Panthers’ Peppers Back at Practice

According to a report out of the Gaston Gazette, Julius Peppers has returned to practice.  The defensive end missed the better part of this week with an illness, but has since returned to practice with the team and expect to play against the New England Patriots in the Panthers’ third preseason game.  Peppers has not commented on exactly what illness had him out of practice, but has only said that he is now feeling much better and expects to play Friday.
Can the regular season just start already? How boring is the month of August, when Julius Peppers catching a cold or having a stomach bug or whatever was wrong with him is considered “news?”  Tom Brady playing in this game just days after the birth of his new baby boy is the main story line of this game.  The main storyline.  A story that literally has nothing to actually do with the game of football, is somehow the most interesting thing about this game.  The NFL preseason folks - don’t worry, it’s almost over.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com. 

Madden Not So Kind to Panthers

ESPN.com has released their John Madden 2008 Player Rankings, and things are not looking too hot for the Panthers.  Not only do they not have one player in the top 10, but they barely cracked the top 20.  Julius Peppers is ranked 19 and Steve Smith 20.  If you want to find the next Carolina Panther on the list, scroll down past number 100, because the Panthers don’t have another player who cracks the Madden top 100.  That, my friends, is just depressing.  Panthers fans everywhere are left playing with a team they know is talented that gets no respect from Madden.

While the Panthers may be a sleeper team in the NFC this year, it’s obvious that the people over at EA Sports feel that they have lost a step or two.  Having only 2 players in the top 100 is just not very good.  The Panthers are going to have to step it up this year if they want to see their Madden rating improve by 2009.   Some of your rookies will need to step up, not to mention a QB.  Not having your QB crack the top 100 is bad.  Luckily for Panthers fans, it’s only Madden, not real life.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.

Panthers Move Rookie to Guard

According to a report out of the Gaston Gazette, the Carolina Panthers have moved rookie Ryan Kalil from starting center to starting guard.  This move comes after the Panthers moved Kalil to second team center for a few days after their last preseason game.  Kalil did not have th best game, allowing a sack and just generally being one cog in a Carolina offensive line that has yet to gel and play well together.  However, within a few days, Kalil was back on the first team at right guard, and by all accounts from his coaches, he is doing very well for having no real game time experience at the position.

Kalil, entering his first year in the NFL after a career as the center for the University of Southern California, has already impressed his coaches in training camp.  Though some have marked his last game as a failure, there were a lot of good things to take from the game.  Besides, anyone who knows anything about football will tell you that offensive lines work as a unit and are only as strong as their weakest link.  As a player who can move freely and easily from position to position along the line, Kalil is most certainly not the weakest link.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.

Panther’s Morgan will Play Again

According to a report out of ESPN.com, Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Dan Morgan will make his return to professional football this year.  Morgan, who has not been on the field in a year, ever since suffering his fifth reported concussion, has fought back and is looking forward to getting back onto the field.  This story has equal opportunity to turn into one of the field-good stories of the year or to become a horrifying cautionary tale for NFL players young and old as to the severity of multiple concussions over a long period of time.

I can’t say I agree with the idea that Morgan will be back on the field. With the NFL under more scrutiny than ever over their treatment of concussions and players with concussions, it’s mind-boggling (no pun intended) that the Carolina doctors have cleared a man with not one, not two, not even three or four, but five reported concussions in his playing days back onto the field.  That’s only the concussions this man has reported.  It says nothing of all the injuries he’s sustained and kept his mouth shut about.  Dan Morgan is putting his life in danger every single time he steps on that field.  I guess that’s his right, but the whole idea of a man with a history of that many concussions putting himself in harm’s way again just puts me on edge.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.

Panthers Fall to Eagles

The Panthers lost their preseason game versus the Philadelphia Eagles this past week, falling 27-10 on August 17th to Donovan McNabb’s squad.  McNabb, for his part, looked amazing in his first game back from knee surgery, going 6-9 for nearly 150 yards and leading the Eagles to 10 points before taking a seat and letting his backup A.J. Feeley take the reins.  His first-string counterpart, Jake Delhomme, actually had a particularly awful game that left him shaking his head and asking lots of questions.  Delhomme went 9-18 for 78 yards with and INT returned for a touchdown.

The Panthers did not play well at all during the game, struggling to get their offense going.  This is a make or break year for a lot of people in Carolina, especially after the severe disappointment of last year’s 8-8 campaign.  Look for the Panthers to try a few different things in their remaining preseason games to see if they can’t get the offense clicking properly.  And if Jake Delhomme doesn’t start looking better out there, then look for David Carr to take his job early in the season.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.

