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Usually, pro athletes say they're motivated by wanting to prove certain people wrong.
The Panthers' Thomas Davis – who moves from strongside linebacker to the weak side this season – is antsy to get started so he can prove them right.
“I've been investing a lot of time in (the move),” said Davis. “There's a lot of sweat and tears in it. I want to reward the coaches for the chance they've given me, for what they've put into it with me.”
Davis was primarily a free safety in college and played in the Panthers' secondary as a rookie in 2005. Big enough (6-foot-0, 240 pounds) to be a linebacker, he switched to that position in 2006 and spent the next two seasons on the strong side.
But Davis is also one of the fastest players on the team. So he moved to the weak side (called Will) to take advantage of that.
“I don't have to take on the tight end and fight off linemen now,” said Davis. “The Will linebacker has lots of freedom. Now I can just react to the ball.”
Davis, who had three sacks last season and was fourth on the team in tackles with 85, said he learned a lot by watching former Panthers' weakside linebackers Will Witherspoon and Chris Draft.
“I'd been asking to make the change to Will,” said Davis. “I only had to wait for the coaches to make the decision.”
Now he hopes to show them they were right.
