Your fan fest observations...

[firstdayfan]

Ok, first off I've got to say that I'm completely confused at what everyone else was watching on Saturday because there are a ton of player performance comments that I just flat out don't agree with or don't get. But without calling anyone out I will give a pretty detailed view of what I saw while at Fan Fest.

1) I'll go ahead and get the obvious out of the way, yes it was hot, the big time guys didn't play, it was short (only the 6th day of camp people) and everyone signed autographs. Ok, now lets move on to the good stuff.

2) The Defensive Line: I think our defensive ends are absolutely stacked this year. Hilee Taylor completely destroyed the guy in front of him on several plays and Everette Brown got into the backfield disrupting things quite a bit. But the star was Charles Johnson, if he doesn't start it will be a crime. One play in particular was a bootleg that jake faked to the running back and was going to come back and throw to Barnidge. Johnson didn't bite and was right in his face knocking down the pass. The defensive tackles were not as impressive but I could definitely see the result of all the drills I've been reading about. Everyone of them were so quick off the ball and with all sorts of swim moves they got the pressure they neeeded. It was really interesting to see. The only one that didn't impress me was Nick Hayden (see offensive line)

3) The Offensive Line: I don't want this to sound like I condone practicing half ass (I actually dispise it) but it is the nature of the beast. Some guys just don't try in practice and then blow you away in a game. Duke Robinson might be one of those guys, the man is an absolute monster and I think the heat has really affected him. With that said I think he was a steal in the fifth round! He dominated the guy in front of him on a regular basis and moved really well during the scrimmage. He pushed Hayden back about 10 yards past the line of scrimmage one time in particular, the poor kid could do anything but back peddle into the safeties!!! Duke will be fine once he learns the game and maybe gets some better work ethic but he's young and I'm not worried. As for the other guys I'm not as worried about the offensive line depth as before, Bernadeau has gained some weight and looks huge, he played center with the 2's along with Palmer, Robinson, Geisinger, and Schwartz, which I thought was a good group.

4) The Wide Recievers: How can anyone not mention KENNETH MOORE!!!! This kid put on a clinic and was by far the best receiver in the scrimmage with the exception of Jarrett. He caught a pass from Moore that was the best catch I saw all day, with the exception of Jarrett. If he doesn't make the team I'll be stunned and I bet he leads the receivers in yardage during the preseason. Oh and I looked it up and he ran a 4.47 at the combine in 08 so he has pretty decent speed. Monk had a few good grabs but also dropped a couple in warmups and Beavers had a nice one or two. Everyone else looked pretty average, except for Jarrett. Speaking of that USC guy, wow what a day! During warm ups he and a great one handed grab which has been mentioned but is worth repeating. Then I took one play off and totally watched him, he ran the most perfect route ever, he set up the db (cant remember who) and worked him to the outside just before cutting back in and snagging a perfectly timed pass by McCown in traffic and took it up field. would have been about a 17-20 yard gain. He definitely has improved over the past two years.

5) Tightends/fullbacks: Everyone was pretty good at this position today, they blocked well and caught the ball pretty well except for the Fiammatta pass that he dropped, but in all fairness it did hit him right between the 4 and the 2, those are always the hardest. I came to Fan Fest anticipating seeing Barnidge make some plays and he didnt disappoint. During the 7 on 7 he caught a great pass right down the seam from Jake and may have got another 8-10 yards (they weren't tackling at this point) I was impressed at the seperation he got and could consider taking him late in a fantasy draft or two (not really, but I will keep an eye on him as a free agent).

6) Linebackers: Jumping back to defense, really nothing much here. No one really stood out except for a great tackle that James Anderson got on Goodson in the open field. Dan Connor looks great at middle backer he might have literally knocked the crap out of a running back after they made a short reception and then Nail Diggs nearly decapitated him cleaning up the play. The one thing I can say is the linebackers and the whole defense swarmed the football like I've never seen before, they were very aggressive.

7) The Secondary: I didn't think the secondary was as bad as people have been saying. No picks but there wasn't really anyhting thrown that deep. I also thought CJ Wilson was excellent, he had tight coverage and was very physical in playing the run. Richard Marshall also played pretty well throughout. Captain Munnerlyn had a great pass breakup and should make the team and provide some quality depth. The one guy that I was dissappointed with was Sherrod Martin, who could end up being a big time bust, maybe I'm exaggerating but he seemed very lost to me. Maybe he is still learning the nuances of playing corner but jeez I wasn't impressed at all.