Panthers Gear up for Second Preseason Game

Channel 9 is running an interesting piece on the Panthers next preseason game versus the Philadelphia Eagles.  The game is expected to be Donovan McNabb’s first game back since he season-ending knee injury last year.  McNabb will play for a series or two in the first quarter before being pulled, according to coach Andy Reid, who also says he plans to keep most of his first-team players in the game for the entirety of the first half.

The Panthers are coming off a solid showing in their first preseason game.  The team looks comfortable within the new offense, moving the ball well up and down the field.  Players are starting to express their excitement for the upcoming regular season, when they will get a chance to truly show everyone that last season’s 8-8 record was an anomaly.  With only a few weeks until the beginning of the season, they won’t have to wait much longer.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.

Ryne Robinson Trying to Follow in Smith’s Footsteps

According to a report out of WRAL.com, Panthers fourth-round draft pick Ryne Robinson is already attempting to emulate teammate Steve Smith’s career path with the Carolina Panthers.  Robinson, a 5′9″ receiver drafted by the Panthers with the expressed intent and purpose of returning punts and kickoffs already has plenty in common with Smith.  They share the same height and path of entry into the NFL, though Smith was a third round pick.  Robinson is hoping to work hard and parlay his returning duties into full time receiver play, a la Smith or, more recently, Devin Hester.

Robinson will obviously have a tough road ahead of him.  There aren’t a great many receivers in the NFL less than 6 feet tall.  And Robinson will have his hands full this year attempting to help one of the worst return squads in the country do a complete 180 on his watch.  However, Robinson did have nearly 100 catches last season for Miami of Ohio, so we know his hands are good.  Only time will tell if Robinson can truly follow in Steve Smith’s footsteps.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.

Colbert Looking for Resurgent Year

Panthers.com is running a piece right about Panthers wide receiver Kerry Colbert.  While everyone seems to be focusing on Dwayne Jarrett as the heir apparent to KeyShawn Johnson in the Panthers’ pass game, it may very well be Colbert who works his way into the starting position.  First year wide receivers are rarely breakout stars, and though Jarrett does enter the NFL as the USC Trojans’ career receptions leader, it was Colbert’s record that Jarrett broke.

Colbert’s career to date has been up and down to say the least.  However, he has shown flashes of brilliance in his career, and he has been getting touches with the first team under new offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson, which could bode well for his future with the team in 2007.  I’m not saying that you should start looking at drafting Colbert to your fantasy team, but I am saying that someone has to step up to be the number two receiver opposite Steve Smith, and Colbert’s the guy with the experience.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.

Panthers Sign Former Buc

According to reports on ESPN.com, the Carolina Panthers have signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers tackle Kenyata Walker to a one year contract.  Details of the deal have yet to be revealed.  Walker was a very productive and reliable tackle for the Bucs for six seasons, until a knee injury sidelined him last for most of last year.  The Bucs, being the classy organization they are, released him in the offseason.

The Panthers have signed Walker and hope that he has recovered from the surgery to his right knee and will be back to his old, productive self in 2007.  The signing brings Walker to a team with which he has had issue in the past, most notably with Kris Jenkins and Julius Peppers.  Walker had one fairly infamous on-field altercation with Peppers, during which Peppers actually took a swing at Walker.  No word yet from Walker, Jenkins, or Peppers on what it will be like to work together this season.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.

Panthers Look Great in Preseason Opener

The Carolina Panthers won their preseason opener against the New York Giants 24-21, in a game that has Carolina fans buzzing about just how good their team is looking heading into the 2007 season.  The first team offense looked very comfortable with their new system.  Jake Delhomme hooked up with Steve Smith for an opening drive touchdown pass in the first quarter.  The defense looked great too in the limited action it saw, frustrating the Giants defense as well.

Granted, the preseason doesn’t mean anything, and the Giants are a team in disarray (one must wonder if Tom Coughlin will last the entire season as head coach), but the Panthers can take a lot of good things away from this game.  They seem laid back and comfortable.  Their first teams especially look as though they are all on the same page, and the coaching changes seem to have worked out in their favor.  You can’t ever put too much stock in preseason wins and losses, but you can find good things to build on and spots where your team needs improvement.  The Panthers seem to have lots of good things to build upon this year.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.

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