Post by jeffbear on Aug 22, 2006 11:34:59 GMT -5
John Fox rewarded the team by breaking camp a couple of days early ahead of their third ex game this Thursday against the Dolphins. Seems the Panthers had defied adds by not having any camp practice sessions interrupted by weather ... it's the south. We get heavy thunderstorms almost daily, but not in that part of SC I guess ... not this year at least.
The roster is still at training camp size with no cuts yet, but with the starters scheduled to start getting the bulk of the playin time in the final pre season games it's almost time to start trimming down. Much of the speculation so far as been regarding RBs and WRs:
Backs:
There's DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams as the primary ball carriers, but after that it gets murky. Eric Shelton is looking like just as big a bust this summer as he did last summer, and is a strong candidate for the Turk (ie to be cut). That leaves the Panthers without their leading candidate for a short yardage specialist with only Nick Goins and practice squad fodder like Alex Haynes and Jamal Robinson looking for the last roster spots. Haynes has looked pretty good in pre season games ... but Robinson is a competant kickoff returner. Time will tell.
Wideouts:
With Steve Smith sidelined for almost the entire camp with a hammy problem, Keyshawn Johnson has gotten a lot of time to get coordinated with Jake Delhomme and has looked strong in the first two pre season games. Drew Carter and Keary Colbert have both also looked good, so there's a battle among the depth guys for special teams duty. Special teams Captain Karl Hankton will be hard to cut, and Efrem Hill has looked shaky in an audition to return punts in relief of Smith.
Linebackers:
Looks like Na'il Diggs has the inside track at one OLB slot while Thomas Davis is pencilled in on the other side. Morgan is the man in the middle for as long as his glass jaw holds out. There's a battle for backup jobs and special teams effectiveness will play a role in the decision as always. A guy like Vinny Ciurciu isn't a great LB, but he's terrific on special teams which is why he's made this club the last two seasons. Chris Draft is probably safe as he provides solid Morgan insurance. Sean Tufts has also had a good camp, as has Clemson alum Keith Adams.
Safeties:
It would be nice to see Colin Branch return to top form after he missed last season due to injury. The Cats signed Shaun Williams as insurance and the two are battling it out for the starting nod. With Minter's age at SS, it will be imprtant that whoever wins the FS job can handle some serious territory ... so the Panthers would be better off if the speedy Branch can get it together.
The roster is still at training camp size with no cuts yet, but with the starters scheduled to start getting the bulk of the playin time in the final pre season games it's almost time to start trimming down. Much of the speculation so far as been regarding RBs and WRs:
Backs:
There's DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams as the primary ball carriers, but after that it gets murky. Eric Shelton is looking like just as big a bust this summer as he did last summer, and is a strong candidate for the Turk (ie to be cut). That leaves the Panthers without their leading candidate for a short yardage specialist with only Nick Goins and practice squad fodder like Alex Haynes and Jamal Robinson looking for the last roster spots. Haynes has looked pretty good in pre season games ... but Robinson is a competant kickoff returner. Time will tell.
Wideouts:
With Steve Smith sidelined for almost the entire camp with a hammy problem, Keyshawn Johnson has gotten a lot of time to get coordinated with Jake Delhomme and has looked strong in the first two pre season games. Drew Carter and Keary Colbert have both also looked good, so there's a battle among the depth guys for special teams duty. Special teams Captain Karl Hankton will be hard to cut, and Efrem Hill has looked shaky in an audition to return punts in relief of Smith.
Linebackers:
Looks like Na'il Diggs has the inside track at one OLB slot while Thomas Davis is pencilled in on the other side. Morgan is the man in the middle for as long as his glass jaw holds out. There's a battle for backup jobs and special teams effectiveness will play a role in the decision as always. A guy like Vinny Ciurciu isn't a great LB, but he's terrific on special teams which is why he's made this club the last two seasons. Chris Draft is probably safe as he provides solid Morgan insurance. Sean Tufts has also had a good camp, as has Clemson alum Keith Adams.
Safeties:
It would be nice to see Colin Branch return to top form after he missed last season due to injury. The Cats signed Shaun Williams as insurance and the two are battling it out for the starting nod. With Minter's age at SS, it will be imprtant that whoever wins the FS job can handle some serious territory ... so the Panthers would be better off if the speedy Branch can get it together.