Live From "Fan Fest": Carolina Panthers Training Camp Report

It isn't a secret that Carolina Panther fans are not setting expectations high for their team for the 2010 NFL season. 

As I made yet another trip to Carolina Panthers' annual "Fan Fest," the impression that I got from Carolina was not that they would struggle this season. The defense played well and new starting quarterback Matt Moore looked just as good as any quarterback out there.

What Carolina fan's are seeing is a whole new, unknown team. 

Most of the players that have taken the Panthers far for the past decade are no longer on the team. Some have retired, some have been released, and some have been traded.

Fan favorites like Jake Delhomme, Julius Peppers, Brad Hoover and Muhsin Muhammad are now elsewhere, and new faces begin a new era for the Carolina Panthers.

Will the Carolina Panthers struggle this season? That's for themselves to decide. From what I saw during practice, don't be too quick to judge Carolina. 

They may have a little surprise in for all of us.

Quarterbacks

Carolina wanted Jimmy Clausen badly coming into the 2010 NFL Draft. Without a first-round pick, it seemed nearly impossible for them to land him. Somehow Clausen fell into their lap at the 48th overall pick, and Carolina got their quarterback of the future.

Although, Clausen shouldn't get too comfortable, for all we know Matt Moore could end up being an elite quarterback. Moore has what you want in a franchise quarterback. He has a good frame (6'3", 202 lbs), strong arm, and the ability to lead a team. 

For Clausen, he will enter the season backing up Matt Moore, along with sixth round pick Tony Pike. The rookie out of Cincinnati was too good of a value to not pick that late into the draft, but he hasn't done much to impress me yet. 

At 6'6", Pike looks the part of a pro-quarterback, but he often looked lost during scrimmages at the "Fan Fest."

There is no way Carolina will enter the season with four quarterbacks on the roster, so it looks like Hunter Cantwell, who often struggled during practice, will be the odd man out.

With only eight starts combined for all these quarterbacks (all of which belong to Matt Moore) it will be tough to predict how well they will do, but if Moore plays the way he did last season, there shouldn't be many problems here.

Running Backs

There isn't much to say here, as i think Carolina's league-best running back duo, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, speak for themselves. 

As those two are locked to make the team, Carolina will most likely hold onto three more backs heading into the season. 

Two of whom should be back-up running backs Tyrell Sutton, who made a name for himself as one of the top third-down backs in the league, and second-year back Mike Goodson, who looks to recover from a struggling rookie season.

At fullback, second-year Tony Fiammetta will replace veteran Brad Hoover, who was released during the offseason.

Carolina didn't run the ball much during practice today, but we did get to see a good bit of Fiammetta, although he had a hard time running against the team's defense.

Receivers

This is my only area of concern for Carolina's offense entering the season.

With Steve Smith unable to practice with a broken arm, Carolina's only remaining receivers are rookies Brandon LaFell, Armanti Edwards, and David Gettis, the disappointing Dwayne Jarrett, and unproven wide-outs Wallace Wright, Dexter Jackson, and Kenny Moore.

Armanti Edwards has the potential to be the next Steve Smith-like receiver, but he is still transitioning from quarterback to receiver. He dropped a few passes during drills, but did get fans excited while returning punts.

The player that impressed me most today was sixth-round pick David Gettis out of Baylor.

He made multiple tough catches while scrimmaging, including a pass from Jimmy Clausen that was caught between two defensive backs, and was able to break away after the catch.

Kenny Moore had an opportunity to catch a beautifully thrown pass from Matt Moore, but was unable to make the catch. 

Overall, this position is Carolina's worst unit without Steve Smith. Hopefully he will be able to be as productive as other years when he returns during week one. 

Offensive Line

Led by offensive tackle Jordan Gross, Carolina's offensive line continues to be one of the league's best. Although, Carolina also has a reputation of injuries among their offensive line, and I'm very worried for if that continues this year.

When the second-team came out, the defensive line ran all over them, committed a few penalties and gave the quarterbacks hardly anytime to throw to receivers.

Since Carolina let guard Kendrick Vincent sign with Tampa Bay, that position is open for anyone, but I expect third-year guard Mackenzy Bernadeau to take his place. 

Defensive Line

Shockingly, Carolina's new-look defensive line actually impressed me.

With the loss of All-Pro defensive end Julius Peppers and starting tackles Ma'ake Kemoeatu and Damione Lewis leaving via free agency, you wouldn't expect them to do so. New starting defensive tackles Tank Tyler and Louis Leonard did a good job handling the run defense during scrimmage, stopping them from gaining any yards many times.

With a good rotation of former-Colt Ed Johnson and second-year tackle Corey Irvin, I don't see this position behind as weak as some see it to be.

Everette Brown will be the replacement for longtime-Panther Julius Peppers, but hasn't met expectation during training camp, as he almost seems to be lost out there. 

On the other hand, sixth-round pick Greg Hardy looks like he may be a steal in this draft, as the 6'4", 277lbs defensive end has reminded a lot of Peppers.

With the rotation of solid players this team has, I was very impressed by this position during practice. 

Linebackers

2009 starting outside linebackers Na'il Diggs, released, and Thomas Davis, torn ACL, will both need replacements. 

Lucky for Carolina, this is one of the very few positions they have good depth at. 

John Fox is still experimenting with different players at the spots, but it looks like Dan Connor and James Anderson will be the replacement starters, with rookie Eric Norwood and former Chicago Bear Jamar Williams rotating in.

I'm not too worried about this position. Carolina has always had strong, underrated linebackers core, as James Anderson could have a breakout year in 2010 replacing Na'il Diggs and  strong-side linebacker.

Anderson has always been out of Carolina's top backup players, as he is able to play any of the three linebacker positions.

Defensive Backs

Chris Gamble leads one of the league's most underrated defensive backs, which also includes cornerback Richard Marshall, and safeties Charles Godfrey and Sherrod Martin.

Captain Munnerlyn, the teams third cornerback, had an outstanding rookie season, and he continues to impress. 

Another player that really impressed me today was cornerback CJ Wilson. Although he dropped two interceptions during the teams scrimmage, he seemed to be in on almost every play, breaking up a pass or making a tackle.

Wilson was beat out by Munnerlyn for the third cornerback spot last season, but looks to make an impression by making the team behind him this year.

I'm excited to see how second-year safety Sherrod Martin will do this season, as he looks to replace Chris Harris, who was traded to the Bears for linebacker Jamar Williams.

In five starts last season, Martin made Harris expendable by intercepting the ball three times.