Panthers Training Camp Notebook

[Rod Butsecks]

Fan's Guidep/strongWEATHER:/strong Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 90s.p/strongPANTHERS PARTY:/strong Celebrate the start of training camp with Panthers Party 2009 today from 6-9 p.m. Festivities will include performances by the TopCats and Sir Purr, contests, giveaways and more with the Panthers practicing at 6:40p.m. Admission and parking for the event are free.p/Notebookp/Jake eager to start new seasonp/Quarterback strongJake Delhomme /strongseemed especially happy to get training camp started Sunday.p/ldquo;Well, the last time I played wasn't too darn good,rdquo; he said, referring to his six-turnover performance in the Panthers' 33-13 playoff loss on Jan.10 at home against Arizona. p/ldquo;So I'm looking to get back hellip; I'm just ready to go.rdquo;p/Delhomme has had 61/2 months to contemplate the performance and said he hopes it makes him better.p/ldquo;I always felt I had thick skin. I think I added another layer on top of it,rdquo; he said. p/ldquo;You go (through) ups and downs. Certainly, it was a down. We're looking for more ups.rdquo;p/Delhomme has a new mentor this season ndash; quarterbacks coach strongRip Scherer/strong, who came over from Cleveland after strongMike McCoy /strongleft to become Denver's offensive coordinator.p/ldquo;It's been good because it's fresh ideas,rdquo; said Delhomme. p/ldquo;I know with fundamentals, we're doing different things, and that's something I embrace.rdquo; Charles Chandlerp/span class=subheadstrongLineup returns 21 of 22 startersp//strong/spanspan class=icon icon-bullet/spanCoach strongJohn Fox /strongsaid it's not often that he's come to camp with a lineup seemingly as set as this year's Panthers, who have 21 of last season's 22 starters returning.p/ldquo;That was our goal in the offseason,rdquo; said Fox. ldquo;But we didn't have an extreme amount of cap room, so we weren't really active in free agency. We tried to keep the guys we have, guys who have performed at a high level.rdquo;p/Many of those starters will be backed up by inexperienced players, which could be a problem if injuries strike.p/ldquo;When you start getting your organization to a point where you've got good front-line players, that's kind of what happens,rdquo; said Fox. ldquo;Those guys have proven themselves, been to Pro Bowls and it costs you a little more to keep them. You're not going to have a high-dollar veteran backup. So we have to develop young players and we definitely will have our work cut out for us.rdquo; David Scottp/span class=subheadstrongPeppers: Big contract doesn't add pressurep//strong/spanHere are some interesting things strongJulius Peppers /strongsaid during a 25-minute phone interview with the Observer on Saturday:p/span class=icon icon-bullet/spanMaking more than $1 million per game this season won't put extra pressure on him.p/ldquo;Internally the pressure is always there from myself, from my teammates, from my coaches,rdquo; he said. ldquo;That's the pressure I want to strive under. I don't really want to let the outside influences put any extra pressure on me by what fans say, what (the) media writes and how much money I'm making every game.rdquo;p/span class=icon icon-bullet/spanHis one-on-one meeting with team owner strongJerry Richardson /strongin June was an important step that led him to rejoin the team after a contract dispute.p/ldquo;I felt like it was good for me to talk to him and let him know where I was coming from, personally, from my own mouth so he could understand how I felt about everything,rdquo; said Peppers. ldquo;Sometimes, if you take things the wrong way, it could be a rift there and there is really no need for it because you haven't (taken) time to sit down and understand where a person is coming from.rdquo;p/Peppers said the meeting went well, and that there were no hard feelings between him and Richardson. ldquo;We laughed and talked about the whole thing,rdquo; Peppers said. C.C. strongSee full transcript from the interview at blogs.charlotte.com/panthers/strongp/Brieflyp/span class=icon icon-bullet/spanFox said he expects Peppers to quickly get acclimated to being back with team and said it doesn't bother him that Peppers didn't meet with new defensive coordinator strongRon Meeks /strongor new defensive line coach strongBrian Baker /strongbefore camp.p/ ldquo;Everybody in that locker room is close,rdquo; said Fox. ldquo;The word is out. I think everybody understands the personality of those two guys (Meeks and Baker). hellip; These guys do their homework and I think it'll be just fine.rdquo; C.C..p/span class=icon icon-bullet/span Rookie cornerback strongSherrod Martin/strong, a second-round pick, signed his new four-year contract Sunday. That raised the number of players under contract to 81, one over the limit. So the Panthers cut tight end strongKevin Brock/strong. C.C.p/span class=icon icon-bullet/span Fox said he expects the team to scrimmage at Saturday's Fan Fest at Bank of America Stadium, although the team will have only practiced for five days by then. The Panthers' opened training camp later this season because their first exhibition is Aug. 17 against the New York Giants. D.S.. p/span class=icon icon-bullet/spanFox suggested the Panthers had no interest in former Atlanta quarterback strongMichael Vick/strong, who was conditionally reinstated to the NFL last week after serving 18 months in prison for his involvement in a dog-fighting ring.p/ldquo;We're pretty set at quarterback,rdquo; Fox said. ldquo;I wouldn't want to rule anything in or out, but we feel comfortable with where we are.rdquo; D.S.

