MVN: Most Valuable Network

EA Sports, makers of the popular Madden NFL video game, has released their conference and divisional rankings for the upcoming NFL season and they like the Panthers to repeat as NFC South Champions.

EA has Carolina ranked highest among the NFC South teams with a score of 83 out of a possible 100 points, followed by the Atlanta Falcons (81 points) and the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (74 points apiece).

The complete NFC rankings and point totals are as follows:

1) New York Giants - 89
2) Philadelphia Eagles - 88
3) Arizona Cardinals - 86
4) Dallas Cowboys - 85
5) Carolina Panthers - 83
6) Atlanta Falcons - 81
7) Minnesota Vikings - 80
8) Chicago Bears - 79
    Washington Redskins - 79
10) Green Bay Packers - 78
11) Seattle Seahawks - 77
12) New Orleans Saints - 74
     Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 74
14) San Francisco 49ers - 73
15) St. Louis Rams - 66
16) Detroit Lions - 65

This year's edition of Madden NFL will be released on August 14th.

Happy NFL Gaming!

The Panthers have released the practice schedule for their 2009 Training Camp, which will open on August 2nd in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The first practices are scheduled for the following day.

Here's a look at this year's practice schedule:

August 3    9:10 am and 6:40 pm
August 4    3:10 pm
August 5    9:10 am and 3:10 pm
August 6    3:10 pm
August 7    9:10 am and 6:40 pm
August 8    Fan Fest at BOA Stadium (11 am)
August 9    No Practice
August 10  9:10 am and 6:40 pm
August 11  3:10 pm
August 12  9:10 am and 3:10 pm
August 13  3:10 pm
August 14  9:10 am and 6:40 pm
August 15  3:10 pm
August 16  9:30 am
August 17  Preseason Game (@ New York Giants)
August 18  No Practice
August 19  9:10 am and 3:10 pm
August 20  To Be Announced

All training camp practice sessions are free, open to the public, and last approximately 2 hours.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

The Panthers acquired tight end Andrew Davie from the New York Jets on Thursday.

A 6-4, 255-pound rookie out of Arkansas, Davie was originally signed by the Jets in May as an undrafted free agent. He played in 39 games for the Razorbacks and made 24 pass receptions for 199 yards and six touchdowns.

An outstanding blocker, Davie will provide the Panthers with more depth at the tight end position.

With the opening of training camp now only a little over a month away, the NFL magazines have their season previews out and many of them are picking the Panthers to make a successful defense of their NFC South title.

And at least one of them is picking Carolina to make an NFC Championship Game appearance.

Lindy's Pro Football Preview picks Carolina to win the NFC South and advance to an NFC Championship game showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles. Pro Football Weekly and a number of other NFL magazines are also picking the Panthers to repeat as NFC South champions.

Let's hope that Lindy's is right about the Panthers' NFC Championship Game appearance but wrong about the outcome of the game!

Carolina's All-Pro defensive end Julius Peppers is now open to negotiating a long-term deal with the Panthers, according to a report in Friday's edition of the Charlotte Observer.

The newspaper cited comments by Peppers and his agent, Carl Carey, in the report. "Julius Peppers has tremendous respect for the people in the Carolina organization and recently had the opportunity to talk with those individuals face to face and we believe we can reach a deal with the Panthers organization that will keep Julius in Carolina for the rest of his career," Carey said.

Carey's comments followed a statement released by Peppers earlier in the day. "I have had some very positive and productive discussions with the Carolina organization recently and I am optimistic about my future with the Panthers and very focused as I look forward to the upcoming NFL season," Peppers said in the statement.

Sounds like great news for the Panthers and their fans.

Let's get that long-term deal done!

The Panthers signed two of their 2009 draft picks on Friday, inking fourth-round picks Mike Goodson of Texas A&M and Tony Fiammetta of Syracuse to four-year deals.

The pair will add talent and depth to one of the NFL's best backfields. Goodson, a 5-11, 210-pound running back, will back up DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart at tailback and will see action as a slot receiver and kick returner as well, while the 6-1, 245-pound Fiammetta will split time at fullback with Brad Hoover.

