TheState.com: Panthers

Floyd ready for next level

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:22 EDT

Michael Floyd maintained a hectic and nomadic pace in recent weeks, his time consumed by a nonstop blur of plane flights, private dinners and get-to-know-you meetings.

The former Notre Dame standout visited nine NFL teams in advance of Thursday’s first round of the draft. Widely regarded as the second-best wide receiver prospect behind Justin Blackmon, Floyd could be a top-10 pick. His size, athleticism and overall skills make him desirable to teams in the market for a big-play, downfield target. But Floyd had off-the-field issues, specifically a drunken driving arrest last spring.

Thus, teams interested in the record-setting Notre Dame receiver invited him to their facilities to get to know him on a more personal level, a coast-to-coast itinerary that would leave even platinum frequent fliers exhausted.

“It’s been a little crazy,” Floyd said.

Floyd realized his past would be scrutinized, but not every conversation with every coach and executive focused solely on that one subject.

Carolina Panthers’ uniforms to honor Sam Mills legacy

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:48 EDT

The Carolina Panthers’ uniforms have barely changed at all for the 2012 season, but there is one subtle change that you won’t see from the sideline. You won’t see it on your HDTV. But you will know it is there, and that’s what matters.

The Panthers will have the words “Keep Pounding” – a team slogan that originated with a speech their late, great linebacker and assistant coach Sam Mills gave to the team a little more than eight years ago – sewn into the collar of every jersey from now on.

Nike, which has replaced Reebok as the NFL’s official jersey supplier, debuted new uniforms for all 32 NFL teams Tuesday and came up with the brilliant idea to put “Keep Pounding” inside the collar.

Honoring Mills on the jersey was then seized upon by Panther officials, who want especially their more recent fans and players to understand the legacy Mills left when he died of cancer in 2005. Mills is also the only former player enshrined in the Panthers’ hall of honor and there is a statue of him standing outside Bank of America Stadium.

The team already had a mural of Mills painted in their new weight room in 2011 with the words “Keep Pounding” below it and an explanation as to what they mean. This will be a more public way to convey the same message.

Seattle coach: Look out for Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:07 EDT

By JOSEPH PERSON

jperson@charlotteobserver.com

PALM BEACH, Fla. – Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has a new quarterback in Matt Flynn, the second-biggest free agent quarterback this offseason.

But Carroll spent part of his offseason – and about five minutes Wednesday morning on the final day of the NFL owners meetings – marveling at the play of Panthers quarterback Cam Newton during his record-breaking rookie season.

Carroll studied video of Newton over the winter to see how a quarterback with no experience in an NFL-style offense succeeded in a complex scheme to post the most prolific passing season ever by a rookie.

Newton might be ‘best’ rookie

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:56 EST

CHARLOTTE

LET’S GET THIS out of the way first: There is no award called “Best NFL Rookie Season Ever.” There is no vote. It’s purely a mythical title.

It’s also a great debate. The Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton has become a contender for the title because of a 2011 season in which he became the first rookie quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards and the first quarterback ever to rush for 14 touchdowns.

Newton accounted for a rookie-record 35 TDs touchdowns overall — he had 21 passing TDs touchdowns. And when the 6-foot-5, 244-pound Newton begins running and gets beyond the defensive linemen and into a defense’s secondary, he’s frequently bigger than the players trying to bring him down.

“There are guys out there in the back half of NFL defenses making business decisions at that point,” said Herm Edwards, a former NFL player and coach for 30 years. “They’re going, ‘I don’t really want to tackle this guy.’ Cam is a whole different sort of cat. His athleticism is just like, ‘Really?! Really?!’ ”

Cam-tastic Christmas

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 18:56 EST

Cam Newton had no shortage of doubters coming into the NFL.

They’re much harder to find now.

The No. 1 pick in the NFL draft added to his remarkable season by breaking Peyton Manning’s rookie record for yards passing and setting a franchise mark with a 91-yard touchdown toss to Brandon LaFell as the Carolina Panthers handed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers their ninth straight defeat, 48-16 on Saturday.

Newton threw for 171 yards and three touchdowns and scored on an amazing 49-yard run up the middle, outracing smaller defensive backs to the end zone.

He has accounted for 34 touchdowns on the season and has the Panthers playing well down the stretch, something coach Ron Rivera wanted to see so his team can carry momentum into next season.

Newton, Brees add to QB’s ‘golden era’

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:16 EST

Chasing Marino

PLAYER	TEAM	YEAR	PASS. YDS.
Dan Marino	Miami	1984	5,084
Drew Brees	New Orleans	2008	5,069
Kurt Warner	St. Louis	2001	4,830
Tom Brady	New England	2007	4,806
Dan Fouts	San Diego	1981	4,802
Drew Brees	New Orleans	2011	4,780*

PLAYER	TEAM	YEAR	PASS. YDS.
Peyton Manning	Indianapolis	1998	3,739
Cam Newton	Carolina	2011	3,722*
Sam Bradford	St. Louis	2010	3,512
Matt Ryan	Atlanta	2008	3,440
Andy Dalton	Cincinnati	2011	3,012*

*Active

At some point early in the first quarter today, Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton will pass his way into the NFL history books.

