CHARLOTTE -- Moments after the Carolina Panthers selected South Carolina's Eric Norwood in the fourth round of the NFL draft in April, a text arrived from Panthers' cornerback Captain Munnerlyn ... "Great pick," Munnerlyn wrote to The Observer. "That's my boy." ... Thanks to Munnerlyn, former college teammate Norwood is no stranger to Bank of America Stadium ... Munnerlyn, a 2009 seventh-round pick, had a surprisingly strong rookie season and provided tickets for Norwood to come to some games
Carolina Panthers quarterbacks coach Rip Scherer chuckled as he considered the youth movement his position group has undergone since last season ... In place of veterans Jake Delhomme, Josh McCown and A.J. Feeley, the Panthers' depth chart is led by fourth-year player Matt Moore (eight career starts), second-year apprentice Hunter Cantwell, and rookie draft picks Jimmy Clausen and Tony Pike ... "It's like Romper Room," said Scherer. "You don't need chairs; you need high chairs." ... But Scherer
Carolina Panthers offensive linemen Geoff Schwartz and Mackenzy Bernadeau are roommates on the road and at the team's hotel the night before home games ... As young guys trying to make it in the NFL, they have always stayed true to their philosophy: ... "We used to go into every game and prepare for it as if this is the game we're finally going to play in," said Bernadeau ... Bernadeau's "time" came a month ago, when he was thrust into the starting lineup at left guard after an injury to Jordan
Carolina Panthers strong safety Chris Harris is back at it: Creating turnovers again ... After going all season without doing what was once considered his specialty, he says it's about time ... "It was very frustrating," he said this week. "That was one of the things I pride myself on: Turnovers. When they come, they come in bunches." ... Harris led the NFL in forced fumbles in 2007 with eight, then had two more in the Panthers' first two games of last season. Except for an interception in the
Carolina Panthers linebacker Jon Beason said Thursday he shouldn't have told a radio audience last week that he planned to talk to defensive end Julius Peppers about playing harder ... "After what happened, I realized I was wrong," Beason said during his weekly appearance on WFNZ (610 AM). "There are certain things you shouldn't say in public and certain things that should remain in-house. That's where I made my mistake." ... Beason added that he decided not to talk to Peppers after receiving
Noting the sports world: ... •Well, at least we know there's nothing wrong with Steve Smith. He's leading the NFL with 102.8 receiving yards per game ... Oh, wait - that's the wrong Steve Smith! ... It turns out the New York Giants' version is No.1 on that NFL list, while the Panthers' Smith was No.27 with 63.3 yards per game after the weekend's games. Carolina's Smith is still the better of the two, but the Giants' Smith has a supporting cast to die for ... •If I were Butch Davis, I'd let
It seems like a logical conclusion to draw: To be successful this season, the Carolina Panthers, with an injury-riddled defense that struggled last season, will need its offense to basically outscore opponents ... But the orchestrator of that offense – quarterback Jake Delhomme – doesn't buy it ... “I really don't see it that way,” said Delhomme. “It's so easy to say, so childish to say, but on Sunday you just have to score more points than the other team. You do whatever you can to
(By Christina Rexrode, crexrode@charlotteobserver.com) As the Carolina Panthers wrap up their preseason early next month, quarterback Jake Delhomme will be passing along financial tips on interest rates and banking fees as the star of three commercials for the Charlotte Metro Federal Credit Union ... Nathan Tothrow, the credit union's marketing chief, thought the Panthers' No. 17 was the kind of multimillionaire who could, well, espouse the virtues of a credit union. “He's about as
For many fans, the Carolina Panthers' exhibition in two days on “Monday Night Football” against the New York Giants is a soft opening. It is football, yes, but without the regular season's grandness. It doesn't count ... For Panthers linebacker Dan Connor, though, it counts ... “I can't wait to play again, to put the uniform on,” he said. “It has felt like forever.” ... It has been 11 months since Connor – Carolina's third-round draft choice in 2008 – played in any sort of game
Chris Gamble is clearly the Carolina Panthers' best cornerback. At age 26, he stands in the prime of his career. He is so athletic that he can frequently mimic the cuts of the NFL's best receivers while running backward ... But while the Panthers pay Gamble shutdown corner money, they have yet to truly allow him to be a shutdown corner. Most of the time Gamble simply patrols the left side of the Carolina defense, covering the nearest wide receiver in his area ... As the Arizona playoff game last