Panthers 17, Giants 24

The first preseason debut is typically a lackluster affair, and this one proved to hold true. Here are some observations that I found from last night's game vs. New York Giants, starting with the bad:

The Bad

1. Run Defense-The Panthers have a desperate need for a run stopping DT. We all knew this, but when Jacbos and Bradshaw amassed over 60 yards with not much playing time, and literally ran over the defensive line, it just proved as further evidence. Nick Hayden is not a viable option to start at this point, as he was tossed around and run right over. There will be lots of free agent action in the coming weeks as players are released and signed to different teams. Look for the Panthers to take a look at DT Dewayne Robertson, who was a #4 overall pick in 2003 and is a 310lb DT just recently cut by Denver. He's played in a substantial amount of games and could be a good replacement at this time.
2. Jake Delhomme: was hardly impressive, and he missed a wide open Kenny Moore on a 3rd down conversion. He didn't play much, and he didn't have Smitty. We'll let it slide.
3. Tackling- looked like we jumped in a vat of vasoline before going on the field. Lots of sloppy tackles in the secondary, and I'm wondering if Meeks' "strip the ball" mentality is going to take away from players wrapping up and making tackles.
4. 2nd string o-line: they are just not good.
   

The Good:

1. Mike Goodson- looks like we now have a viable 3rd RB with tons of speed on the edge. Hopefully his fumbles were just a fluke. He definitely showed why he has been creating a buzz in Spartanburg.
2. Linebackers- All of them (Beason, Connor, Anderson, Leman) looked good. I was most impressed with Anderson and Connor. Dan Connor was involved and Leman also on nearly every tackle it seemed in the 4th quarter. Good job guys.
3. Everette Brown- Showed why the Panthers moved up and traded a 1st rd draft pick. He's got serious talent, and his moves off the block and spin towards the quarterback produced ample amount of pressure, and he even got a sack. This guy is going to be the real deal.
4. Injuries- none.

The ending of the game was rather comical. At no point in the sequence of getting the ball with 11 seconds, fumbling it away and losing as time expired, were my emotions moved away from hysterial laughter. Even Fox was laughing as he was jogging across the field to shake hands with Tom Coughlin.

Ohhh preseason...

Back to Spartanburg we go for workouts Wednesday and Thursday, before camp is wrapped up at Wofford and moved back to Charlotte.

Kemo Gone for Year

Awful news for us today. We just lost our biggest run stopper for the year, in the first 30 minutes of the season.

Maake Kemoeatu tore his achilles tendon.

There's a four letter word i'd like to post, but I'll refrain.

Here's what Shrike from The Wolf Web message board had to say, and I have to admit that I completely agree:

"Let's face it, Kemo was a ticking time bomb. He was fat and out of shape last year, and by all accounts he showed up to camp in just as bad or worse shape. He was going to sustain a serious injury like this sooner or later, and better it happen now when we have time to patch something together than in the middle of the season. Our linebackers and safeties will just have to step it up in the run game."

Training Camp: Day 1 Morning Session

• first morning session is over and word is Ron Meeks made all 11 defensive players partake in a drill in which all 11 ran on the field screaming at the top of their lung, and then sprint to the end zone
• Maake Kemoeatu "hurt his ankle" in the first morning session, details not yet know
• Jon Beason tweaked hamstring. Hopefully not serious, but will keep posted.
• Hit of the morning goes to Nail Diggs on 7 v 7 drills when he hit J Stew and jarred the ball loose. Meeks' defense is supposedly more pro-stripping of the ball.

Stay tuned.

KMAC PW Flashback

With the start of training camp, we thought we'd share with you an excerpt from the first ever KMAC Panther Weekly release. For all those going to training camp, you may find these steps helpful!

9/9/2008

How to Sneak into a Press Conference 101: The Crucial 9 Steps

Step 1: Pretend like you are somebody. If you and your compadre don't fully believe in the motto “Hey….I belong here”then your cause is unjust and lost. Get your level to 110%.

Step 2: Carefully select mode of entry. Scope out a laundry hamper. Diagram a ventilation duct. Or simply identify the door that says “ENTRANCE”. Make sureyou know what way it opens, as any signal of uncertainty can end your mission before it begins.

Step 3: Upon entry, quickly identify a safety zone– a place where you can take a deep breath and gather your thoughts. Losing your cool could cost you in the most highly anticipated of moments.

