Panthers defensive tackle Kemoeatu put on IR

[Rod Butsecks]

(By David Scott, [email protected]) p/Panthers nose tackle strongMaake Kemoeatu /strongwas placed on injured reserve Wednesday after he had surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon./pp/That means Kemoeatu, who was injured Monday during the Panthers' first practice of training camp, will miss the rest of the season./pp/The Panthers signed strongGeorge Hypolite/strong, a free agent rookie from Colorado, to take Kemoeatu's spot on the roster. Hypolite (6-foot-1, 305 pounds) was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars in July./pspan class=subheadstrongp/Injury update/p/strong/spanp/Linebacker strongThomas Davis /stronglimped off the field during Wednesday's afternoon practice with an injured right knee. Coach strongJohn Fox /strongsaid Davis ldquo;tweakedrdquo; it and it didn't appear to be serious./pp/span class=icon icon-bullet/span Four players ndash; linebacker strongJon Beason /strong(hamstring), receiver/returner strongRyne Robinson/strong, offensive guard strongDuke Robinson /strong(heat exhaustion) and guard-center strongC.J. Davis /strong(ankle) missed the morning practice. Ryne Robinson, who missed last season with a knee injury, was held out as a precaution, according to Fox. The two Robinsons practiced in the afternoon./pp/Beason, who has a sore hamstring, did some agility drills in the morning and appeared to be fine. Receiver strongMuhsin Muhammad /strongand running back strongJonathan Stewart /strongrested with Beason during the afternoon practice, although they all did vigorous exercises with strength and conditioning coach Jerry Simmons./pspan class=subheadstrongp/Delhomme's a Hoover fan/p/strong/spanp/Quarterback strongJake Delhomme /strongsaid he thinks fullback strongBrad Hoover /strongis one of the team's ndash; and NFL's ndash; most underrated players. Hoover, a 10-year veteran, is getting competition this season from rookie Tony Fiammetta./pp/ldquo;Brad is a key cog,rdquo; said Delhomme. ldquo;He's a guy I wish would get more national recognition, be in Pro Bowls and things like that. Having him really helps that running game./pp/ldquo;A fullback is very intelligent and they have to be bruisers, but they read the first level (of the defense where the play is headed). Where they enter in (at the line of scrimmage), a lot of times the running backs will follow them. If you don't have a good fullback (and if the fullback is someone) who doesn't understand fronts, the depth of linebackers ... the (running backs are) just going to run into a hole./pp/ldquo;But Brad reads everything so well. He can cut back to seal off somebody and that's what gets you those cutback runs. ldquo;He's very good and he doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves.rdquo;/p

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[Highlandfire]

This is devistating to our D.

[PantherPhann89]

Yes this will hurt our run D severly. The only way to overcome this lost is to fill the space with a vet. This way it will minimize the learning curve. However, I don't see us doing that because of our salary cap issues. We'll replace Kemo with another undrafted rookie.

[SmootsDaddy89]

fug if only we had gone through a similar situation in a previous season that turned out fine.

[Kyle82]

The only upside to this critical loss is that it happened so early and the Cats can adjust.....just wish we had the cap room to sign a veteran but the Panthers will get through this.

Get well soon big guy!!

[CanadianCat]

we are not signing him again next year - thanks for the contributions Kemo!

[Hairless Cat]

Get well Kemo- we need you next year too!