Richardson Boosts Morale at Panthers Practice

Just months after undergoing heart transplant surgery, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was back showing his face around Bank of America Stadium, making a surprise visit yesterday at the Panthers’ OTA practice. Yesterday marked the first time that Richardson and his team were united since both parties showed signs of weakness during the disastrous playoff game against the Cardinals last season, and Richardson’s visit did much to boost the morale of the team as he was seen shaking hands and chatting with several players.

Richardson is largely known for his close relationships with his players, and perhaps no one has been affected by this tight bond more than Jake Delhomme, the Panthers’ longtime quarterback. Delhomme had some very touching things to say about Richardson after the visit, describing their relationship by saying, “He’s not just an owner by name. He’s one that I think many, many guys on the tam have a relationship with and not just, ‘Hey how are you doing?’ It’s a true relationship where he knows your family and your kids. It’s something that goes unnoticed, but that’s the way he wants it. It was certainly great to see him out here. He certainly looks good.”

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Panthers Make Some Crucial Changes

As expected, Julius Peppers was a no-show yesterday as the Carolina Panthers kicked off their annual OTAs. The team still expects Peppers to return for training camp in the fall, yet the Panthers are still taking the precautionary steps to making sure his position is covered should he be traded in a last-minute deal. There have already been several changes take place during the offseason for Carolina, and yesterday’s OTA showed just how much things are going to change for this NFC superpower before the start of the regular season.

Most of the focus for the offseason with the Panthers is in the team’s defense, as there has been a stir of movement there since last season. The team’s new defensive coordinator Ron Meeks is the biggest change the Panthers have seen in terms of defense, and it’s back to the building blocks for the tough Carolina defense. Offensive tackle Jordan Gross made a comment after yesterday’s practice about the defense, saying, “Right now it’s making our lives easy (on offense) because they are running pretty simple stuff. In the past our defense ran everything you could think of and that made it tough. But it’s letting the players play and we have some great athletes on defense and some hard-nosed players and I think it’s going to let them do what they do and make plays on their own without out-tricking anybody. I know we have a lot to see from defense yet but I know the defensive guys are excited about (the new system).”

Other changes seen this week with the Panthers were the additions of cornerback Reggie Sullivan and safety Paul Chara, who both signed with the Panthers yesterday.

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Panthers Begin Offseason Practices

The Carolina Panthers are returning to familiar territory this week, heading back onto the practice field for a series of OTAs (organized team activities) that will span the length of more than two weeks. The team workouts will start with a set of non-mandatory once-a-day workouts, and the players will also have Monday-Thursday practices until June 11.

This offseason practice time will be crucial for the Panthers, as the team’s several new staff members and players will finally get the chance to work out all the kinks that come with harboring an altered team lineup. Carolina is expected to put into place a new defensive system during this time, as well, also granting new players the chance to mesh into the team’s lineup.

While these OTAs are a crucial part of the offseason, one player who isn’t expected to attend is Julius Peppers, who still hasn’t signed his franchise tender. Though he likely won’t be playing in these practices, team officials for the Panthers have released statements saying they’re confident Peppers will be in attendance for training camp in Spartanburg, which starts August 2. Both Peppers and his agent Carl Carey have been silent on this topic.

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Lee Makes a Run with the NFL

Canadian-born running back Jamall Lee was ecstatic when he was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent following this year’s NFL draft, but it is too early to celebrate the monumental achievement. With RBs DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Decori Birmingham and Mike Goodson all vying for spots as the Panthers’ running backs for the 2009 NFL season, Lee has his work cut out for him over the next couple months, having to prove himself worthy of a spot on Carolina’s final roster by September 5, when the Panthers make their final cuts.

Lee’s courtship with the Carolina Panthers is just one deal of several that the running back could take, and if he doesn’t wind up making the roster with the Panthers he’s still got a backup plan - the Canadian Football League. Lee was drafted into the CFL by the British Columbia Lions in the first round of the CFL draft, and while this league is a favorable option for the 6′1″, 225-pound running back, Lee still prefers playing for the NFL, saying, “I’d love to make it here. The CFL is a great league and I’m very proud of the guys up there, but right now this is where I want to be. There is where the quote-unquote best players are.”

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Top Cats in the Pack

Since the NFL’s expansion in 1995, the Carolina Panthers have been a dominant team on the NFC scene. Several top-notch players have walked onto the football field in Charlotte, and there are several heavy hitters who have contributed greatly to the Panthers’ legacy. In a recent Bleacher Report article, the top 10 players in franchise history were outlined and ranked, and (surprisingly?) it isn’t Julius Peppers who is considered the best Panther of all time.

The Bleacher Report list of top Panthers includes several current players for Carolina, and the full list is as follows:

10. Mike Minter

9. Kevin Greene

8. Stephen Davis

7. Wesley Walls

6. John Kasay

5. Jake Delhomme

4. Julius Peppers

3. Muhsin Muhammad

2. Steve Smith

1. Sam Mills.

Mills, who secured the number one spot as the top Panther of all time, was an original Carolina Panther and was the heart and soul of the team in the ’90s. His motto, “keep pounding,” followed him to the grave, and Mills passed away in 2005 at age 45 after a losing battle with intestinal cancer. Mills’ inspirational power has made him a lasting figure with the Carolina Panthers, and the name Sam Mills surely won’t escape Charlotte anytime soon.