Step 4: Don’t forget...YOU BE-LONG THERE.

Step 5: When nobody is looking, hug your buddy and share in the glory. Immediately follow-ing, call your other friends who are out tailgating in the rain and let them know the fine details of your position.

Step 6: When players arrive,usually short one liners such as “Laser rocket arm today, Jake” or “Welcome home, Moose”work best. These establish a friendly, yet professional, open line of communication between you and the player.

Step 7: When the interviews begin, don't be timid. Who knows if this could be your only shot at glory. Go in, put your camera in their face, and snap away. They are used to it. In fact, you probably should so that you fit in.

Step 8: When experience is nearing end, slip out the way you came back in, thankful for the experience you just had, and conscious of the fact that there are others out there that may never have such a unique opportunity.

Step 9: Make fun of those people who were in the parking lot drinking bloody mary’s tailgating in the rain while you were rubbin’ elbows with the stars of your favorite team.

Panther Players' Twitters: Best of

I'm sure everyone has heard of Twitter, and even though I still don't really know what it is or how to use it (and don't care to) here's a best of collection of "tweets" from Carolina Panther players:

• rhysjlloyd Just watching teen cribs. Fecking kids are spoiled. Unreal houses. I want more money. Hahaha
• Jonathanstewar1 im watchin forgetting sarah marshall with people
• jonbeason Everyone has good days and bad days but, when u "beast" a workout like I did today u know your ready. Conditioned for another big season!
• EveretteBrown There is no better day than Sunday!! One week out of camp.
• jonbeason Who would've thought Jon Beason would be acting! Alittle improv.... Lost of fun! They say I'm a natural.

Peppers pay could exceed $19 million

Before we put the Julius Peppers contract issue to bed (again), there are still a few things that have gone unaccounted for in regards to the amount of money he could actually earn in this season alone. The Panthers are paying a base salary of $16.683million (thats $1,042,687.50 per game), and that is the minimum amount of money that he could possibly earn. "Likely to be earned" incentives, which are part of virtually every players contract, include a $1.5million bonus should Peppers be selected to the Pro Bowl, and also an additional $250,000 per playoff victory, not to mention an even greater amount should the Panthers reach and win the Super Bowl.

Let's do some math real quick.

Assume the following:

• Peppers plays all 16 games at his salary of $16.683million


• Peppers reaches the Pro Bowl


• Panthers reach the playoffs and Super Bowl, and win it all.

$16,683,000 (base) + $1,500,000 (pro bowl) + $1,000,000 (assume 4 playoff wins) + $1,500,000 (super bowl estimate) = $20.683 million

Now this is just a shot in the dark and of course no one knows how many playoff wins we'll have ( so we assume all), but it gives a better sense of just how much money Peppers could stand to make.

Incentives are interesting. Incentives are categorized as either "Likely to be Earned" (LTBE) or "Not Likely to be Earned" (NLTBE). Their names are pretty self explanatory. LTBE incentives count towards the cap while NLTBE incentives do not. But the way it goes is that if the player achieves those NLTBE incentives then they count toward the following year's cap.

All in all, the amount of money a player can in a year make gets rather complicated, especially when you factor in bonuses and incentives. But the one thing you can count on is that Peppers will count towards nearly 20% of the Panthers salary cap come next offseason, and that's when something will have to break.

High Gear

With only 6 days left until the start of training camp, Panther players and coaches alike are gearing up for the month long scorching Spartanburg southern heat.

• 2nd rd pick Everette Brown has just inked his deal with the Carolina Panthers, a four-year deal worth $4.3million with $2.6875million in guarantees. Get'cho popcorn ready!
• Duke Robinson, our 5th RD draft choice as OG from Oklahoma has also signed, and will give the Panthers good depth on the line.
• REMINDER: SINGLE GAME TICKETS GO ON SALE THIS SATURDAY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
• Corey Irvin, 3rd RD pick from Georgia, has just signed a 4 year deal. Details not known.

No New Deal Likely with Peppers

Today at 4pm marks the end of the negotiation period for players that have been tagged "franchise players" to sign long term contracts. If no deal is done before 4pm today, negotiations will have to resume after the 2009 season, which of course means another "standoff" with Julius Peppers next year seems almost a certainty.

There are pretty much two options following the 2009 season when it comes to dealing with Peppers and $.