8) The Quarterbacks: I don't care what anyone says but the backups didn't play as bad as reported. McCown played decent but I thought Matt Moore was great. He started off throwing the short passes to the tightends and running backs. He moved well in the pocket and used his checkdowns. He got rid of the ball in a timely manner and threw an absolutely perfect pass to Kenny Moore for about a 25 yard gain (I think they called it incomplete because Moore couldn't get his other foot down), while another deep pass to Monk was incomplete but it would have been a bigtime reception but Gamble was all over him (should of been pass interference). Cantwell played pretty well for a practice squad guy, I really think if Moore plays well during preseason (which is a big if) then he could solidify his spot as the number two and the QB of the future. Jake looked sharp throwing in the 7 on 7 (when he had Moose and Smitty) but didn't get as much help in the scrimmage. I'm not worried considering how early it was.

9) The Running backs: Mike Goodson, Mike Goodson, Mike Goodson. That's all we've heard the past few weeks and I was really excited about seeing him live. He had a pretty could day and definitely showed a good burst. I wish he were better at fielding punts (it would open a spot for Kenneth Moore) but was exceptional at the kickoffs. I think he will be great at that. The few down spots was when he cut off his route on the infamous JAKE BOOING PLAY (Which I thought was ridiculous). He had some good runs but got caught dancing a little bit as he tried to bounce one outside. Jamal Lee and Decori Birmingham ran hard, preseason should be good for the running backs because we are really deep there.

Thats what I saw and I really think the standouts yesterday were Kenneth Moore, Barnidge, Charles Johnson, Hilee Taylor, Everrette Brown, and Mike Goodson. The guys who didn't have that great of a day (which isn't the end of the world) were Nick Hayden, Sherrod Martin, and maybe Fiammatta because be dropped the only pass he got. It was hot but I had a great day no matter how short it was and the best part was that my son had a good time and my 5 month old got his first taste of a lifelong obsession with the PANTHERS!!!

[Fireball77]

test post

[Fireball77]

Good stuff, thanks!

Hope you are right about the OL. There have been a few mixed reviews on Duke thus far.

Glad to hear that about the D. If they can play like Meeks' 2005 Colts D I will be happy. You description sounds like that.

[dpanthersman]

Ok, first off I've got to say that I'm completely confused at what everyone else was watching on Saturday because there are a ton of player performance comments that I just flat out don't agree with or don't get. But without calling anyone out I will give a pretty detailed view of what I saw while at Fan Fest.

1) I'll go ahead and get the obvious out of the way, yes it was hot, the big time guys didn't play, it was short (only the 6th day of camp people) and everyone signed autographs. Ok, now lets move on to the good stuff.

2) The Defensive Line: I think our defensive ends are absolutely stacked this year. Hilee Taylor completely destroyed the guy in front of him on several plays and Everette Brown got into the backfield disrupting things quite a bit. But the star was Charles Johnson, if he doesn't start it will be a crime. One play in particular was a bootleg that jake faked to the running back and was going to come back and throw to Barnidge. Johnson didn't bite and was right in his face knocking down the pass. The defensive tackles were not as impressive but I could definitely see the result of all the drills I've been reading about. Everyone of them were so quick off the ball and with all sorts of swim moves they got the pressure they neeeded. It was really interesting to see. The only one that didn't impress me was Nick Hayden (see offensive line)

3) The Offensive Line: I don't want this to sound like I condone practicing half ass (I actually dispise it) but it is the nature of the beast. Some guys just don't try in practice and then blow you away in a game. Duke Robinson might be one of those guys, the man is an absolute monster and I think the heat has really affected him. With that said I think he was a steal in the fifth round! He dominated the guy in front of him on a regular basis and moved really well during the scrimmage. He pushed Hayden back about 10 yards past the line of scrimmage one time in particular, the poor kid could do anything but back peddle into the safeties!!! Duke will be fine once he learns the game and maybe gets some better work ethic but he's young and I'm not worried. As for the other guys I'm not as worried about the offensive line depth as before, Bernadeau has gained some weight and looks huge, he played center with the 2's along with Palmer, Robinson, Geisinger, and Schwartz, which I thought was a good group.