Panthers sign rookie kicker

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:13 EST

The Carolina Panthers signed rookie kicker Adi Kunalic to a three-year contract on Tuesday, and also decided to keep veteran Olindo Mare on the roster.

Kunalic, an undrafted rookie from Nebraska, attended training camp with the Panthers, but was cut prior to the season.

Mare missed a 36-yard field goal with 5:26 left in the game Sunday that would have given Carolina a 26-24 lead against Atlanta.

Instead, the Falcons took advantage of that momentum and scored two plays later on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to beat the Panthers 31-23. Mare also missed a game-tying field goal earlier in the season against Minnesota.

Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said it’s too early to know who’ll handle field goals and kickoffs for Sunday’s game against Houston.

CAROLINA PANTHERS: Defense plugs, prays

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:52 EST

Panthers defensive tackle Andre Neblett has been growing a beard for four months. It’s dark, thick and a little unruly.

And until Wednesday, nobody other than his teammates and coaches noticed it.

But Neblett and fellow defensive tackle Frank Kearse figure to draw a lot more attention over the next four weeks after replacing rookies Sione Fua and Terrell McClain, who were placed on injured reserve Tuesday.

The Panthers leaned on Fua and McClain, a pair of third-round picks, on the defensive interior the first 12 games. Now they’re turning to two unheralded players who each spent several Sundays this fall on the inactive list.

The Panthers have had success plugging young, unproven players into holes on their defense and special teams the second half of the season (see Keiser, Thomas). First-year coach Ron Rivera hopes Neblett and Kearse will continue the trend.

Panthers’ rookie linemen finished

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:54 EST

The Panthers took a two-fisted hit along their defensive line Tuesday when rookie defensive tackles Sione Fua and Terrell McClain were placed on injured reserve.

The loss of the two starters for the remainder of the season forced the Panthers to shuffle their personnel again. It likely means second-year tackle Andre Neblett and rookie Frank Kearse will fill their roles.

The Panthers also signed free-agent defensive tackle Ogemdi Nwagbuo and Jason Shirley from the practice squad. Nwagbuo played three seasons under Ron Rivera with the San Diego Chargers, and Shirley spent one week with Seattle this season after being released by Cincinnati during training camp.

The hit comes at the same position where free agent Ron Edwards, expected to anchor the defensive interior, was lost for the season to a torn triceps during training camp.

Fua suffered a hamstring injury while going through pregame warmups Sunday at Tampa Bay. He didn’t play against the Bucs and had an MRI on Monday. He had nine tackles this season.

Gamble a sure thing again after rocky 2010

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 23:14 EST

When Ron Rivera sat down with cornerback Chris Gamble before the season, he didn’t want to talk about the past.

He wanted to talk about the future and Gamble’s place in it.

This wasn’t about what did or didn’t happen between him and former coach John Fox at the end of a 2-14 season in which Gamble missed the last five games because of injuries and mutual frustration. It couldn’t be about that any more.

“I sat him down and told him, ‘You’re our No. 1 corner. We want to put you to the challenge and we really believe you can do some things. But I think also we’ve got to help you with the pass rush.’ And I think that’s helped him,” Rivera said.

“There’ve been some philosophical changes that have helped him. We’ve utilized his talents and abilities. But the young man’s really worked hard. You watch the way he practices, the way he studies an opponent, he’s been revitalized.”

Keiser making the most of his NFL shot

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 20:09 EST

If an NFL career wasn’t going to happen, Thomas Keiser wanted to make sure he didn’t leave with any questions.

So he ran.

By himself, after practices and, particularly, after Saturday walk-throughs before games in which he wouldn’t play, Keiser would find a secluded spot on the Panthers’ practice field and grind through 10 100-yard sprints, pushing his muscular 6-foot-3, 261-pounds through just a little more work. He didn’t do it for the coaches. Keiser did it for himself so there would be no self-doubt if he never got to be more than a member of the Panthers’ practice squad.

Keiser had left Stanford after his junior season early in 2011, leaving behind another season with quarterback Andrew Luck in Palo Alto, Cal., where Keiser hung out with his professional golfer friend Michelle Wie and others in a world he hadn’t expected to be part of growing up outside Pittsburgh.

He thought he was good enough to play in the NFL as a defensive end but Keiser wasn’t invited to the league’s annual talent combine in Indianapolis, the first hint that perhaps he’d overplayed his hand. On pro day last spring at Stanford when scouts came to evaluate prospects, Keiser pulled his hamstring on his first 40-yard dash.

S.C. State's 'Marching 101' to perform at Falcons-Panthers

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:59 EDT

The halftime entertainment at Sunday's Falcons-Panthers NFL game will include S.C. State students.

The university's Marching "101" Band will be part of the halftime show. The game begins at 4:15 p.m. and airs on Fox.

-- From staff reports