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The Carolina Panthers get today and Friday off. They'll resume summer school practice Monday and finish Tuesday. They don't have to practice again until training camp convenes Aug. 2.
Players were in a good mood as they left the field Wednesday after Day 10 of practice. Tight end Jeff King paused to do a television interview, and fullback Brad Hoover tried to make him laugh. Hoover really worked, too. But he failed.
“He's too serious,” Hoover said.
Delhomme working hard
The longest play of the day was a bomb down the right side to tight end Gary Barnidge, the second-year player out of Louisville. If there were a summer school MVP, it would be him.
Also making nice grabs were Marcus Monk, a receiver from Arkansas, and Jason Carter, who had a sensational camp in Spartanburg last summer before getting hurt. Throwing the pass to Carter was Jake Delhomme.
“I think guys are really working hard, are really invested in the program,” Delhomme said.
He said the quarterbacks have to be. They're working with a new position coach, Rip Scherer, and back-ups Josh McCown and Matt Moore are still relatively new.
“This is Josh's first offseason with us and Matt's only in his second full offseason, so there's a big learning curve, a lot of new things we're doing quarterback-wise,” Delhomme said.
He said change is good.
“The greatest athlete on the planet is Tiger Woods,” said Delhomme. “And how many times has he retooled his swing? Numerous. And he's the best. Why do you do that?
“So I know for somebody as measly as myself to work on something new is great.”
Canada connection
Jamall Lee, the rookie running back from Canada, is one of 30 NFL players, current and former, with ties to Canada, according to www.nflcanada.com. One of those players is former Panther Tim Biakabutuka. Biakabutuka moved to Quebec from his native Zaire.
Lee's father, Orville, was the first player selected in the 1988 Canadian Football League draft by Ottawa. He played five seasons in the league.
