In the Huddle – Nai’ll Diggs
July 12, 2007
by Andy Little
When you came into your first camp with the team last year you were getting over some off-season surgery. Despite that you still said you felt good at camp. How is your health this season?
I feel even better this mini-camp. Last year, I was coming off a couple of injures from the prior season. I felt good but I wasn’t able to train like I wanted to in the off-season. Now I’m coming off a healthy season, feeling great, and was able to work how I wanted to work with no limitations. Here I am now feeling good and the sky is the limit.
Last season you also said that your biggest challenge would be learning the playbook with a new defense, how do you feel you met that challenge? (Many defensive players with experience on other teams note that the Panthers have one of the larger playbooks in the NFL)
There is a lot of stuff in that playbook. Last year was like being a freshman in high school. This year you know where the classes are, you know where to go and what to expect. I’m still learning a lot just listening to Trgo or Flajole talk. It’s my 8th season playing football, two years here, and I’m a lot more comfortable this year but I’m still learning too.
You’re in your 2nd year here but with Chris Draft gone you find yourself as one of the more experienced linebackers on the team. How does that change your role?
I don’t think it’s going to really change. It’s going to be on the younger guys to approach us, the older guys, and ask questions. We don’t know what they don’t know. We don’t know what they may have questions about so on that role I think a lot of players were really good about asking Draft. I was a first year guy trying to learn all this stuff in a short amount of time and I used him as well. There shouldn’t be any question as far as role goes and older guys. I think Dan being the most experienced one in this system would definitely be the guy to ask about anything else. But it’s really up to the young guys to ask the questions to coaches or players.
When you came into mini-camp last year you had no expectations about how much you were going to play but you got on the field quite a bit. How did you feel about your time on the field last season?
I feel good about last year and how everything turned out. I wished the whole season in itself would have turned out better for us but you kind of just look back and look at the things you could have done better to improve that record to where you want to be. Right now you just take every play and make the most of it.
Competition Fuels Jake Delhomme
July 12, 2007
by Andy Little
While recently talking with Carolina Panthers wide receiver Drew Carter, I asked him to name the first few leaders on this team that came to mind. His first response was, “Jake Delhomme. He’s definitely a leader and he’s our guy.”
I have probably asked half the offensive starters this question over the past two seasons and Jake Delhomme has been the first player named every time. Sometimes players may think through a question or answer one slowly, but the answer to the question about leaders on the team is always quick and easy. After Jake is named, I then ask what it is about him that made them say his name first. Those answers are also easy for the players who have fought with him on the field over the past few years. Drew Carter went on to say this about Delhomme:
“He’s a competitor. He gets you fired up-I’m sure you can tell on the sidelines from TV the way his antics and he just makes you want to win. He comes in the huddle and he might even crack a joke just to make you feel more comfortable but he’s definitely a leader and gets you relaxed and ready to play.”
The key word in the above statement is competitor.
Delhomme has never had the strongest arm, made the best runs, or made the best decision with every throw, but you get his best every Sunday. Delhomme stands on the edge of failure every Sunday either by being down or engaged in a close game, but never backs down. A competitor won’t back down, and even though they may lose they still know they did their best and didn’t give up.
Competitors hate to lose. Delhomme has won nearly sixty percent of his starts since taking over as the Panthers quarterback. The NFL has players that do quit. Some would rather quit than go through what it takes to keep up your spirits and fight it out. Keeping a positive attitude is easier if you have a competitive nature. Even if you don’t win every game, you can win by staying in the game and giving your all. Delhomme usually saves his best for last-his fourth quarter rating is higher than his overall rating for his career. Only a handful of quarterbacks can boast his number of games won in the fourth quarter over the past few years. And the players know this.
They look to him as their leader in close games. They follow him because they know he may somehow pull out a win at the end like so many other times over the years. Being a leader means keeping the ship steady and keeping everyone focused on the goal. It means raising the level of play of everyone else around you to make them better. A true leader can get more out of everyone else than average.