The Panthers have now signed three of their seven 2009 draft picks.

The Panthers signed the first of their seven 2009 draft picks on Wednesday, reaching an agreement with seventh-round pick Captain Munnerlyn.

A 5-8, 185-pound cornerback and kick returner out of South Carolina, Munnerlyn will compete for a job as a kick returner and backup cornerback with the Panthers. He had five interceptions and three fumble recoveries in 36 career games with the Gamecocks.

The Panthers do not anticipate any problems in signing their seven draft picks before training camp begins on August 2nd.

Defensive end Julius Peppers signed a one-year, $16.683 million franchise tender with Carolina today, ending the contract stalemate between the Panthers and their disgruntled superstar.

Great news for Carolina fans and the Panthers, who need the superstar defensive lineman in the lineup to make a successful defense of their NFC South Championship.

A four-time Pro Bowl starter and a first-team All-Pro selection in 2004, Peppers is Carolina's all-time leader in sacks (70.5), forced fumbles (24), and blocked kicks (8).

Peppers started all 16 games for the fifth time in his career in 2008, making 64 tackles and leading the Panthers in sacks (14.5) and forced fumbles (5).

There is usually a strong correlation between an NFL team's success on the field and the amount of respect given to that team's quarterback.

But that hasn't proven true for Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme.

The Panthers have won an NFC Championship, made a Super Bowl appearance, and posted the fifth best record in the National Football League over the last seven seasons with Jake Delhomme as their starting quarterback.

And yet, Delhomme remains an underrated and unsung player despite having the fifth highest winning percentage among active NFL quarterbacks.

His new contract with the Panthers (a $30 million deal) was even attacked by many as being a bad move on Carolina's part.

But was it?

We don't think so.

If Delhomme stays healthy and continues to play well, $30 million for a proven and successful NFL quarterback is a bargain price given the rapidly escalating player salaries of the current era.

And most of the money in the contract is deferred over the long-term and/or incentive-based.

Eye of the Panther's take on Delhomme's new deal? 

It's a good deal for the Carolina Panthers...and for Jake Delhomme as well.

Sidelined recently by pain in his left achilles tendon, Panthers' running back Jonathan Stewart said yesterday that he is feeling good now and will be ready when Carolina's training camp opens on August 2nd in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Stewart was unable to participate in last month's mini-camp or this month's team workouts but did some running yesterday and says he'll be ready for training camp.

"Oh yeah, I'll be up and running when camp starts," Stewart said.  "Unfortunately, I missed out on mini-camp and summer school but I'll be ready for training camp. You can count on that."

That's great news for the Panthers and their fans.

Stewart and DeAngelo Williams combined to rush for 2,351 yards and 28 touchdowns last season as the Panthers featured one of the NFL's best running attacks.

Ending months of speculation, Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers confirmed on Friday that he will play for the Panthers in 2009.

The Carolina star notified teammates via text message that he will be present when the Panthers' training camp opens on August 2nd in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

This is great news for the Panthers, who will be defending their NFC South Championship this year after posting an impressive 12-4 record last season.

Peppers, the Panthers' franchise tag player, is one of the NFL's top defensive players and will make over $16 million this season.

Former Panthers' linebacker Dan Morgan has decided to retire from the NFL for the second time, according to his agent Drew Rosenhaus.

Morgan was attempting a comeback with the New Orleans Saints after playing seven seasons (2001-2007) with the Panthers.

A first-round draft choice in 2001, Morgan's best season came in 2004 when he made 109 tackles and was named to the Pro Bowl.

His 452 career tackles ranks third in Carolina franchise history.

The NFC South was one of the toughest and most competitive divisions in the National Football League last season.  And it is expected to be just as tough and just as competitive again this year.  Given those facts, can the Panthers repeat as NFC South Champions in 2009?

Yes, they can.

But it won't be easy.

All of the NFC South teams (Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers) had .500 or better records last season and all four teams have upgraded their respective rosters via free agency and the 2009 NFL Draft.

The Atlanta Falcons are considered the primary threat to dethrone the Panthers.  The high-flying Falcons posted an impressive 11-5 record a year ago and could be even better this season.  Led by quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner, Atlanta has an explosive offense and an aggressive defense that should make them one of the NFC's best teams.

