Carlolina Panthers

Summer Scramble 2010: NFC South Burning Questions, Bold Predictions

Filed under: Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, Panthers, Saints, NFL Training Camp

It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL. So what better time to start breaking down the upcoming season? From July 6-27, FanHouse will take an in-depth look at each division to help prepare you for training camp. We're calling it our Summer Scramble.

Coming July 22: AFC West Players to Watch

Burning Questions

Will the Falcons get production from their defensive ends this season?

Only four defenses had fewer sacks than Atlanta's 28 last season. The lack of outside pressure helped opposing quarterbacks complete 62.5 percent of their passes and throw 25 touchdowns. Those numbers aren't indicative of a unit armed with John Abraham (above right), one of the premier pass-rushers of the last decade. In '08, Abraham set a Falcons record with 16.5 sacks, giving him six seasons of double-digit sacks in his first nine as a pro. In '09, though, Abraham finished with just 35 tackles, 5.5 sacks and one forced fumble. His counterpart on the left side, former top-10 pick Jamaal Anderson, had a half sack, giving him 2.5 for his first three seasons. Can you say "bust?" Anderson is expected to be beaten out in training camp by Kroy Bierman, a third-year pro from Montana, and might even move to defensive tackle. Bierman, clearly, is an upgrade from Anderson. For Abraham, now 32, last season might have been the early signs of age settling in, but he'll get the chance to to prove otherwise. The addition of linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, the club's rookie first-round pick, the return of '09 first-rounder Peria Jerry (season-ending knee injury last September) and high-priced free-agent cornerback Dunta Robinson all should make the Falcons better up front and improve a pass defense that ranked 26th in the NFL.

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Summer Scramble 2010: NFC South Players to Watch

by Chris Harry

Filed under: Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, Panthers, Saints, NFC South, NFL Training Camp

It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL. So what better time to start breaking down the upcoming season? From July 6-27, FanHouse will take an in-depth look at each division to help prepare you for training camp. We're calling it our Summer Scramble.

Coming July 21: NFC South Burning Questions, Bold Predictions

ATLANTA FALCONS -- Dunta Robinson

The franchise quarterback is in place and the featured running back is healthy. The Falcons' offense checks out fine. Attention during the offseason was on upgrading a pass defense that was 28th in the league last season. Enter Robinson, the cornerback given a six-year, $57 million contract -- with a whopping $25.5 million guaranteed -- to jump from Houston. Robinson, a top-10 draft pick by the Texans, has never been one of the elite shutdown corners in the league, but he was the best corner on the free agent market during the offseason, and the Falcons plucked him up quickly to man their left side. His presence, coaches hope, will be key for a defensive line that had just 28 sacks (only four teams had fewer). Assuming veteran Brian Williams, penciled in on the right side, returns from a knee injury that limited him to just five games in '09, Atlanta should have its best corner tandem since Ray Buchanan and Ronnie Bradford in the late-90s.

CAROLINA PANTHERS -- Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams

Share Stewart (above left) and Williams (above right) put up nearly identical numbers in '09. Stewart: 221 carries, 1,133 yards (5.1 per attempt) and 10 touchdowns. Williams: 216 carries, 1,117 yards (5.2 per attempt) and 7 TDs. The Panthers duo became the first teammates in league history to reach 1,100 yards rushing in the same season. Amazing. Now, go do it again. Under Coach John Fox, the Panthers have always done things conservatively -- ball control and defense, baby -- and with the club having jettisoned high-priced franchise icons like Jake Delhomme and Julius Peppers as part of its rebuilding, the two-headed Stewart/Williams monster needs to repeat its beastly ways. Besides, a productive running game should make it easier to make the move to rookie QB Jimmy Clausen, the former Notre Dame star and second-round pick who the fans no doubt want to see.

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Report: Steve Smith Could Return for Panthers' Final Preseason Game

by FanHouse Staff

Filed under: Panthers, NFL Injuries, NFL Rumors

Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, who broke his arm during a flag football game last month, reportedly could be ready for game action in time for Carolina's Sept. 2 preseason game against the Steelers. This according to NFL.com's Jason La Canfora, who cited a source as saying that Smith is already making good progress towards a return.