Delhomme will only take up a small part of the $100+ million salary cap this season, but his competitive play and leadership will impact how they fare more than any other player on the team.
Deangelo Williams – Attitude affects outcome
July 12, 2007
by Andy Little
The conversation was short, but told a lot about the man who wears #34 for the Carolina Panthers. After a morning practice when many of his teammates walked off the field tired, DeAngelo Williams was smiling. I had to ask.
“Your teammates and everyone around you always say you’re smiling and upbeat. Are you always like that?”
“I’ve been like that ever since I was born,” he said with a contagious smile. He then added, “Life’s too short,” and didn’t need to say anything else.
In a league where teams put $100+ million worth of talent on the field a win can mean the difference between making the playoffs and sitting at home. No team wants to pay for negativity. Attitude often affects outcome, and a team can’t have enough players with a positive outlook and desire to win.
It is in this area that a second year player or rookie can bring leadership to the rest of the team. It is easy to get jaded after an injury, mediocre season, or the hard work involved but players like Williams help keep a constant reminder about how things should be perceived. Negativity is a cancer that if not contained can spread throughout a locker room. There is no place for it on teams that aspire to win the Super Bowl.
A lot of the responsibility for reviving Carolina’s running game rests on the shoulders of Williams, a 24 year old 5’ 9” RB who is all smiles about the new zone blocking scheme that was also used at his college in Memphis. He and Deshaun Foster will again try to pep up a rushing offense that hasn’t finished in the top half of the league since 2003. John Fox likes a run oriented offense that chews up clock but has had difficulty returning to that glory year of 2003 when the Panthers finished in the top 10 in rushing offense.
Williams will have to get results to take more carries away from Foster, who has been a staple in this offense since 2003 despite some injuries. He will use what he learned during his rookie season to build a successful 2007 campaign. If effort level and enthusiasm count, then Williams would have been a leader on the team last year. It’s important to develop young players for the good of the game and Williams is clearly the future of this team.
The NFL is all about emotional highs and emotional lows. If you lose, it’s often because of one play or one bad kick. Having positive players around like Williams helps keep energy levels up and spirits high throughout a long season.
“When I die I’m going to have a smile on my face like the Kool-Aid Man,” said Williams.
If Williams can break tackles like the Kool Aid man breaks through walls, then fans of the team will also have a permanent smile this fall.
Carter looking for growth
July 12, 2007
by Andy Little
The stage has been set for Drew Carter. The Carolina Panthers parted ways with starting wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson in part because they wanted to get younger at the position. They drafted Dwayne Jarrett in the second round to potentially replace what Johnson leaves behind, but Jarrett will first have to make the coaching staff take their eyes off Carter for the spot opposite Steve Smith.
Carter is going into his fourth year on the team in a good position. He now has a lot of experience in this system and with starting QB Jake Delhomme. Last season he was supposed to share the third wide receiver position with Keary Colbert depending on the play called but ended up getting most of the time there. He had 28 catches for 357 yards receiving last year and signed a one year contract worth $1.3 million for the upcoming season. He is also going into this season in great shape after a hard offseason conditioning program.
“It’s good to get back into it. We just finished a hard offseason program. I love this. I love practicing and this is what you work hard for and train for. This is the fun part,” said Carter after a hard morning workout.
Carter has the kind of attitude the coaching staff wants. He is willing to do whatever is asked of him and is positive. While not a leader in the sense that Jake Delhomme or Steve Smith is, he is well liked and ready to take a greater role in this offense. New offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson will play a big part in deciding what role he has this season, and Carter is already a fan.
“We have a lot of different formations and different things. A lot of the language is the same but he’s (Davidson) coming in with his own style. It’s a good adjustment,” said Carter.
If Carter keeps working hard in this offense, then he could find himself adjusting well to a solid starting wide receiver opposite Steve Smith on opening day.