1) Try again to sign Peppers to a long-term contract

2) Put their franchise tag on him again at a one-year price of more than $20 million (there's a mandatory 20 percent increase over his '09 tender amount)

The other option is to let him walk unrestricted, but that's not really an option.

It really is a catch22 situation now. Of course we want our DE to be a beast on the field, but it is going to cost the Panthers an incredible amount of money if Peppers duplicate last season's contract year performance. The best possible thing the Panthers could do is to sign him to a long term, high incentive based contract after the 2009 season so that we can avoid the cost of franchising him every year.

I am going to assume that we can put this topic to bed until next February after we hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Give me back my Caprice!!!

The picture of the 1975 Chevrolet Caprice Classic was submitted to police by none other than Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis, who reported it stolen on Saturday. The vehicle is worth an estimated $136,000 with all of its "tricked out" accessories.

Good news though, the Barney-mobile on wheels should be easy to spot and could be easily located at any KFC or Bojangles in the south-Charlotte area.

Hello July

It has been a few weeks since the last blog update, and I have to admit there has not been much of anything going on outside of the world of celebrity deaths. The Carolina Panthers wrapped up their OTA's in June and the players are now resting up and working out on their own before the team packs its things and moves down to Spartanburg, SC for the start of the 15th annual training camp, held at Wofford for the 14th consecutive year (the first year was hosted by Winthrop University).



Jon Beason says that he is as excited as he could possibly be for the start of the season, and especially to get back to form defensively with Julius Peppers. Jon Beason's blog has provided the KMAC Panther Weekly with lots of insights and entertainment, and it sounds as if he is working harder than ever to become the single best linebacker in the NFL. If he's not in that discussion already, I think he will be come the end of the 2009 season. He is phenomenal, and he is the best linebacker that I've ever seen line up in a Carolina Panthers uniform.

It's hard to say what the best draft pick the Panthers ever had was, but if I had to come up with a short list I would put Jon Beason in there along with Steve Smith and likely DeAngelo Williams. Sorry Randi Fasani and Eric Shelton, you don't make the cut.

Here's an excerpt from "The Beast", Jon Beason:

Workouts are going great. I’m out there grinding twice a day, getting ready for training camp. It’s hot here in Fort Lauderdale, which is good because it simulates the weather in Spartanburg.

I feel like my old self again after the surgery. I feel motivated and hungry, like I’m about to enter the NFL again as a rookie. Here I am a veteran and I feel like I’m starting all over again with new coaches, new schemes and new terminology.

I’ve come to the realization that everybody likes to talk about what you did or how great you are, the season you had and the Pro Bowl, but to me the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately” league because none of that stuff matters if you don’t make the next play.

This year I want to have a short memory. Do what is expected of me and then move on to the next play. Try to make a great play, then move on to the next play.

If I do that, individually I’ll get what I want but also the team will respect it and respond. The guys can almost taste that and it becomes part of their makeup. If we can do that every play, we can win this whole thing.

Our tight end Dante Rosario is down here working out with me. After coming down here and training, I think you can expect big things from him this year. I hope we use him more on offense because I think he’s a special talent.

July is my time. I stay at a hotel, everything is right here for me, I don’t have a kitchen or anything. I wake up, work out, come back to the hotel, have my food prepared for me, lay down for a rest, come back and work out again in the afternoon. During my time I don’t want anybody to bother me, I want to feel tired and feel like I made a deposit today.

That’s my new thing. You have to make a deposit every day. You make deposits, watch your deposits grow and hopefully in February I can make one big withdrawal.

www.jonbeason.com

Photo of the Week

This photo was submitted to the KMAC Panther Weekly by Rick Norris (Charlotte, NC). Rick is an avid Panthers fan, season ticket holder, and professional marshall at the Quail Hollow Championship. Other hobbies include golfing, drinking, and being an Ohio State Buckeye.

Peppers Making Headlines (as a Top 10 Diva)

Julius Peppers

Peppers is one of the league's best players — that is, when he feels like, you know, playing. With focus. His roller-coaster production does little justice to his actual skills. Nobody's denying his other-worldly talents, but those are quickly overshadowed by accusations that he's taken plays and even games off — or at least hasn't given them maximum effort. This offseason, he has been focused, all right — but his focus has been on forcing a trade so he can A) make record-breaking dough and B) play in a 3-4 defense, because more sacks equal more money. What ever happened to love of the game?