The New Orleans Saints are also capable of dethroning the Panthers.  Plagued by inconsistent play last season, the Saints compiled an 8-8 record, but that could improve significantly if they play better defense and play with more consistency this season.  New Orleans has one of the NFL's best quarterbacks in Drew Brees and the Saints could very well be a playoff team this year.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a shoo-in for an NFC playoff spot last year but a late-season collapse dropped their record to 9-7 and knocked them out of the playoffs.  Jon Gruden and GM Bruce Allen are gone, as are former Buccaneer stars Derrick Brooks and Joey Galloway.  There is talent on the roster, but the Bucs may be hard-pressed to avoid a last-place finish in the rugged NFC South.

Which brings us to the Panthers.  21 of 22 starters return for the defending NFC South Champions, who went 12-4 in 2008.  The Cats feature one of the NFL's best running attacks with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, and superstar Julius Peppers will again anchor a tough Carolina defense that should be even better in 2009 under new defensive coordinator Ron Meeks.  The Panthers have one of the NFL's toughest schedules this season, so duplicating last year's 12-4 record will be tough to do.  But can they repeat in the NFC South?

They can.

And we think they will. 

Panthers' owner Jerry Richardson is currently progressing very nicely following his recent heart transplant and his prognosis is good.

In fact, the 72-year old Richardson even made a surprise visit to the Panthers' practice facility late last week, where the popular team owner received a thunderous round of applause from his players.

"He's a very special man," Panthers' quarterback Jake Delhomme said.  "He knows his players personally and he cares about us.  We really appreciate that."

"He said he's doing great and that everything is going well", Carolina coach John Fox added.  "And I thought he looked great.  It was great to see him out here today."

It was indeed.  Here's to the continued good health of Mr. Richardson!

Welcome to the new edition of Eye of the Panther!  My name is Scott Humphries and I cover the National Football League's Carolina Panthers (as well as NCAA College Football and Major League Baseball) for the USA Sports Media Group and I am going to be doing the same for MVN here at Eye of the Panther.

If it is Carolina Panthers/NFL related, we are going to cover it for you here at Eye of the Panther.  The NFL Draft, the free agent signings, the roster moves, the preseason, the regular season, the playoffs, even the Super Bowl - you name it, we're going to be covering it for you!

So come along for the ride Panthers/NFL fans - it's going to be a lot of fun!

As you can tell, there's been a lot going on here at MVN. I've had a lot of technical difficulties with the new site, but things seem to be back in working condition now.

I will pick up with a few comments about Sunday's game, and discuss more over the next two weeks as the Panthers take a well deserved break this coming Sunday, and watch all the other teams beat each other up.

There was nothing unusual for the Cats in the first half in Sunday's game against the Cards. As if on schedule, the offense and defense played as bad as they possibly could. I'm starting to think Jerry Richardson tells the team to do this, just to make the game more exciting and boost ticket sales.  Kurt Warner and Company moved the ball up and down the field at will. They looked like a mirror image of the 1999 St. Louis Rams. The Cardinals are much better than I ever imagined them to be. Even so, a stop here or there would have been nice for the second rated passing defense in the league....

As I was watching the game, I noticed that the Cardinals didn't even try to establish a running game. For what? The Panthers secondary offered about as much resistance as the wind did. I also noticed that when you pass the ball as much as the Cardinals do, a good defense is going to step up at some point and make a play. And the Panthers did just that. John Beason was at the right place at the right time to pick off Kurt Warner in the 4th, stopping a drive that very well could have ended up in the endzone. Good teams capitalize off the other team's mistakes, and Sunday showed that the Panthers really are a good team.

Sunday showed just how the Panthers can turn it on and off so quickly. This team is Jeckyll and Hyde. We never know which Panthers we are going to get. So far the pattern has been one loss after every two wins. But I have a feeling that streak is going to end after the Panthers play Oakland and Detroit back to back. You can't overlook any team in the NFL, but the Lions make you think twice every time you say that. I'll have more on that later, as well as other things that I have wanted to talk about over the past two weeks.

And thats the bottom line....