Carolina opens its regular season on Sept. 12 at the new Meadowlands against the Giants. If Smith can't get back for the team's final preseason contest, he should be healthy enough to suit up for that visit to New York, La Canfora reported.

Smith underwent surgery shortly after breaking his left arm this summer -- the same arm that he broke during a late-season game last season.

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NFL Notebook, July 8: Giants WR Steve Smith Seeks Greg Jennings-Type Raise

by FanHouse Staff

Filed under: Arizona Cardinals, Chiefs, Lions, Giants, Panthers, NFL Notebook

Here's what's happening around the National Football League on Thursday, July 8, 2010:

o. Steve Smith is looking to cash in on his record-breaking season.

The Giants' wideout, who set a franchise mark and led the NFC with 107 receptions a year ago, does not want to play out the final year of his original rookie deal and is seeking a new contract, the New York Post reported.

But Smith told the newspaper he would not use a training-camp holdout as leverage, saying he understands that the absence of a collective bargaining agreement is hampering potential negotiations on both sides.

"It's bad timing for me to be doing well in the National Football League,'' Smith said.

The report said the Giants would like to sign Smith to a multi-year contract but would only be able to offer him a 30-percent increase in the uncapped year. The Giants could load the deal with bonus money, but the Post said the team does not like to guarantee the vast majority of any contract it negotiates.

"I deserve to at least be getting what these other players in the NFL are getting, like a Greg Jennings, at least," Smith said of the Packers wide receiver, who signed a 4-year, $26.8 million contract last year that included $16.25 million in guaranteed money.

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Steve Smith Apologizes for Playing Flag Football, Getting Hurt

by Will Brinson

Filed under: Panthers, NFL Training Camp

Steve Smith broke his arm playing in a weekend flag football league recently, although the most pain he's dealt with has come in the form of media and Panthers-related backlash.

Oh, and his wife: according to an interview with The Mac Attack on 610 The Fan in Charlotte (it's thirty minutes long, but it's fantastic), Smith is also in a little bit of trouble with his spouse, because the broken arm forced them to cancel a trip to Wimbledon, where they were scheduled to see Smith's good friend -- and newly minted multi-record holder -- Josh Isner play.

The interview, however, was primarily focused on Smith lamenting his choice to play in a non-team-sanctioned flag football game.

"Obviously, I put my team and myself in a bad situation by playing," Smith said. "But that wasn't my intention and wasn't what I thought the outcome was going to be."

[...]"I wish I could take it back," Smith said. "But I am a regular guy outside of football. I mow my grass, too. I can get my finger chopped off fixing my lawnmower. I could roll my ankle playing tag or slip-n-slide with my kids. In hindsight, yeah, I won't do it again. But I was just having fun, playing with some guys."

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Steve Smith Breaks Arm Playing Flag Football, Undergoes Surgery

by Will Brinson

Filed under: Panthers, NFL Injuries, NFL Training Camp

Steve Smith, despite Panthers' reliance on DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, is a critical component to Carolina's success. Him getting hurt, and thus not getting on the same page with quarterbacks Matt Moore and/or Jimmy Clausen early in the season, would be seriously detrimental thing.

A thing that, according to Chris Mortensen, happened Sunday.

Mort tweeted that Smith broke his left arm playing flag football with kids and underwent surgery to insert a small plate and screws. It's the same arm that Smith broke last year.

The potential good news (if there is any) is that Smith was reportedly playing with the kids at his football camp -- on Father's Day no less -- and not, you know, riding a motorcycle at high speeds around Charlotte. Or something equally dumb that professional athletes occasionally find themselves doing.

However, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio's hearing that Smith wasn't playing in a youth camp scrimmage and that, instead, he was playing the championship game of an adult flag football league.

Derrick Fox, Smith's agent, told Florio, "I don't know," when asked which it was, but, quite obviously, if Smith was playing in a rec league game, this situation is a lot more unnerving for the Panthers and their fans.

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Panthers' WR Muhsin Muhammad Retires

by Chris Burke

Filed under: Panthers

Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad ended his 14-year NFL career Thursday, announcing his retirement during a press conference at the Panthers' Bank of America Stadium.

