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Panthers' post-draft press conference

JakeFlake

By JakeFlake,
in Carolina Panthers

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JakeFlake Newbie

JakeFlake

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Q: Could you break down the players you drafted today?

Hurney: In the third round, (DT) Corvey Irvin, we think has quickness. He's disruptive inside. We think he gets good penetration. We think he's a very good player. (RB) Mike Goodson is an explosive player -- makes big plays, has good hands, can be a receiver out of the backfield. He can move around in spots. (FB Tony) Fiametta is just a very good fullback. He's athletic. He blocks well. We thought he was a very good fit for us. Duke Robinson is a guy who is extremely talented. We just thought in the fifth round, he was an extremely good value there. He fits what we want to do on the offensive line. He's a powerful blocker and we thought he was a good get there in the fifth round. Captain Munnerylyn,... we had higher on the board (than Round 7). He's very quick. He's a very competitive player. We feel like he was an excellent pick in the seventh round.

Q: Do you see Goodson and Munnerlyn as possible kick returners?

Hurney: We'll see. There are possibilities. We'll just see how that plays out.

Q: John, where do you think you helped yourself the most?

Fox: It's hard to say until we get them here. I'll know a lot more Friday (when minicamp starts) and through the weekend. I'm anxious to see them play. I've seen them play on tape. We'll see how they fit into our system. I feel like (Hurney and the scouting staff) have done a good job over the last few years and I don't think it'll be any different this time.

Q: John, could you talk about getting some help for your defense, snce your first three picks in this draft were defensive players?

Fox: Well, last year, we went primarily offense. I think it was about time we injected some guys in there on defense and we'll see where that lies.

Q: John, could you talk about Everette Brown, since you're obviously fond of pass rushers?

Fox: He's young. I think he's still growing as a football player. He's shown the ability to have a knack to pass rush. There's a skillset. It's not just size or speed; it's a combination. He exhibited that very well this past year and we're looking forward to working with him.

Q: How many of these guys are immediate impact players?

Fox: I don't think we would have drafted them if we didn't expect them to help us. As far as what level of that it is, that's why we practice.

Hurney: We hope every one of them can come in and contribute in some way, but until you get going, you don't really know.

Q: Was Irvin an especially good fit for you since he wasn't rated as high as the third round in many pre-draft projections?

Hurney: I think, especially this year, there were a lot of people who had a lot of different views. I think you could see (that) by the way the draft went. Pre-draft ratings, we had him on our board basically where we took him. He's a good fit. He's a good football player. He was basically in that area from Day 1 for us, and when I talk about Day 1, I go back to September and October, so we're very happy to get him.

Q: Goodson's career was interesting. His stats went down every year and he went through a coaching change, but he also reportedly had some friction this past season with coach Mike Sherman. Could you talk about that?

Hurney: We talked to people there (at Texas A&M). We did our research on him. Obviously, we felt good about him because we took him. We think he has a very good approach to it. We think he's a hard worker and we think it matters to him. Again, he has the ability to make big plays.

Q: Were there any areas you were hoping to address that you weren't able to address?

Fox: We'd like to have about 10 more picks. Unfortunately, we don't have them. I thought from what we had and getting extra picks, I thought Marty and his bunch did a good job.

Q: You came into the draft needing offensive line depth and only drafted Duke Robinson. Do you feel like you'll need to sign some veteran free agents?

Hurney: We feel good that we've got our starting five back for the first time here in a long time. We feel good about Mackenzy (Bernadeau) and (Geoff) Schwartz (draft picks last season) and then we added Duke Robinson. You know, you're always looking. If the right opportunity comes up, you're always looking to get better, but I think we feel like we made a good addition today and we felt good about who we had coming into today.

Q: Who could you put at left tackle right now to spell Jordan Gross?

Hurney: Well, that's something (we'll) go into. There will be options there. But Travelle (Wharton) has played left tackle. We'll have some options there. Again, we lost some depth on the offensive line. We knew that was a priority coming in. Hopefully, we helped ourselves some and we also had some young guys coming back from last year.

Q: Do the defensive players you drafted point particularly to what new defensive coordinator Ron Meeks wants to do?

Fox: I don't think we've changed much philosophically. You've still got to tackle and run to the ball, all out of the same concepts. From a real physical element, I don't think there's much change from what it's been here in the past.

Q: Goodson can play as a slot receiver. Do you see him possibly at the position of wide receiver?

Hurney: That's what John and (offensive coordinator) Jeff Davidson and our coaches will figure out as far as having him around, but he does have some flexibility to move and do some different things. He does bring a different dimension and he does have big-play ability.

Q: You have traditionally kept one pure fullback on the 53-man regular-season roster in Brad (Hoover). Is there room for Brad and Fiammetta on the active roster at the same time?

Fox: That's why we practice so they compete and see, and hopefully (we'll) keep our best 53. Sometimes that varies. Last year we kept two kickers, which is a little unusual as far as the league is concerrned. We've gone into the season with two quarterbacks. That's why we practice and that's why we compete. They're all competing for one of those spots.

Hurney: Obviously, certainly, there is room for that.

Q: Meeks had undersized defensive ends when he was the defensive coordinator in Indianapolis. Since Brown is also undersized, is that a preference for Meeks?

Fox: No. We just felt like (Brown) was a guy we liked a lot. ... Whether he's 6-4 or 6-1, as long as a guy can play and be productive, it doesn't matter. We haven't changed that philosophy. We liked him as a football player.

Q: Duke Robinson was projected to go much higher than he did. Where did you have him rated?

Hurney: (With) projections, you can look at 10 and they're all different. We can get Ds and Fs tomorrow in all the (post-draft) grades, but it just matters whether guys come in and help you win. I do think there were a lot of people who had him rated higher, but we just thought in the fifth round, that was a very good value for him.

Q: John, do you expect Julius Peppers to be at minicamp Friday?

Fox: Again, I have not communicated with him. I'm sure Marty addressed that yesterday, but we'll keep you posted.

Q: What about guys like Jon Beason and guys who've been hurt? Will they be ready to participate in minicamp?

Fox: We'll meet with the medical people later this week and find who's going to be in and who's going to be out. But it'll be just medical. If they don't make it, they're just not ready to go. But I don't see it being long-term. It could be for the camp, but I don't really know the exact player-by-player grade on that yet.

Q: Marty, have you had any communication with Carl Carey (Peppers' agent) since yesterday's press conference regarding whether Peppers will attend the minicamp?

Hurney: Not since I talked to you last night, no.

Fox: Have you been busy, Marty? (Fox laughs).

-- Charles Chandler

http://blogs.charlotte.com/panthers/

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Delhommey Newbie

Delhommey

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..what did i learn from this...nothing..i wish they would have asked what connor will be playing..if brayton will be moving to the inside..

If they've already decided that before camp, we've got problems.

Hurney is right that outside the first 20 or so, there was no consensus on where players should be rated. I think that has to do with how deep and wide the second tier was.

I'm happy with the draft, but this more than normal is one you won't know anything about till they take the field.

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unicar15 Experienced

unicar15

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Not bad, butchered next year's 1st round pick for a 2nd rounder this year. Pretty crazy but oh well, we'll see how he turns out or if he even starts.

No worse than you guys butchering this year's first round pick and receiving no compensation...Hope Freeman enjoys spending time on his ass.

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