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/pgStory?contentId=9667026&gt1=39002#sport=NFL&photo=9668812

Caption Contest!

Picture #1!

Early Week News & Notes

Raise your hand if you're an asshole!!!!

• It appears that the Panthers are properly training Everette Brown to be the successor for Julius Peppers
  
  
• John Fox has decided to cut summer sessions early (again) and end them two days earlier than the schedule would indicate. Not sure why John Fox does this year in and out, but this seems to go against his "work harder to get better" mantra. Oh well, "it is what it is".

• Denver WR Brandon Marshall stated today that he wants to be released by the Denver Broncos, and play elsewhere. This not only puts a talented WR's back on the NFL streets, but also gives another city the opportunity to increase their crime rate. Here's a list of the places that we think Marshall would fit in:

1. Oakland - You bet Al Davis would offer a glass of his rum for Brandon Marshall to join ship.


2. Cincinnati- This is the obvious choice as nearly everyone on the team has a criminal record
3. Atlanta- The Falcons seem to have moved on from their split with felon Michael Vick. We'd like to see them get back into the criminal business. Plus, he would fit perfectly in The Dirty. (this would also give them an increasing powerful offense)


4. Chicago- It would be hilarious to watch Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall hate both of their lives in -20degree Chicago weather on Sundays. (honestly, it would actually make sense for CHI to pick him up)


5. Detroit- Let him and Matthew Stafford be miserable together playing for the worst franchise in history.


6. *BONUS*Washington- One of the most underachieving franchises in recent history, they would probably do anythign at this point to give themselves a boost (including tampering). Too soon? Nope.

If you'd like to check out his vast list of criminal charges, click here

• We already know about Steve Smith- The Football Star, & Steve Smith- The Financial Analyst, but now we have Smitty- the futbol connoseiur?

Hump Day News & Notes

• The past few days of summer camp, or as they like to call it around the NFL, OTA's (organized team activities) have produced a buzz around Panther land for a number of reasons. A big cause of the buzz has been rookie DE Everette Brown, who is impressing Jeff Otah. Brown could be just the right medicine to help us forget that we're paying the other guy $16 million for 1 year.
  

Gotta love Peppers. Sitting his ass courtside at the NBA Finals while the rest of the Panthers do team building drills in summer sessions.

• Brown isn't even the biggest story around training camp thus far. 4th round pick RB Mike Goodson has evidently been spectacular in summer sessions.
  




• Poor Dan Morgan. After signing with the Saints and then having yet another season ending injury due to Achilles, he called it quits. Then, he decided that he could not live without the game he loved, and worked out in Charlotte for the past several months, only to give it a shot again with the Saints and retire again yesterday. Truly is a shame that he couldn't stay healthy- the guy was an absolute BEAST on the field when he was. Additionally, I wish I could report that his new restaurant ventures were panning out, however that is just not the case.

• Evidently we missed the memo that Jake was inducted into the University of Louisiana Lafayette sports Hall of Fame in 2006, so here's his college picture.

• The Panthers are scheduled for eight more days of summer school practices – Monday through Thursday for the next two weeks – before getting their long-awaited break before training camp.

• Also just stumbled across this gem- ABC's virtual Philip Rivers with super laser eye vision powers!

Welcome all ye Pantherlings!

Ladies and gentlemen,



It is with great pleasure that I present to you the official "KMAC Panther Weekly" blog. I know what you may be thinking, and no, unfortunately this blog is not pornographic (although nOOdz can be submitted to joe.ryan@pokertek.com). This blog, however, will serve the purpose of following the Carolina Panthers offseason in a much more "real-time" fashion. Often, the KMAC Panther Weekly receives insider information and news tidbits that no other news source can offer (except for the ones that we paraphrase and reference from time to time), yet these sporadic Panther dealings may not warrant the official release of a KMAC PW sanctioned newsletter. Thus, we present the blog.



We urge all of you to not only read, but follow, engage, and become part of the KMAC Panther Weekly Blogger. (Instructions can be read on the right sidebar, or you may dial 919-880-5865 for automated instructions). Unlike email, all of your comments on a story can be posted instantly here, which "may or may not" produce banter amongst yourselves...



We encourage such activity.



Additionally, you will find media embedded within the blog- adding a new dimension to our already sterling reputation for producing invaluable, newsworthy information.



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