NFL Charlotte

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who was arrested and charged with DWI last March, pleaded guilty to that charge on Monday in a Mecklenberg County courtroom. He was fined $420 and will perform 24 hours of community service. He also surrendered his driver's license to the court, so hopefully he'll find someone who can drive him to film sessions.

To his credit, Jarrett said all the right things following this conviction:

"This is a thing that happened and you learn from your mistakes. ... You always have to take the right steps in everything you do. That's life in general. I took full responsibility for what happened."

Jarrett had a forgettable rookie season with the Panthers, which likely prompted the free agent signings of D.J. Hackett and Muhsin Muhammad. Is this guilty plea a sign that Jarrett is finally maturing and will own up to his mistakes on the field, too? It's a good sign, but it's just a starting point for him, really, if he wants to be the kind of receiver in the NFL that he was at USC.

Let's face facts, folks -- John Kasay was never going to play forever. Sure, the Carolina Panthers' 39-year-old place kicker has won a ton of games for this team with his left foot, but as time goes on, his kicks don't travel quite as far as they once did, and while some kickers have played well into their 40s in the NFL, those guys are few and far between.

The length of Kasay's kicks is the main reason the Carolina Panthers plan to use someone new for kickoffs. Rhys Lloyd, an Englishman who specializes in booting the ball really, really far, did well in a one-game trial with Carolina last season, and he now has a chance to make the team's final roster.

While it's far from unprecedented for a team to carry three kickers on its roster, it's not exactly business as usual. Still, Kasay had a league-low two touchbacks and watched five kickoffs sail out of bounds last season, so Lloyd almost seems like a necessity for Carolina. Field position is just that important for a team that prides itself on defense. Perhaps the only question is how much longer Kasay will be the last original Panther.

After an All-American career at Nebraska, defensive lineman Jason Peter was the Carolina Panthers' first-round draft pick in 1998. But he failed in the NFL, starting just 20 games and leaving the league for good after four seasons.

Now he's written a book that details the drug abuse that derailed his career.



He says he would down 60 Vicodin and 20 sleeping pills with a bottle of vodka. Peter King of SI.com, who read an advance copy of the book, writes:

Vicodin. Ambien. Cocaine. Crack. Heroin. GHB, the date-rape drug. Lots of others I've never heard of. He's not sure if he's been in rehab six or seven times. He's blown most of the $6.5 million Carolina paid him over a disappointing, injury-filled NFL career with the Panthers. Nights and weeks with prostitutes so numerous ... well, so numerous that his Madame at a high-rolling Manhattan brothel ran out of girls for him.

Jason Peter now says he's amazed he's still alive. Reading King's account of the book, it is amazing.

Last year around this time, Steve Smith was talking about how much better the Carolina Panthers' new offense was compared to the previous year. Well, it's summer again, and Smith is once again saying after minicamp that this team looks better than it did last year.

"With those two (receiver) acquisitions and with some of the big guys on the offensive line -- the rookie (Jeff Otah) -- offensively I think we finally made an upgrade."

Smith seemed to have nothing but compliments for the offensive linemen, the new receivers -- pay close attention to how he didn't mention Dwayne Jarrett -- and Jake Delhomme's arm, which Smith said seems a little stronger after Tommy John surgery. Of course, Smith also mentioned that Jake still can't out-throw him, but there you go.

The proof is still in the pudding, though, and that pudding doesn't get served in summer minicamps. The offense might have been better last year, too, but losing Jake Delhomme to injury in Week 3 killed the season. That rebuilt O-line needs to protect the quarterback to get this team back into the playoffs.

If the whole Bert Blyleven thing wasn't enough to satisfy your craving for athletes farting, you'll love this story coming out of Charlotte.

It seems Carolina Panthers 3rd-string QB Brett Basanez tried to learn as much as he could from hanging around Vinny Testaverde last season. When asked how much he learned, he replied:

"Everything. I mean, that guy farted and I'm trying to figure out how to fart like him."

Do you hear that, kids? You learn to fart like an NFL quarterback, and you will own the huddle. Nothing builds camaraderie quite like a well-timed fart, and when you think of well-timed farts, who else do you think of but Vinny Testaverde?

We here at FanHouse wish young Mr. Basanez nothing but success in his quest to fart like Old Man Vinny. Only then will he be a true leader of men. Just like Captain Kirk.

Mike Rucker's retirement left a gaping hole at the right defensive end spot for the Carolina Panthers. The team thinks, however, that they have just the man to fill Rucker's shoes, and he's been on the roster all along.

