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Impressions from Training Camp this Week

joethoma

By joethoma,
in Carolina Panthers

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joethoma Newbie

joethoma

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I had to drive down from CLT to ALT this week for work, so I was able to stop by and see the practices Wednesday and Thursday...

First off, the offense looks like they did at the end of last year- sharp, tough, and capable of scoring every possesion. Our O-line looks great, creating huge holes for D-lo and Goodson (who looks like he is a real find- he looked good on the kickoff returns I saw as well). If Stewart is down, I do believe Goodson is a capable backup to D-lo. On the TE front, I saw some good catches from both King and Barnidge- Rosario looks like he is in the mix too and is a big part on special teams. Barnidge was running a lot with the first team; however, King may have had the best catch I saw on a TD throw.

With Smitty being out, I must say old man Muhammed has still got it and looked to be the best receiver on the team from what I saw. I was pleasantly surprised with Jarrett, who made some good grabs including a great TD pass. He is definitely the 3rd receiver right now.

4th receiver looks like it is up in the air- I didn't see anyone really distinguish themselves. I saw Jason Cherry? make the best catches out of the bunch. After hearing so many good things about Rhyne Robinson the year before last, I have to wonder if he is going to make the team. Not the first choice on kickoff or punts this year.

To go back to the O-line for a minute, they are beasts and have to be among the best in the NFL. Hopefully everyone stays healthy. Gross and Otah have a chance to be the best pair of offensive tackles in the NFL. When they moved Peppers over, Otah was definitely holding his own.

The QB's looked sharp, especially Delhomme and McCown. I would have to think McCown is ahead of Matt Moore right now. He did pretty well but had a couple of balls picked that I saw. Doesn't seem like much of a drop-off with McCown in. He seems to know the offense real well and has a good arm as well.

On the defensive side, I must say I like Ron Meeks a lot. He seems high energy and really is preaching (and yelling when necessary) to swarm the ball and attack the ballcarrier. I am impressed at the team speed. A lot of the LB's were backups playing with the 1's but they all seemed fast along with the secondary.

Along those lines, I think Captain Munnerlyn may be a revelation, and I would not be surprised to see him contributing immediately provided he does well in the preseason games. Everything you read about him is true. He looked like a veteran out there and may be the 3rd best corner on this team. He is also in the mix returning kickoffs and punts.

Our DE's looked good, especially Pep and Brayton from what I saw. I think when you add Johnson and Brown to the mix, we have good quality depth. Brown is fast but I still think he has a ways to go to contribute on running downs. I think the coaches are going to move him around to try to get him good matchups to utilize his speed.

I think on passing downs when they slide Johnson or Brayton inside with Lewis we are going to get some pressure. They looked good on passing downs.

My biggest concern which is obviously no surprise is at DT. There is not a guy out there even close to the mold of Kemo, Jenkins, Buckner, or even Kindal Moorehead for that matter. This is going to have to be addressed before the season.

I think Meeks will do a good job of coaching these guys up but as big of a Panthers fan as I am, I'm not delusion enough to think the guys on our roster along can get the job done over the long course of a season.

Our O-line is very good, but they were simply having their way on running downs. I trust our pass rush but this is an area we simply have to address...

No rocket science there but it is a glaring weakness on an otherwise solid team.

Overall, I want to reiterate that the team looked good overall. I believe our offense can duplicate our top their performance last year. Our defense, mostly just the defensive middle, looks like it is a work in progress, and I have faith Fox, Hurney, and Meeks will address this before the season starts.

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Highlandfire Newbie

Highlandfire

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Great stuff, we out of towner's thank you! That said, Under Meeks you are going to see the DT's shoot the gap and try to penetrate more I think than just hold the gap. That is more like a Tampa 2 which he likes to run. The great thing is, we have had the talent for a T2 for years but never ran it. Maybe now we have found the ideal D for our talent.

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Delhommey Newbie

Delhommey

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There are a few teams, like NYG and Tenn, that have some depth at DT. We can either wait for crumbs or trade a lower round pick for a decent body in there.

Cap space isn't that much of a problem. Juggling can be done, but it's not prefered, especially with the CBA being what it is.

Trust me. If the Skins can get Haynesworth and still actively pursue Cutler, we can get one or two decent bodies in the middle.

All I know is a handful of rookies (they just by nature can't be strong enough) and Nick "Disney on Ice" Hayden cannot go it alone. They may can be part of the rotation, but they cannot hold up the middle, even if Lewis were to have a All Pro year.

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