The Mini Camp Thread....(updated Sunday)

[carpanfan96]

For what constancy is worth, I don't think Orakpo at 263 would be great in run support either, but Orakpo wouldn't need to put on as much weight as Brown to get into the 270ish range either.

Orakpo was the strongest dlinemen taken including DT's. I think he will handle himself well against the run.

[SmootsDaddy89]

lol Damione Lewis and Corvey Irwin are the exact same weight broseph. Sherrod Martin and Chris Gamble are the exact same height and within two pounds of one another.

[monstercat]

If he has so much control why isn't Brown working with the first team then? If this is Ron Meek's prototypical defensive end and he's already in the size range Meeks looks for in a DE I can't imagine why he wouldn't be starting over BRAYTON at least. I think oppositely from you, the fact that we traded so much to get an undersized DE, yet he's NOT working with the first team shows that Fox still exercises a fair amount of control over the personnel he wants in his defense.

I hope maybe he can be one of those rare defensive ends that are undersized but still play outstanding against the run (See Michael Strahan) I just wouldn't bet on it.

That has already been answered...it's the first day of the first mini camp. Starting line ups mean nothing right now.

Anyway, I will never agree with you on this because I believe that stopping the run and rushing the passer is much more dependent on a guy's ability than on his height and weight. If all it took was having the prototypical DE size, then Stanley McClover would still be on the roster and Hilee Taylor would have never made it past the first cut last year.

[carpanfan96]

lol Damione Lewis and Corvey Irwin are the exact same weight broseph. Sherrod Martin and Chris Gamble are the exact same height and within two pounds of one another.

type of corners man, Martin is considered a cover 2/ tampa 2 corner or safety.

[Mr. Scot]

Compiling my notes for a post about the afternoon version right now...

[rayzor]

Compiling my notes for a post about the afternoon version right now...

well hurry, dangit.

[SmootsDaddy89]

That has already been answered...it's the first day of the first mini camp. Starting line ups mean nothing right now.

Anyway, I will never agree with you on this because I believe that stopping the run and rushing the passer is much more dependent on a guy's ability than on his height and weight. If all it took was having the prototypical DE size, then Stanley McClover would still be on the roster and Hilee Taylor would have never made it past the first cut last year.

Yes, they do. How many lineup changes did we have after minicamp last season? Right guard. That's it.

Also Taylor beat McClover because he could rush the passer better AND no one considered him to be a candidate to start last season (except delusional UNC fans) For a rotational guy who generally only comes in on passing downs, you can be undersized as long as you get to the QB. Hence why I believe Brown will be a rotational guy this year while he gets bigger.

[PanthersAlv]

well hurry, dangit.

I know! Right!

Tempus fugit!!!

[SmootsDaddy89]

type of corners man, Martin is considered a cover 2/ tampa 2 corner or safety.

I haven't read anything about him being a prototypical Cover 2 corner except from posters here who are doing so to suit their belief that we're changing to the Cover 2 full time.

But I'm done arguing. I want to see what Mr. Scot says!

[Squirrel]

I know! Right!

Tempus fugit!!!

Starving here and waiting on his report.

[monstercat]

Yes, they do. How many lineup changes did we have after minicamp last season? Right guard. That's it.

Also Taylor beat McClover because he could rush the passer better AND no one considered him to be a candidate to start last season (except delusional UNC fans) For a rotational guy who generally only comes in on passing downs, you can be undersized as long as you get to the QB. Hence why I believe Brown will be a rotational guy this year while he gets bigger.

Taylor also played the run better than McClover, that was obvious to anybody who cared to watch.

We will see what happens, but I'm not about to put any stock on who lines up with the ones' on the first day of mini camp. That's a fools game.

[Mr. Scot]

For the afternoon session, I spent more time watching the defensive guys, but I caught some of the offense too.

First notice: Lovers of aggressiveness may just have something to be happy about this season. Last year, it seemed like the defensive backs jumped routes so few times I started to wonder if they were being coached not to do so. Today, early in the afternoon session, I saw Charles Godfrey jump a route and break up a Delhomme pass. I’ll be hopeful to see more of that this season.

Speaking of Delhomme, noticed this afternoon that he was very chummy with his offensive linemen, especially Jordan Gross and Ryan Kalil. Smart move for a QB.

During the initial stretching, I noticed a few guys getting a little extra help from the staff. Thomas Davis, James Anderson, Kevin McMahan and Dante Wesley were all getting extra help, with one (Davis, I think) getting assistance from strength coach Jerry Simmons.

Back on the topic of aggressiveness: Don’t be surprised to see a heavy emphasis on takeaways this season. Early in the session, the defense split into three sections, each run by a different coach (DL coach Brian Baker, LB Coach Richard Smith and secondary coach Ron Milus, with DC Ron Meeks in the middle observing). Each of the three areas was a different drill to teach stripping the ball, and the player groups rotated so that they got teaching from each coach.

The coach I was closest to was Brian Baker. And I can tell you this much. Baker talks constantly when he’s coaching. His mouth was non-stop, and I have a few quotes from him listed below.

