Still Camping

The Carolina Panthers continue going through workouts and classroom work.  There isn’t a tremendous amount of news coming out of the team’s practice facilities but there is at least something to report.

Dante Rosario is looking pretty impressive in practice sessions.

The Panthers ran several plays for tight ends during Tuesday’s summer school practice and backup Dante Rosario made the most of them. Rosario looked athletic and fast as he went up high to grab a few passes over the middle. With catches like that, Rosario might become a go-to guy on third downs, although Jeff King will likely continue to start and rookie Gary Barnidge could also see playing time.

There are a lot of open competitions going into training camp this year.  Tight end is one of them.  However, with this kind of battle it can only make the team better and the depth looks to be very good with King, Rosario and Barnidge on the roster.

Much more after the jump!

One other position is up for grabs, though a rookie might have a pretty good grip on the job.  Free safety has been held down by rookie Charles Godfrey but Terrence Holt hasn’t been getting as many reps with the first team.

Not that Terrence is willing to concede the job.

“I think being in my sixth year I know how to handle that now,” Terrence said. “I think those situations make you a better player. I’m just working on myself being the best player I can be and I think the depth chart will take care of itself.”

One other story that simply won’t go away is that Terrence would love to have his brother, Torry Holt in Charlotte.

“That would be the ultimate,” said the Panthers safety following Tuesday’s practice at Bank of America Stadium. “That would be the capper on our careers. That’s something we dream about and hopefully will come true.”

But before this family reunion ever has a chance to come to fruition a lot of things must happen first, not the least of which is the younger Holt re-establishing himself as a top NFL safety.

Comments like this one and those made by Torry a few weeks ago have Panthers fans dreaming.  the problem is that there will be two more years of wear and tear on Torry even if he can escape St. Louis and don the black, silver and blue.

Sticking with Terrence’s side of the ball, Tyler Brayton is looking forward to playing with a team that won’t be jerking him around so much.

“It’s great,” Brayton said with a huge grin when asked of his role in Charlotte. “That’s all you want in this league, for someone to define your role and you just go out and do the best you can.”

Not only does he not want to be moved from position to position but he also would rather not talk anymore about what some fans refer to when calling him “The Nutcracker” – the incident in 2006 that led to Brayton not-so-gently putting his knee into the groin of then-Seattle tight end Jerramy Stevens.

“I guess I’ll address this one time and one time only with you guys: How far in the past is that? Two or three years?” he said Monday. “It was just one of those things where football is an emotional game, and you can’t let your emotions get the best of you. But they did on that night. Things got out of hand.

“For that I apologize. And I’ve apologized before. I’m just moving forward, learning from that experience and keeping my emotions in check.”

Matt Moore is still the Panthers’ guy in the event that Jake Delhomme gets hurt and he’s happy to have the reps he’s getting in mini camp.  The experience of last year is also something he’s looking forward to building on.

“It’s big-time,” Moore said with a nod and a cock-eyed grin last week when asked about the chance at increased practice repetitions with Jake Delhomme mending. “It’s been nice getting the more reps and the more experience.”

“It’s nice that I have a set schedule this year, it’s just getting better that way,” Moore said. “I can’t tell you where I’d be without those three games, just knowing the little ins and outs, how it works, showing what I could do.

“It’s just a confidence booster for me coming into this season.”

There will be more as it becomes available.