Mason's Minutes: Heat, intensity rising

[AKPantherFan]

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Wednesday morning, defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu underwent surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon. Wednesday afternoon, his season officially ended when the Panthers placed him on injured reserve.

"It was kind of expected. Usually an Achilles rupture is that type of injury," head coach John Fox said. "The surgery went well; he got a good repair and we'll start the rehab process."

Kemoeatu said prior to the procedure that medical personnel told him that he would be off his right foot for "about four weeks," and would begin rehabilitation after that.

"I wasn't coming into camp expecting to get hurt on the first day, but that's all part of football," he said Tuesday. "The Carolina Panthers will move on, and we're going to do (well)."

MOVING ON ... meant filling the roster spot vacated by Kemoeatu, and that meant signing rookie defensive tackle George Hypolite, most recently of the Jacksonville Jaguars and a product of the University of Colorado.

Hypolite was a second-team All-Big 12 selection last year, but passed through the draft without being selected. Jacksonville waived Hypolite on July 23 after signing him as an undrafted free agent on May 1.

At 299 pounds, the 6-foot-1 Hypolite becomes the second-lightest defensive tackle on the Panthers. Nick Hayden, a sixth-round pick of Carolina last year, is listed at 292 pounds.

BACK ON THE PRACTICE FIELD ... tempers didn't rise with the heat on Wednesday morning, but the overall intensity certainly did ...

SPLIT SECONDS:

... Linebacker Thomas Davis "tweaked" his knee during the afternoon practice, but remained on the sidelines after being hurt and walked normally back into the Richardson building following the 90-minute session ...

... Former Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker was on hand; he'll be the color analyst on the television broadcasts of the preseason games against Miami, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Upon getting a glimpse of Rucker, who retired following the 2007 offseason, strength and conditioning coach Jerry Simmons yelled, "Hey, you ain't practicing!" and waved him over to the exercise bicycles -- the standard practice-time work for those Panthers who aren't practicing for injuries or other reasons ...

... Speaking of the stationary bikes, three Panthers found themselves on them Wednesday morning: linebacker Jon Beason, wide receiver Ryne Robinson and offensive lineman Duke Robinson. Beason is still working through a tweaked hasmtring. Ryne Robinson was a team decision, while the rookie Robinson had heat exhaustion Tuesday afternoon and was still recovering Wednesday ...

... Damione Lewis and Nick Hayden continued to handle first-team duties at the defensive tackle slots ...

... Dan Connor continued filling in for Beason at middle linebacker...

... One of the most intriguing portions of practice came in what was called a "combo" drill, where linebackers and safeties faced off against running backs, fullbacks and tight ends. In the first portion of the drill, the offensive players ran routes; in the second, they stayed in the backfield to block.

During this period, Running back Mike Goodson, who has been one of the more intriguing players to watch at camp, was again worthy of the eyeballs, quickly gaining separation on his man during the receiving half and later holding off James Anderson during the blockng phase. Anderson -- who has a 23-pound size advantage on Goodson -- had a running start when the tailback met him in the backfield. Goodson moved a step back, regained his footing and battled Anderson to a stalemate ...

... Wide receiver Jason Carter drew some ooohs from the fans with a spin move on Captain Munnerlyn in the open field after catching a pass from Hunter Cantwell. Drops have been rare for Carter, who is attempting to overcome a torn anterior cruciate ligament that derailed a promising preseason last August ...

... Quinton Teal and Dante Wesley both intercepted passes during the seven-on-seven periods of the morning practice. Teal added an interception during the afternoon session

more....http://www.panthers.com/news/article-1/masons-minutes-heat-intensity-rising/42325d4d-4b22-4bf2-823f-e6e82d346429

[beastson]

Man I need some damn video to see Goodson. I really cant wait to see what he do in preseason

[joemac]

Man, he does sound good.....you can never have too many weapons on the offensive side of the ball. Something that has been very rare for us over the years.