Fan Fest

[bobbyp]

I'm new to this forum but I am very excited about bringing a good attitude and great knowledge to the huddle. As we all know tomorrow is fan fest, this will be my second trip in a row and my 4th trip since fan fest started. I love this oppurtunity each year to see the team scrimmage and get a chance to answer the questions I have about the team. Personally I will be looking at these different situations:

1) The Defensive Tackle situation, I read an article today that talked about how Meeks was focusing on speed on defense as well as the defensive line. Maybe the plan is to stop the run through disruptive tactics instead of brute force, if this is true Kemo's injury won't be as bad and even though a guy like Beason may not have as many tackles but he will still be effective. I plan to see how this strategy is going as well as who is the most effective in this strategy.

2) The second string oline, I would imagine that the second string oline would look somthing like this Schwartz, Berneadu, Jansen, Robinson, and Cadogen. This is totally speculation but those are the guys I see at backups with Jansen being a long snapper and actually third on the depth chart at center. Apparently Berneadu can play that position as well. I want to see how these guys play as a unit and how much push they get in the running game.

3) The Backup QB, I personally like Matt Moore a lot. I was there for his first career start against the Seahawks and was amazed at the poise that he had in the pocket. I also like Josh McCown and thought we should have signed him a few years ago when he was a free agent. I think this is a tight race and while McCown has reportedly had some shakey moments nothing much has been said about Matt. I will be trying to see whether McCown can be a servicable backup or whether we should put all faith into Matt Moore.

4) The wide receivers and tightends, Not Smitty or Moose but the next couple tiers of guys. I want to see if Jarrett can be the guy, I want to see if Robinson can come back from the injury and I will be looking closely at Monk and Beavers. This is a position that is wide open after the first three spots. As far as the tightends my focus will be squarely on Barnidge who has gotten about as much love as Mike Goodson. I'm very anxious to see if Barnidge can be a Wesley Walls type of player!

5) The rookies, there hasn't been much said about any of them except for Goodson. Everette Brown seems to be a hard worker, Sherrod Martin is learning the new position, Corvey Irvin has gotten some pressure, Tony Fiammata threw a good block, Duke Robinson is big, and Captain Munnerlyn is confident, yada yada yada. I want to know how they perform!

I have posted on another forum in the past but moved to this one because of all the guys who left the other forum. So far this one seems great and I look forward to getting in good conversations about the panthers. I will post a detailed analysis Sunday night or Monday morning about what I saw at fan fest. Last year I remember saying how Gary Gibson played well and that I thought Jason Carter was a bum. Gary got some PT last season and Carter did nothing during preseason but disappoint. This year I hope to give even more insight. If there is anything that hasn't already been listed above that others want me to check out just let me know. Thanks and its good to be apart of the team.

[Skew]

Welcome to the Huddle.

I've been to most Fan Fest, but I've got a date with a couple of fresbie golf courses tomorrow. But I'll give you my thoughts on your questions. But you may not like them.

1) Even with Meeks defense, losing Kemo is a big loss. He may not have had a lot of tackles, but he was a big run stuffer. With the loss of him, there will be more pressure on the rest of the D line and LBs. Kemo kept a lot of pressure off of them which helped them stay fresh. My concern is if they are able to hold their own early in a game, they will tire out towards the end of the game.

2) Another spot I'm worried about. We have a strong 1st string, but the talent drops off after that. And we WILL have injuries. Depth concerns me greatly.

3) I agree with you on Moore. He seems very poised in the pocket and doesn't seem to make mistakes. Plays smart. I think he has great potential. McCown is not bad as a backup either, but I think Moore has more intangibles than McCown. But Fox will want a veteran backup, so no matter how well Moore does, McCown will be the backup. I love Fox, but I agree with many others when they say he is stubborn.

4) Jerrett and Robinson both need to step up this year. I don't want to go through another "let's give Colbert one more year" experiment BS. Step up, or get out.

5) Rookies: some perform well, some don't. Fox doesn't like to start rookies for the most part, especially at playmaker positions unless he has to. Even if they are more talented than the vets. But we will see.

Look for the official "Huddle Tailgate Parties" before each game. Free food, free sodas, kids welcome, just bring your own booze if you want some. Always a great tailgate. Just show up. That's all we ask.

Again. Welcome to the Huddle.

[Kettle]

nice first post bobbyP. i look forward to more. and like Skew said. hit up the tailgates. they're great fun with great people.

[firstdayfan]

Welcome to the Huddle.