Julius Peppers, who has lined up at the left defensive end spot for his entire career in Charlotte, is getting looks on the right side during the offseason. Peppers actually lined up on the right side when he played at UNC, and the thinking is that moving back to his preferred spot will help him overcome his horrific 2.5-sack season, by far his worst as a pro.

Here's what makes this move interesting. During last year's late-season game against Dallas, rookie Charles Johnson lined up at left DE in place of an injured Peppers, and while he didn't have a brilliant game -- what rookie defensive end in his first start does -- he looked like he had potential to be a disruptive force.

Of course, Johnson is expected to compete with free agent signing Tyler Brayton for a starting job, but if Johnson wins, don't be surprised to see Peppers take Rucker's old spot. Anything that helps him get back on track at this stage is a good thing for Carolina.

All you Carolina Panthers fans who seem to think that Jake Delhomme's arm will break like glass any day now will have to keep waiting. Reports out of the team's "optional" offseason workouts indicate that Delhomme is taking snaps in team drills with no pain in his surgically repaired elbow.

So far, everything seems to be progressing well for Delhomme, who should be ready for training camp. At least, that's what some baseball players suggested to him a few months ago.

I saw Ken Griffey Jr. at a function and I introduced myself to him and there were a couple of other guys there and I said, 'Hey, I couldn't be happier (with the surgery).' They all busted out laughing ... and said, 'Tommy John, what a great surgery.' They've seen so many guys who have had so much relief after and hopefully I fall into that category."

That's exactly what John Fox is hoping, too. Jake Delhomme played 11 quarters of football last season and still let the Panthers in touchdown passes for 2007. Imagine if he plays a full season with a decent line blocking for him (for a change).

The agent for Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers isn't exactly a neutral observer when it comes to determining how much money Peppers deserves to earn. But he says Peppers' bad 2007 season won't affect the amount of money he'll make on his next contract -- and he says the team agrees:

"The organization has articulated, both to Julius and to me, that they still have full confidence in his abilities," agent Carl Carey said. "I have 100-percent confidence that what they're saying to Julius and to me is how they really feel."

But if what the Panthers are saying to Peppers and Carey is that they think just as highly of him now as they did a year ago, then I have 0 percent confidence that what they're saying is how they really feel. A year ago Peppers was coming off a 13-sack season. Now he's coming off a 2.5-sack season. Are we really supposed to believe that doesn't matter?

I believe that Peppers will eventually sign a long-term deal to stay with Carolina, but I don't believe it will be for the same kind of money that he could have gotten if he had had double-digit sacks in 2007. If he and his agent think a 2.5-sack season changes nothing, they're mistaken.

New Orleans Saints linebacker Dan Morgan retired on Monday, ending a productive, albeit oft-injured career. Morgan played his entire seven-year career with the Carolina Panthers before signing with the Saints this offseason.

"When we signed Dan, he was committed to making a fresh start, and he was making every effort to rehabilitate the leg injury that he suffered last year," said Coach Sean Payton in a statement. "But it wasn't responding as well as he had hoped it would. We wish him well in his continued recovery, and he will be remembered for the excellent player he was during his career."

Indeed. Morgan was one of those guys who was a great leader on the field ... but he just couldn't stay there. He was the Panthers #11 overall choice in the 2001 NFL Draft and quickly became a huge part of the team's eventual run to Super Bowl XXXVIII. He would become a Pro Bowler in 2004.

But injuries kept him from continuing to perform at a high level. He had an estimated five concussions that sidelined him at various times and nearly ended his career. An partian tear in his Achilles tendon forced him to miss Carolina's final 13 games last year. He never played a full season ... and played in just four games over the past two seasons.

Morgan won the Butkus, Nagurski and Bednarik Awards in college at Miami, becoming the first player to win all three awards during his career (and he did so in just one season).

The Carolina Panthers haven't returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Rod Smart did it in 2003, and since He Hate Me isn't walking through that door, John Fox is looking for answers there.

So it shouldn't have come as a shock, though it did at first, that Fox suggested to some charitable bigwigs in Charlotte that the Panthers' returner next season could be rookie running back Jonathan Stewart. Didn't Carolina draft Stewart to be a Stephen Davis clone?

Perhaps, but not every rookie running back is Purple Jesus, and it's not like Stewart has never returned kicks before. In fact, Stewart averaged 28.7 yards per return at Oregon and returned two to the house, and he did all that while also serving as the starting running back.

Of course, he still has to compete for that job in camp, too, as DeAngelo Williams -- who, by the way, reacted far more positively to Carolina selecting Stewart than at least one of his fans did -- remains the incumbent starter. However, Williams only averaged 17.8 yards per kickoff return last season, and Ryne Robinson managed 23 yards per return. So if Stewart can fill that role effectively, that wouldn't be a bad start to his NFL career.