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What to Do with Vick?

Ring the alarms - Michael Vick is free! The former Atlanta Falcons player jailed for 23 months for organizing and bankrolling dogfights was released from federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas today, stirring up a mass of grumblings about where the standout player will go should he return to the NFL. Among the names of teams tossed around about where Vick will play should he continue playing football was the Carolina Panthers, but after a heavy analysis of his skills and reputation, we’ve got to expel that rumor.

For starters, coach John Fox is already watching his back, as Bill Cowher could slowly creep into his position. The Panthers have also signed Jake Delhomme to an obscene long-term contract, leaving little to no room for Vick to infiltrate the system. Vick, a former player for the Atlanta Falcons, is familiar with the NFC South, however, which is likely the basis for the conviction that Vick could make the move to Carolina.

We still don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, however, as Vick’s federal charges for dogfighting have caused an eruption on the nationwide scene. Vick might still be ousted from the NFL, even though his return will likely sell tons of tickets.

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No Peppers in New England

It looks like all that speculation about Julius Peppers leaving the Panthers might be for nothing. Peppers’ options are quickly dwindling with the upcoming start to the 2009 NFL season, and it looks as if one more door has been closed for the quarterback-eating defensive end. Although nothing has been nailed down, reports have surfaced that the New England Patriots are going after Oakland defensive end Derrick Burgess as the player to fill the shoes of Mike Vrabel, and if this deal goes through it will almost certainly signify the end of talks that Peppers will make a run with the Patriots.

There have also been speculations of Peppers being sought after by the 49ers, but seeing as Peppers has a demanding list of teams he will play for, we highly doubt the 49ers are one of them. In the meantime, it looks like now more than ever that Julius Peppers will go on to play one more season with the Carolina Panthers. When recently asked about Peppers’ absence from the team, Carolina QB Jake Delhomme said, “If we were playing today and he wasn’t here, yeah, I’d be disappointed. Things have a way of working themselves out. I don’t think there’s any doubt we’d love to have Julius out here.”

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Baker Leads Youth Camp, Pushes Community Service

When the NFL pulled its sponsorship from Carolina Panther and punter Jason Baker’s youth camp in Fort Wayne, Indiana, it may have been a blessing in disguise. Baker’s annual two-day “Pro Football Mini-Camp” did indeed go on this year, but for the middle school football players involved, the ordeal focused around a lot more than just football. The 250 participants in Baker’s youth camp last weekend started the Baker-led mini-camp off with a community service project of sorts, later coming back to Wayne and Concordia Lutheran high schools to start digging into football practice.

Baker, who would not have had the chance to be so creative had the NFL kept its sponsorship of his youth camp, made it clear that the focus of his mini-camp was to give young football players a taste of the whole NFL package and not just the football part. In a recent statement, Baker said, “Our goal is not to just have a football camp. It’s great and we will have a focus on skills and fundamentals - but the reality is we’re trying to be unique in that it’s a holistic camp. We’re not just paying lip service to the character-building stuff.”

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Stewart Speaks at Grad Celebration

Carolina Panther and running back extraordinaire Jonathan Stewart has more than proved his worth in the NFL, and now he’s taking his star power as a football player and applying it to the real world, as Stewart was tapped to speak over the weekend at grad festivities in his home state of Washington. Yesterday, Stewart spoke at a Community Baccalaureate Celebration at the New Life Baptist church in Lacey, Washington, where he was asked to participate in the merriment by Cecil Daniels, Stewart’s youth pastor.

Jonathan Stewart, the 2008 rookie who rushed for 836 yards last season, recently shared his topic of speech for the high school graduates in Lacey, saying, “I’m going to encourage them to continue their walk with integrity. I’ll talk about their walk with integrity and how important it is to stick with their morals and beliefs as they go into the next phase of their lives.”

Stewart grew up around Lacey, Washington and set rushing records in high school at Timberline High School. The star running back had a phenomenal college career at the University of Oregon, and was plucked from the Ducks to join the ranks of John Fox and the Carolina Panthers after his junior season at Oregon.

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An Outsider’s Take on the Panthers

Yahoo! Sports is running a series of offseason progress reports for teams across the NFL, and yesterday’s post was concerning the Carolina Panthers - and largely spotlighting the mess they’ve made with two key players on the roster: Julius Peppers and Jake Delhomme. These two players take up a significant part of Carolina’s salary cap, and neither one is necessarily expected to be a saving grace for this year’s team. Peppers will likely return with the Panthers this year under pressure to perform well so he’ll be picked up by another team next year, but if his heart isn’t in it, we’re wondering how the season will pan out for the defensive end. On the other side of this, Jake Delhomme has expressed his interest with staying in Carolina long-term, but football critics are cringing at the $20 million extension Delhomme was guaranteed this offseason.

Another interesting point of this offseason for the Panthers is the fact that no free agents were signed with the team. Zero. Zip. Nada. The Panthers picked up a large number of undrafted rookies and got some golden picks in the draft as well (DE Everette Brown being the frontrunner here,) but not a single free agent has been signed in the offseason. On top of this, Carolina lost a significant number of free agents, including CB Ken Lucas, OT Jeremy Bridges and C Geoff Hangartner, but even with some of these almost-questionable selections in the offseason, the Panthers still have the core of their stellar team (including DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart,) meaning this will be one tough team to beat in ‘09.

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