I've been to most Fan Fest, but I've got a date with a couple of fresbie golf courses tomorrow. But I'll give you my thoughts on your questions. But you may not like them.

1) Even with Meeks defense, losing Kemo is a big loss. He may not have had a lot of tackles, but he was a big run stuffer. With the loss of him, there will be more pressure on the rest of the D line and LBs. Kemo kept a lot of pressure off of them which helped them stay fresh. My concern is if they are able to hold their own early in a game, they will tire out towards the end of the game.

2) Another spot I'm worried about. We have a strong 1st string, but the talent drops off after that. And we WILL have injuries. Depth concerns me greatly.

3) I agree with you on Moore. He seems very poised in the pocket and doesn't seem to make mistakes. Plays smart. I think he has great potential. McCown is not bad as a backup either, but I think Moore has more intangibles than McCown. But Fox will want a veteran backup, so no matter how well Moore does, McCown will be the backup. I love Fox, but I agree with many others when they say he is stubborn.

4) Jerrett and Robinson both need to step up this year. I don't want to go through another "let's give Colbert one more year" experiment BS. Step up, or get out.

5) Rookies: some perform well, some don't. Fox doesn't like to start rookies for the most part, especially at playmaker positions unless he has to. Even if they are more talented than the vets. But we will see.

Look for the official "Huddle Tailgate Parties" before each game. Free food, free sodas, kids welcome, just bring your own booze if you want some. Always a great tailgate. Just show up. That's all we ask.

Again. Welcome to the Huddle.

Don't know what happened but I had to change my ID, the first one never registered properly. I completely agree with you Skew, these are all questions that I will hopefully get a better handle on once I see them practice. You are right about everything that you mentioned and I think Jarrett will step up, in fact from the looks of things he has already started. Robinson I'm not so sure about, I viewed him as another Smitty waiting in the wings and I even remember how Steve helped him out a lot during his rookie year but that injury may be too much to come back from. I can't wait for tomorrow!

[PantherPride74]

J.J. Jansen isn't an offensive lineman, heck he's not even an offensive player. I noticed from mini-camp, OTA and training camp pictures that he's always wearing the same color jersey that the defense is wearing. I think our O-line looks like this as of today...

LT: Jordan Gross - Gerald Cadogan - Patrick Brown

LG: Travelle Wharton - Mackenzy Bernadeau - Garry Williams

C: Ryan Kalil - Justin Geisinger - Keith Gray

RG: Keydrick Vincent - Duke Robinson - C.J. Davis

RT: Jeff Otah - Geoff Schwartz - Jonathan Palmer

[PantherBoy95]

Last year was good...but all of the players went to one side of the freaking field during the autograph session... usually they have people to guide them to an open spot (as if they can't obviously see a players not signing in that spot). THe first time I went I got Smith, Drew Carter, Ryan Kalil and some others autographs...last year I got Frank Omiyale and Gross PERIOD

[firstdayfan]

You may be right PantherPride74, I don't know why I thought Jansen was listed as a center. I thought that was why we traded for him, but usually the long snapper doesn't do anything else except for that. I will pay close attention to whoever backs up Kalil at the scrimmage. I'm almost certain that Bernadeau will get some reps there at some point, maybe with the third stringers. I think they expect him to be the next Hangartner with Duke being the next Bridges, a guy who can kick out to right tackle if need be. The biggest thing about the depth of the oline is something that many people haven't really discussed. Wharton can play guard and left tackle, Gross can play left or right side, Otah could play left or right side, and Vincent should be able to handle left or right guard. Our lineman are very versatile which means they can move around to accomidate injuries.

This isn't the case on the defensive line as Skew pointed out earlier. With Kemo out there are no other guys on the roster with that skill set. Kemo played on obvious running situations and came out in passing situations so the pass defense won't be affected. The Panthers have to either find a replacement or change their strategy to a more disruptive approach to stopping the run, which I think can work.

[Skew]

This isn't the case on the defensive line as Skew pointed out earlier. With Kemo out there are no other guys on the roster with that skill set. Kemo played on obvious running situations and came out in passing situations so the pass defense won't be affected. The Panthers have to either find a replacement or change their strategy to a more disruptive approach to stopping the run, which I think can work.

You are right, FirstDay. But I meant with Kemo out, our run D will suffer. Our pass D will suffer as well, but you're right, not as much as the run D.

But my point was that we will not find a replacement in the run D nearly as good as Kemo. So our run D will not be as good.

Watch teams try to run it down our throat this year. Which will put more pressure on the rest of the D-line and LBs.

My concern.