Muhammad, a second-round draft pick in 1996 by the Panthers, spent 11 years in Carolina ('96-2004 and 2008-09) and three in Chicago (2005-07). He finished his career with 860 catches for 11,438 yards and 62 touchdowns and is the Panthers' all-time receiving leader, but it's his TD grab in Super Bowl XXXVIII that still has Muhammad's name etched in the NFL record books.

During Carolina's dramatic 32-29 title-game loss to New England, Muhammad hauled in an 85-yard scoring strike from quarterback Jake Delhomme -- a play that still stands as the longest reception in Super Bowl history.

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NFL Notebook, June 2: Clausen Preparing 'Like I'm the Starter'

by FanHouse Staff

Filed under: Arizona Cardinals, Chargers, Eagles, Packers, Panthers, Raiders, Redskins, NFL Training Camp, NFL Notebook

Here's what's happening around the National Football League on Wednesday, June 2, 2010:

o. Jimmy Clausen had to wait until the second round before he heard his named finally called in April's NFL Draft, but that doesn't mean he's a patient man.

Though he's currently listed as the third QB on the Carolina Panthers' depth chart, Clausen doesn't believe he was selected -- even at No. 48 -- to carry a clipboard.

"I'm going to everything I can to become the starter," Panthers.com reported. "My mentality is to prepare like I'm the starter and just go out there each and every day and have that mindset.

"I am a competitor, whether it is on the football field, in the classroom, playing video games or whatever it is. I am a real competitor. That's what I try to do -- come out here and compete and do everything I can to make myself and the team better."

o. Mike Shanahan, as Mike Shanahan usually is, was blunt and to the point about the Redskins' continued pursuit of Brian Westbrook.

"We want him to sign with us," Shanahan told the Washington Post. "I really like Brian, what he's done and how he's handled himself. I'm sure he's weighing some options. It's not too far away from home. Any more I can do?"

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Friday Walk-Thru: Clausen Tries to Shed 'Punk' Label

by Chris Harry

Filed under: Chiefs, Panthers, NFL Rumors, NFL Quarterbacks, NFL Notebook

The biggest pre-draft knocks on Jimmy Clausen addressed a lack of leadership and maturity, plus a hint of arrogance some say he brought with him to Notre Dame as a California hotshot quarterback pegged as the No. 1 prep prospect in the country.

Clausen, of course, disputes the perceptions. So do others he played with, as well as those who coached him.

We'll know soon enough. As Bill Parcells has often said of the NFL, "This game will define you." Well, Clausen's pro career started with one of the most humbling tumbles by a quarterback in the history of the draft. That experience either knocked the chip off his shoulder or put an equal-sized one of the other side of his pads.

And then there was the telephone call Clausen, a projected top-10 pick taken in the second round (48th overall) by the Carolina Panthers, received from a new teammate in advance of minicamp. Star wide receiver Steve Smith, a Los Angeles native, rattled the rookie with a request before the QB had even ducked his head into a NFL huddle.

"Bring me some Cactus Cooler," Smith said.

The orange-pineapple soda, available only out west, arrived in Charlotte without incident.

But did Clausen's career with the Panthers do the same?

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Chris Harris Traded From Panthers Back To Bears

by Will Brinson

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Panthers, NFL Rumors

Chris Harris has been traded from the Carolina Panthers (back) to the Chicago Bears, according to, well, Chris Harris. The strong safety announced the news on his Twitter feed Tuesday.

Harris was originally traded from the Bears (who drafted him) to Carolina in 2007 for a fifth-round draft pick and received an extension in 2008, but is apparently headed back to Chicago in an exchange that may involve a "veteran linebacker" according to the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs. Zach Zaidman of 670-AM radio in Chicago cites "multiple NFL sources" in reporting that the LB involved in Jamar Williams, a fifth-year player out of Arizona State.

It's a move that, in a vacuum, seems to make little sense -- mostly because any terms of the deal have yet to be officially announced. It's hard to fully grasp exactly why the Panthers would unload a hard-hitting safety and playmaker like Harris who managed three interceptions and 60 tackles in just 13 games last year.

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