Associated Press
The Panthers notebook …
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ó Ron Meeks was hired as Carolina’s defensive coordinator in January, about eight months later on the day before the start of training camp he finally met his best defensive player.
After a failed bid to go to another team, defensive end Julius Peppers has quickly won over his new boss after three days together.
“He’s wonderful,” Meeks said Tuesday. “He’s done all of the things we’ve asked him to do.”
The four-time Pro Bowl selection skipped offseason workouts before finally signing his one-year, $16.7 million tender in late June. But he stayed away from team officials until reporting to camp Sunday.
He then finally met Meeks, got his playbook and has been on a crash course to learn his scheme.
“Not at all,” Meeks replied when asked if Peppers was behind. “The game of football is not being invented by us. It might vary scheme wise but fort the most part he’s done all of the things we’re doing. It’s just a matter of learning the terminology and how you fit on this play, things like that. But he’s not doing anything he hasn’t done before.”
Peppers’ main argument for wanting to leave was that he couldn’t reach his potential in Carolina. Meeks said they’ll find the best way to use his unique pass-rushing talents.
“We will utilize him in the best way we can to be productive,” Meeks said. “We will definitely utilize what he has to bring to a football team. There’s no question about that.”
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THE OTHER ACHILLES: It’s nowhere near as serious as the season-ending injury to Maake Kemoeatu, but Jonathan Stewart’s nagging Achilles’ tendon injury is still limiting him.
The running back sat out Monday’s second workout. He practiced Tuesday afternoon and anticipates being held to one practice a day as he slowly recovers from an injury that prevented him from participating in a single offseason workout.
“Just making sure I’m progressing and everything is positive with no setbacks or anything like that,” Stewart said.
Stewart said he still has pain. He’s in a similar position as last year, when he missed all offseason workouts before his rookie year because of toe surgery.
That injury didn’t hurt his production. He combined with DeAngelo Williams to give Carolina one of the top rushing attacks in the league. It’s why Williams is unfazed by Stewart’s newest injury.
“He had pain last year and rushed for 836 yards and 10 touchdowns,” Williams said.
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LATE START: ESPN’s decision to televise the Panthers’ first preseason game on a Monday night caused an upheaval with the training-camp schedule.
Teams must wait to open camp until 15 days before the first game. That pushed back the normal Friday reporting date to Sunday because Carolina-New York Giants preseason game on Aug. 17 is the final opener in the NFL.
It’s left the Panthers with two fewer practices before Saturday’s light scrimmage at Bank of America Stadium.
“That rule is in place throughout the league. We’ll adjust,” coach John Fox said. “The only goofy thing is with Fan Fest being on Saturday we are a little bit behind. But we get to make up for it on the other end, so the number of days tends to be the same.
“I tend to forget what day it is down here anyway. I haven’t dwelled on that too much.”
The Panthers will also face a short turnaround after the Giants game, playing their second preseason game five days later at Miami.
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ALL A-TWITTER: There appears to be divide among the Panthers: those who embrace Twitter and those who mock it.
Some, like kicker Rhys Lloyd and linebacker Jon Beason, have hopped onto the social networking tool. Lloyd posted several tweets a day in the offseason, while Beason has recently taken it up.
“It’s something that I didn’t think was very cool initially. I mean, what are you, tweeting? It doesn’t even sound cool,” said Beason, who missed his second straight practice Tuesday with a sore hamstring. “But the guys at my Web site said you should do it, it’s good publicity. So I’m trying to get into it. It’s kind of fun but it’s little too close to home.
“But if the fans like it I’ll give them a little something every once in a while. I won’t tweet about my hamstring, though.”
But just hours later, Beason went back on his word and did tweet about the injury, which occurred in Monday morning’s practice.
“Just a sprain!! Relax!” tweeted Beason.
Running back DeAngelo Williams, though, was giving Beason some grief Tuesday over his 140-character messages.
“It shocked me, it did. I came into this room and I asked him what he was doing and he was like, ‘I’m tweeting,”‘ Williams said. “I said, ‘Oh, OK, I’m just going to go back to my room now.’
“I guess it’s text messaging to people you don’t really know.”
Unlike some teams, the Panthers haven’t placed restrictions on what players could tweet and when it was allowed.
“We’ve just made our guys real aware that whatever they put on there is fair game,” Fox said.
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EXTRA POINTS: Rookie third-string G C.J. Davis injured his right ankle after getting tangled with DT Corvey Irvin in a blocking drill and was carted to the locker room. … Rookie G Duke Robinson also went inside early because of heat-related problems. … After a comfortable day on Monday, the heat index hovered around 100 for Tuesday’s workout. … The Panthers practice Wednesday at 9:10 a.m. and 3:10 p.m.