the questioners, some of whom could stand to learn a bit more about the team they claim to love so much. In the end, the Q&A is a very informative read, and Panthers fans are very lucky to have such a solid news team keeping them in the know even in the deadest parts of the offseason.
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Olsen Weighs in on Jarrett Issue
I have spent a good deal of time this offseason praising the members of the print media who cover the Carolina Panthers. One of the men responsible for all this praise coming to the sports journalists of North Carolina is Stan Olsen. The man is a straight shooter who tells it exactly like it is. Mr. Olsen is not shy about giving his opinions, but neither is he disrespectful in the way those opinions are delivered. So when Stan Olsen put out a tiny write-up imploring Dwayne Jarrett to stick by his words in regards to his drunk driving case - and all the lessons he has allegedly learned from the situation - people should certainly listen.
Mr. Olsen is quick to point out that young men make mistakes. It’s important that we all remember what it was like to be in our early 20s. We have all made mistakes, but very few of us have had our mistakes amplified by the pressure of a multi-million dollar contract. Olsen also points out that Jarrett has reportedly made big strides as a player this offseason, but he also points out that Jarrett must make sure these improvements translate off the field as well. Overall, Jarrett is lucky to have such an understand organization, from his coaches to the media. I believe he will come through this stronger than ever.
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Jarrett Receives Sentence for DWI
Dwayne Jarrett closed what he hopes is the final chapter in his tumultuous first year in the NFL. Jarret was sentenced for his previous DWI arrest. The young receiver plead guilty, was ordered to turn over his driver’s license, pay a small fine and then server 24 hours of community service (not right then, and not all right in a row, obviously). Jarrett was clocked at a .12 when the legal limit in the state of North Carolina is .08. For those of you scoring at home, that’s .04 over the legal limit. This even capped off a pretty awful rookie year for Jarrett, but the young receiver has vowed to turn things around in his second season.
Jarrett plead guilty to the offense, and seemed genuinely contrite and ready to make amends for his past errors in judgment. While we have heard this song and dance before from many NFL players who find themselves falling down the wrong path, Jarrett still has a chance to get his act together and play some decent football in his career. He will have plenty of competition on the field for a starting spot in the coming months, so he will definitely need to step his game up if he wants to prove himself out on the field. Jarrett got off to a rocky start, but his story is not yet finished in Carolina.
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Smith Accepting Leadership Role
Steve Smith has always been something of an enigma. The prototype for players like Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears, Steve Smith is easily the most successful “return man turned wide receiver” story that I know of personally. However, up until this point in his career, Smith has been only expected to be a playmaker. The Panthers did not call on him to be a leader in the locker room. However, that is changing as the Panthers shuffle their line-up, and Steve Smith is shifting his role on the team to one of leadership, both on the field and in the locker room.
The article focuses mostly on the friction between Smith and young receiver Dwayne Jarrett. Jarrett joined the Panthers last season as a rookie, and at one point during the year, Smith scolded him publicly in front of the media. Jarrett had a terrible rookie campaign, and Smith knows that he must repair the damaged relationship between himself the the young complimentary rookie if the Panthers are to be successful. This is admirable, but Jarrett must also accept responsibility and begin behaving like a true professional if he wants to improve his game.
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Panthers Training Camp Schedule
The Carolina Panthers have had one of the most productive offseasons in the National Football League. Whether you’re discussing all the work they did in free agency to shore up their offensive and defensive lines - not to mention their wide receiving corps - or you’re talking about the big draft day trade that bought the Panthers an extra first round pick, it’s clear that the Panthers as an organization have made the commitment to winning now. On top of that, it appears that quarterback Jake Delhomme is actually ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation.
Now, as the offseason comes to a close, the preseason will soon be upon us. If you’re one of those NFL fanatics who follows the sport year round (and at this point, who isn’t?), then you’ll want to take a look at this NFL preseason training camp schedule. It may not look like much at first, but look again. Between the lines and dates and words, you will see hope - the hope that there will be football again soon. Soon the players will report to training camp. They will don their pads and start practicing. Soon after that there will be games again. I cannot wait.
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Panthers Have No Tomorrow
For the Carolina Panthers, it’s win or go home. Or at least, according to this ESPN.com article, it’s win or go home for the duo of John Fox and Matt Hurney - coach and general manager of the Carolina Panthers, respectively. Now this may not be news to the fans who have been watching this offseason with any amount of attention paid to detail. The Panthers rather spectacularly mortgaged their future to win right now. They have now infamously traded away next year’s first round draft choice. They used that trade to wind up drafting Jeff Otah.
The jury is still out on whether or not this gamble will pay off for Fox and Hurney, but one thing is clear: They know that their jobs depend on winning this season. The Panthers need to do more than just make the playoffs. They need to win at least one playoff game for Fox and Hurney to keep their jobs. If the Panthers can’t keep it together, or if some as-yet-unforeseen issue arises, Fox and Hurney will likely not be back. They would leave their successors a team without a first-round pick in their first year with the team. Fortunately for Panther fans, your team should make the playoffs no problem.
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Panthers Rookies Tour Canton
The Panthers rookies recently took a tour of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This was an event that brought all the rookies together on one of their days off to fly out to Canton to really see the lore and legend of the NFL up close and personal. The National Football League footed the bill in the first edition of what may become a recurring trip for incoming rookies every year. In fact, there is even talk that the NFL may move their entire rookie symposium to Canton next year, to capitalize on the success of these initial trips.
Why are the rookies going to Canton? The answer lies in an unlikely hero - Michael Irvin. Irvin - famously troubled during and even after his career - had the epiphany one day while wandering the halls. The young men coming into the NFL have no respect for the game. The trouble they get into stems from this lack of respect for how special their job truly is. So Irvin thought that by taking these young men to the Hall of Fame, it might help instill in them a sense of history. It would seem so far that he was exactly right. This is one of the best feel good stories of the offseason.
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Panthers Conclude Mini-Camps (Notes)
With the conclusion of Panthers mini-camp, there are obviously a few random pieces of news and notes from the Panthers workouts. These sorts of things are just the types of stories that honestly, I’ve been covering stories about for the last month. I’ve written before about the great job I thought the journalists covering the Panthers have been doing this offseason, but in this case it may have actually caught up to them. Their dedication to great stories over the past few months has almost rendered this recap article nearly obsolete. However, in case you missed out, here are the highlights.
Number one, Jake Delhomme looks great. He seems to be healing well and progressing nicely. All reports have him right on target to be fully recovered in time to lead this team to victory next season. Second, Jeff Otah looks to be a gamble that is already paying dividends. The rookie has apparently already been slotted as a starter, which means the Panthers are extremely high on him after a few mini-camps. Look for him to make big strides in training camp. Other than that, you can expect the Panthers to pound the ball more in the upcoming season, and their pass attack should be much improved.
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