Jim Szoke's Sports Blog

Training Wheels

Panthers training camp at Wofford College is here.  Although, don't blink or you may miss it.  Camp will only go for about two and a half weeks as the Panthers will break camp when they head to Philadelphia for their second pre-season game.  Some of that has to do with smaller rosters of 80 players with no NFL Europa players exemptions since it no longer exists.  Training camp in Spartanburg brings a number of important decisions to make, such as The Beacon or Ike's Korner Grille for a lunchtime burger.  But here are some other battles to keep an eye out for...

Rookie running back Jonathan Stewart will provide the Panthers with the potential for the pound-it type back they have lacked since...wait for it, wait for it...Stephen Davis.  He and DeAngelo Williams should provide a talented young duo at running back.  The offensive line looks deeper than it has in years despite releasing Mike Wahle and Justin Hartwig.  Jordan Gross does his annual flip-flop at the tackle positions with first-rounder Jeff Otah hopefully ready to jump in on the right side, while Travelle Wharton moves to left guard.  Second-year player Ryan Kalil will start at center, with a number of players vying for right guard where free agent Keydrick Vincent may be the leading candidate as camp begins.

It will be interesting to watch as quarterback Jake Delhomme will eventually have to take hits on his surgically repaired elbow from large men in bad humor.  Matt Moore showed a lot of promise as a rookie with Brett Basanez in line for the third quarterback position.  They'll be throwing to a revamped receiving corps with Muhsin Muhammad reunited with Steve Smith and former Seahawk DJ Hackett competing with Dwayne Jarrett for playing time.   

Defensive line is the biggest question mark with the departures of Kris Jenkins, Mike Rucker and Kindall Morehead.  The wildcard is 3-time All Pro Julius Peppers who fell off dramatically in production last season.  Free agent Tyler Brayton and young players Charles Johnson and Stanley McClover will have to step up. 

Linebacker looks like the strength of the unit as Jon Beason was a beast and team leader as a rookie.  Add free agent Landon Johnson to go with Thomas Davis and Na'il Diggs all capable of starting.  Fourth round pick Dan Connor was a steal after a great collegiate career at Penn State.  Adam Seward and James Anderson provide quality depth, among others.      

Chris Harris solidified the middle of the secondary, and the Panthers are high on rookie Charles Godfrey at safety.  Corner is solid with the trio of Richard Marshall, Chris Gamble and Ken Lucas.  Special teams will be point of emphasis with the addition of Rhys Lloyd on kickoffs to help out John Kasay and Jason Baker.  The return game needs improvement with Jonathan Stewart getting a look there along with incumbent Ryne Robinson.  Free agent additions Ricardo Colclough and Travis Taylor could factor into the equation.   

Favre Falls Out of Favor

Brett Favre reportedly contacted the Green Bay Packers about a possible return, including a text message to GM Ted Thompson.  Thompson's reply was that he was on vacation and would get back to him.  So this is what it has come down to for the greatest quarterback of his era.  Yes, Favre is a first ballot hall-of-famer and would make the Packers a better team, but he has put them in an awkward position as they committed fully to backup Aaron Rodgers when Favre announced a few months ago that he did not want to play.  Likely, Favre wants to be the starter but only commit part-time to the meetings and practices that go with the job. 

Part two of the story is that if Favre is serious about returning, and the Packers have moved on, then what?  Green Bay would have the option to trade or release Favre who had two years remaining on his contract.  That is what led to the insane report that Favre's first choice is Carolina.  As good as Favre is, and don't forget the Packers came within an overtime of reaching the Super Bowl, the Panthers make no sense.  They've waited nearly a year for Jake Delhomme to rehab and all indications are that his elbow is stronger than ever.  Favre is likely to play for just a season, and then you will have miffed Delhomme.  John Fox is very loyal to his players and they like the long-term potential of second year player Matt Moore.   The Packers will have a public relations disaster with their fans if they move Favre to a contender while they back-pedal with Rodgers.

It's time for football to return as training camp is later this month.  No offense, but the past few weeks of tennis, cycling and soccer as top news is getting old.  I will say that the story of MAC swimmers such as South Meck grad, Ricky Berens, qualifying for the US Olympic team has made next month's games in Beijing much more interesting to watch. 

Tony Stewart finally found somebody he can work with...Tony Stewart.  Not that he did not like Joe Gibbs, but Stewart has not been happy with their move to Toyota from Chevrolet.  With Stewart co-owning his own race team next season, he can get back into the Chevys and have control of his race operations.  It's a logical next step for him and Ryan Newman is reportedly the front-runner to join Stewart-Haas Racing as their second driver, with teenager Joey Logano perhaps ready to take over the number-20 car that Stewart leaves behind at JGR.   

Yankees star Alex Rodriguez is something else.  Not only is he going through a high-profile, multi-zillion dollar divorce and spending late nights learning mystical Kaballah from Madonna, but still continues to hit well. He was named to his 12th all-star team and is surpassing Mickey Mantle on the all-time home run list.  That's a full day for anybody.

Speaking of which, it feels good to sleep-in until 4:30 am after getting up at 3 am to fill-in for Al Gardner as host of Charlotte's Morning News.  Suddenly, 4:30 is like sleeping in til noon.  Thanks to the great Ty Boyd and WBTV's excellent Steve Crump for coming in to co-host with me.  Ty says one day was enough as he continues his 30-year break from broadcasting.