4) The Wide Recievers: How can anyone not mention KENNETH MOORE!!!! This kid put on a clinic and was by far the best receiver in the scrimmage with the exception of Jarrett. He caught a pass from Moore that was the best catch I saw all day, with the exception of Jarrett. If he doesn't make the team I'll be stunned and I bet he leads the receivers in yardage during the preseason. Oh and I looked it up and he ran a 4.47 at the combine in 08 so he has pretty decent speed. Monk had a few good grabs but also dropped a couple in warmups and Beavers had a nice one or two. Everyone else looked pretty average, except for Jarrett. Speaking of that USC guy, wow what a day! During warm ups he and a great one handed grab which has been mentioned but is worth repeating. Then I took one play off and totally watched him, he ran the most perfect route ever, he set up the db (cant remember who) and worked him to the outside just before cutting back in and snagging a perfectly timed pass by McCown in traffic and took it up field. would have been about a 17-20 yard gain. He definitely has improved over the past two years.

5) Tightends/fullbacks: Everyone was pretty good at this position today, they blocked well and caught the ball pretty well except for the Fiammatta pass that he dropped, but in all fairness it did hit him right between the 4 and the 2, those are always the hardest. I came to Fan Fest anticipating seeing Barnidge make some plays and he didnt disappoint. During the 7 on 7 he caught a great pass right down the seam from Jake and may have got another 8-10 yards (they weren't tackling at this point) I was impressed at the seperation he got and could consider taking him late in a fantasy draft or two (not really, but I will keep an eye on him as a free agent).

6) Linebackers: Jumping back to defense, really nothing much here. No one really stood out except for a great tackle that James Anderson got on Goodson in the open field. Dan Connor looks great at middle backer he might have literally knocked the crap out of a running back after they made a short reception and then Nail Diggs nearly decapitated him cleaning up the play. The one thing I can say is the linebackers and the whole defense swarmed the football like I've never seen before, they were very aggressive.

7) The Secondary: I didn't think the secondary was as bad as people have been saying. No picks but there wasn't really anyhting thrown that deep. I also thought CJ Wilson was excellent, he had tight coverage and was very physical in playing the run. Richard Marshall also played pretty well throughout. Captain Munnerlyn had a great pass breakup and should make the team and provide some quality depth. The one guy that I was dissappointed with was Sherrod Martin, who could end up being a big time bust, maybe I'm exaggerating but he seemed very lost to me. Maybe he is still learning the nuances of playing corner but jeez I wasn't impressed at all.

8) The Quarterbacks: I don't care what anyone says but the backups didn't play as bad as reported. McCown played decent but I thought Matt Moore was great. He started off throwing the short passes to the tightends and running backs. He moved well in the pocket and used his checkdowns. He got rid of the ball in a timely manner and threw an absolutely perfect pass to Kenny Moore for about a 25 yard gain (I think they called it incomplete because Moore couldn't get his other foot down), while another deep pass to Monk was incomplete but it would have been a bigtime reception but Gamble was all over him (should of been pass interference). Cantwell played pretty well for a practice squad guy, I really think if Moore plays well during preseason (which is a big if) then he could solidify his spot as the number two and the QB of the future. Jake looked sharp throwing in the 7 on 7 (when he had Moose and Smitty) but didn't get as much help in the scrimmage. I'm not worried considering how early it was.

9) The Running backs: Mike Goodson, Mike Goodson, Mike Goodson. That's all we've heard the past few weeks and I was really excited about seeing him live. He had a pretty could day and definitely showed a good burst. I wish he were better at fielding punts (it would open a spot for Kenneth Moore) but was exceptional at the kickoffs. I think he will be great at that. The few down spots was when he cut off his route on the infamous JAKE BOOING PLAY (Which I thought was ridiculous). He had some good runs but got caught dancing a little bit as he tried to bounce one outside. Jamal Lee and Decori Birmingham ran hard, preseason should be good for the running backs because we are really deep there.

Thats what I saw and I really think the standouts yesterday were Kenneth Moore, Barnidge, Charles Johnson, Hilee Taylor, Everrette Brown, and Mike Goodson. The guys who didn't have that great of a day (which isn't the end of the world) were Nick Hayden, Sherrod Martin, and maybe Fiammatta because be dropped the only pass he got. It was hot but I had a great day no matter how short it was and the best part was that my son had a good time and my 5 month old got his first taste of a lifelong obsession with the PANTHERS!!!

im glad to hear johnson and taylor are playing good. wonder if that will cause brayton to get more playing time at dt? thanks for the info!

[Snake]

good post..

from what i have seen i think brown will not start this season..he has been good but he tends to get taken out the play..johnson has been having a good camp.

i hope mccown and moore get it together because cantwell has been outplaying them both..in TC

I doubt they will put him in the fire early. I would expect they would spot play him like they have done with Johnson and Taylor. I am really excited about Taylor cause he is really in the right system now.

[monstercat]

Thanks Firstdayfan. Feel free to post more often.