Today was the last day of mini camp for the Carolina Panthers and it was open to the fans… so I decided to leave my house at 5:00 am and drive 300 miles to see it.  It was worth it!!

There were four players that impressed me over the two hour practice; Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Mike Tolbert, and surprisingly Lamont Bryant.

Starting with Lamont Bryant, you may ask who is he?  Well he is a receiver that was just signed earlier this week and already impressing fans.  Backup Quarterback Derek Anderson threw a deep ball to the corner of the end zone the Bryant came down with.  To my surprise he came up with the ball.  One way to earn one of the last spots on the team is to impress the fans.

Next was Mike Tolbert, you is a lot faster than I thought he would be.  I won’t say too much on how the Panthers used him but I will tell you that he can make a nice cutback and extra burst of speed out of nowhere.

Luke Kuechly, the Panthers first round pick this year, had a pick six on backup Quarterback Jimmy Clausen.  Jokingly Cam Newton chased him down from the sideline to prevent a touchdown, or try.  Also he was making really good reads, he was fast off the ball and met the ball at the line of scrimmage.  Even Jon Beason looked to be back to his normal self again, which is great news.

Finally we have Cam Newton, who was phenomenal.  He was looking excellent and very accurate on all of his throws, yes all of them!  He has built great timing with all of the receivers and only had one incomplete pass due to a dropped pass.  Of course, no matter how big of a throw it was, the fans didn’t nearly appreciate it as much as the 10 yard pass to Steve Smith.

Next up is training camp for the Panthers in Spartensburg, SC and I suggest that everyone should try to go.  It is a great atmosphere to be in and I can tell you first hand it is fun, especially after I got my Cam Newton jersey signed by none other than Newton himself.

It was nice to get to see what to expect this year and Panther fans should be rooting hard this year because I believe they are going to go a long way.

Well Panthers fans, we along with the rest of NFL fans are just another step closer to training camp, preseason, and then the 2010 NFL regular season. Not bad, considering that up to this point, time has slowly plodded along at the speed of smell.

Getting underway today are mini-camps throughout the league, including our Carolina Panthers. (more…)

Our guest this week is Matt Bowen of the National Football Post.  Matt is a seven-year NFL vet who has been there and done that.  He knows the sport and proves it to us each time he’s a guest on our show.  Be sure to check out this conversation.  We talk about everything from Michael Vick to Caddy Shack.

Friend of the show, Mike Minter, was back with us after a rather lengthy hiatus for another installment of The Minter View.  Our discussion covered rookies, the learning curve and his advice for those new to the league.

Nick Yeoman, thanks to those pesky technical glitches, was still unable to join us.  Be sure to catch his videos on You Tube.  He can be found on their site by searching for BigNick2700.

It’s all in the latest episode.  Check it out and feel free to comment below.

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Episode Sixty-Five: June 10, 2009

In Episode Sixty-Five…

• News
• Special Guest – Matt Bowen (National Football Post)
• The Minter View with legendary Panther Mike Minter