During the drill, Baker kept referring to the guy going for the ball as “the stripper” which made me chuckle. Captain Munnerlyn wasn’t chuckling though, and neither was C J Wilson. Baker got onto both of them for the way they were doing their strips. Tyler Brayton seemed to be having a little better time, as he did a lttle barking at Everette Brown when they were going at each other (little bit of rookie initiation there perhaps).

Speaking of Brown, they used him some as a blocker on punts today. Not a punt blocker, a blocker. Might be wanting to use him in coverage.

Shortly after, linebackers went heavy into some running/pass catching drills. A lot of catches, but some drops too. Undrafted linebacker Brit Miller, without being told, went to the ground and did some pushups after dropping a ball thrown right at him (nice work ethic, kid). New vet pickup Mike Juergens had a really nice looking pick in there. He actually looked decent all around (today, anyway).

Defensive line next went to some shuttle type drills. During these drills, Kemo and Lewis were very vocal, snarling, growling, grunting and urging teammates on. Got a chance to see just how quick Everette Brown’s feet are with these drills. His first step really is quick. Also saw that Coach Baker is going to need to settle on a name for Kemo, I think, because during these drills I heard him call out “Maka”, “Mocky”, and “Kemo” (stick with that one I say).

Interesting drill followed. After having the guys do some tussling with each other trying to teach how to get off of blockers, coach Baker had them do the drill again with their eyes closed. The purpose, he said, was to teach them how to “feel their way along the line” so that they could keep their eyes attined to finding the ball. Interesting concept. Noticed Everette Brown doing well here again, along with Corvey Irvin.

Sad to say, one guy wasn’t doing so well. Undrafted DT Marlon favorite isn’t living up to his last name, except as the favorite target for Coach Baker, who got on him several times. Favorite looked slow and heavy footed, honestly. Justin Kershaw and Lonnie Harvey both showed more than he did. Not sure Favorite lasts long if he doesn’t improve.

More of Gary Barnidge showing sticky fingers, including a really nice diving catch on a pass from Matt Moore. Also wondering, because I could swear Jeff King looks faster than I remember him being. Also more good stuff from young guy Kevin Brock. He did a great job of beating everyone downfield one play to catch what would have been a TD. The afternoon session made me again wonder if the TE position is going to get more use this season. WR,Kenny Moore also continued to look impressive.

Watched a lot of line drills (OL vs DL). Notable moments here included:

- watching Everette Brown do the same dip and rip I’ve seen him do on video

- Gerald Cadogan completely walling off Justin Kershaw

- C J Davis doing likewise to Babatunde Oshinowo

- Nick Hayden splitting a double between Davis and Jeff Otah

- A really nice swim move to get past the line by Tyler Brayton

- A spirited matched between Lonnie Harvey and Keith Gray

- Travelle Wharton completely thwarting Casper Brinkley

- Wharton later getting utterly abused by Ma’ake Kemoeatu

- Corvey Irvin breaking through two guys cleanly (forget who)

- Hilee Taylor getting easily past one of the rookies

- Justin Kershaw beating Geoff Schwartz pretty badly

- Jordan Gross frustrating Charles Johnson

- Duke Robinson thoroughly owning Lonnie Harvey

One other thing I think you can look for this season: QB fundamentals. During the last part of practice, QB coach Rip Scherer had all four QBs off to themselves. Wasn’t close enough to hear, but I could see he was working on basics of dropping back, setting up and planting and making the throw. Noticed at one point he even stopped jake in mid-drill and had him run it again. You could tell he was getting pretty deep into it with all the guys, honestly.

Another thing: I’d say Scherer is a big believer in using the hard count. Noticed the QBs using more of that today than I could remember previously. Victims today included rookies like Everette Brown and Corvey Irvin, vets like Charles Johnson and, sadly, Jeff Otah. I find myself wondering if Scherer plans to remake the QBs on roster from the ground up (not necessarily a bad thing).

Sight of the day: Steve Smith absolutely abused Richard Marshall on a smoke route pass from Delhomme. Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come from Smith, not Marshall. Also noteworthy, Chris Gamble looked good in what I saw of him.

Quotes heard through the session…

From Brian Baker:

“Gotta train your body to do it. Gotta train your mind to do it.” - to the DL

“Show me what you’ve learned.” - to Corvey Irvin

“Don’t matter if you’re little as long as you’re fast.” – to Everette Brown

From Danny Crossman:

“Watch the smack.” – to someone who was apparently getting mouthy

“Attack that sumb—ch” – to the guys rushing the punt

From DC Ron Meeks:

“Oh, come on now.” – loudly, after the D gave up a big pass to Kevin Brock

“You’ve gotta see the field. See what’s happening.” – also to the D after giving up a big run to Decori Birmingham

Again, no participation in drills from DeAngelo or Jonathan Stewart, although they were present. Pretty sure I saw Beason doing some drills though.

And lastly, looks like the sompetition for the gunner spots is just as wide open as the one for long snapper. Trying out they had…

- Kevin McMahan

- C J Wilson

- Marcus Monk

- Derrick Clark

- Kenny Moore

- Quinton Teal

- Sherrod Martin

That's all for now. Don't know if I'll be able to get out tomorrow or not (hope so).

[mantal]

Thanks Mr. Scott, well appreciated, I assure you...

[rayzor]

Thanks Mr. Scott, well appreciated, I assure you...

dittos...great read. i'm loving it.