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[CrossnoreP]

You are really really dumb

[KillerKat]

You are really really dumb

Well all someone needs to do is look at your status to see who really is the dumb one here.

[Zod]

nannerpuss is weak with punctuation, strong with potassium.

[pantherj]

PANTHERS PARTY: Celebrate the start of training camp with Panthers Party 2009 today from 6-9 p.m. Festivities will include performances by the TopCats and Sir Purr, contests, giveaways and more with the Panthers practicing at 6:40p.m. Admission and parking for the event are free.

Notebook

Jake eager to start new season

Quarterback Jake Delhomme seemed especially happy to get training camp started Sunday.

“Well, the last time I played wasn't too darn good,” he said, referring to his six-turnover performance in the Panthers' 33-13 playoff loss on Jan.10 at home against Arizona.

“So I'm looking to get back … I'm just ready to go.”

Delhomme has had 61/2 months to contemplate the performance and said he hopes it makes him better.

“I always felt I had thick skin. I think I added another layer on top of it,” he said.

“You go (through) ups and downs. Certainly, it was a down. We're looking for more ups.”

Delhomme has a new mentor this season – quarterbacks coach Rip Scherer, who came over from Cleveland after Mike McCoy left to become Denver's offensive coordinator.

“It's been good because it's fresh ideas,” said Delhomme.

“I know with fundamentals, we're doing different things, and that's something I embrace.” Charles Chandler

Lineup returns 21 of 22 starters

Coach John Fox said it's not often that he's come to camp with a lineup seemingly as set as this year's Panthers, who have 21 of last season's 22 starters returning.

“That was our goal in the offseason,” said Fox. “But we didn't have an extreme amount of cap room, so we weren't really active in free agency. We tried to keep the guys we have, guys who have performed at a high level.”

Many of those starters will be backed up by inexperienced players, which could be a problem if injuries strike.

“When you start getting your organization to a point where you've got good front-line players, that's kind of what happens,” said Fox. “Those guys have proven themselves, been to Pro Bowls and it costs you a little more to keep them. You're not going to have a high-dollar veteran backup. So we have to develop young players and we definitely will have our work cut out for us.” David Scott

Peppers: Big contract doesn't add pressure

Here are some interesting things Julius Peppers said during a 25-minute phone interview with the Observer on Saturday:

Making more than $1 million per game this season won't put extra pressure on him.

“Internally the pressure is always there from myself, from my teammates, from my coaches,” he said. “That's the pressure I want to strive under. I don't really want to let the outside influences put any extra pressure on me by what fans say, what (the) media writes and how much money I'm making every game.”

His one-on-one meeting with team owner Jerry Richardson in June was an important step that led him to rejoin the team after a contract dispute.

“I felt like it was good for me to talk to him and let him know where I was coming from, personally, from my own mouth so he could understand how I felt about everything,” said Peppers. “Sometimes, if you take things the wrong way, it could be a rift there and there is really no need for it because you haven't (taken) time to sit down and understand where a person is coming from.”

Peppers said the meeting went well, and that there were no hard feelings between him and Richardson. “We laughed and talked about the whole thing,” Peppers said. C.C. See full transcript from the interview at blogs.charlotte.com/panthers

Briefly

Fox said he expects Peppers to quickly get acclimated to being back with team and said it doesn't bother him that Peppers didn't meet with new defensive coordinator Ron Meeks or new defensive line coach Brian Baker before camp.

“Everybody in that locker room is close,” said Fox. “The word is out. I think everybody understands the personality of those two guys (Meeks and Baker). … These guys do their homework and I think it'll be just fine.” C.C..

Rookie cornerback Sherrod Martin, a second-round pick, signed his new four-year contract Sunday. That raised the number of players under contract to 81, one over the limit. So the Panthers cut tight end Kevin Brock. C.C.

Fox said he expects the team to scrimmage at Saturday's Fan Fest at Bank of America Stadium, although the team will have only practiced for five days by then. The Panthers' opened training camp later this season because their first exhibition is Aug. 17 against the New York Giants. D.S..

Fox suggested the Panthers had no interest in former Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick, who was conditionally reinstated to the NFL last week after serving 18 months in prison for his involvement in a dog-fighting ring.

“We're pretty set at quarterback,” Fox said. “I wouldn't want to rule anything in or out, but we feel comfortable with where we are.” D.S.

[CrossnoreP]

Well all someone needs to do is look at your status to see who really is the dumb one here.

DeShaun Foster was the man. And it takes a man to admit that.

[Montsta]

DeShaun Foster was the man. And it takes a man to admit that.

:icon_bs:

Then I better give my wife all my pants, because I guess I'm no longer the man in my house. Foster sucked. He was riding that diving endzone Superbowl TD for 4 years before Fox finally got rid of him.

[MadHatter]

DeShaun Foster was the man. And it takes a man to admit that.

Ok, now you have crossed into Full Blown Troll Status. Nobody is stupid enough to make the statement you did and be serious about it.

[Jangler]

DeShaun Foster was the man. And it takes a man to admit that.

[Snake]

Im guessing NannerPuss is the New Ashley bot huh?

[bleys]

Ok, now you have crossed into Full Blown Troll Status. Nobody is stupid enough to make the statement you did and be serious about it.

Hard to assume otherwise...