CHARLOTTE --
The Carolina Panthers offseason purge left the team paper-thin at many spots. But after holding their breath through 2009, the offensive line has come through perhaps deeper than they could have imagined.
A year ago this time, the Panthers could only pray for health after losing versatile backups Geoff Hangartner and Jeremy Bridges. It didn't work out that way, with both starting tackles ending the season on injured reserve. But after young backups Mackenzy Bernadeau and Geoff Schwartz held their own when pressed into late-season duty, the Panthers realized they had keepers in the 2008 seventh-rounders.
"That was one of the things, we were hoping everything goes right and we don't have to plug anyone in," center Ryan Kalil said of last year's questionable depth. "Fortunately for us though, when that time happened, we didn't miss a beat with these guys.
"We actually did really well against some really good football teams. and so hats off to them, and the personnel, the GM and the coaches who got those guys up."
After missing minicamp because of a strained pectoral muscle (injured while lifting weights), Bernadeau is working with the starters at right guard. Schwartz worked there during his absence, and has shown he can play right tackle as well. Both have position flexibility, as Bernadeau is also the backup center, and Kalil said he thinks Schwartz could now play either tackle spot. Along with 2009 undrafted rookie tackle Garry Williams, their depth pieces all come from lesser pedigrees, but there's a degree of confidence in them.
Kalil said Schwartz's play last year (starting the last three games at right tackle after Jeff Otah suffered a knee injury) proved that the Panthers may once again have found trustworthy backups.
"Schwartz, in the short span he's got to play, he's really proven himself to be a great utility guy for this football team," Kalil said. "I think he knows it, we all know it, and the coaches obviously know it. He's somebody who plays a huge, integral part of this offense. Having a guy you can plug in at any spot, he can plug in at guard, tackle on both sides, people take that for granted.
"Having guys like that is an extreme value to the organization, and we have that in Schwartz and a couple other guys."
EVERY DAY A LESSON -- Even though current practices are non-padded and non-contact, rookie receiver Armanti Edwards is learning how physical his new job can be.
Though he took a lot of shots at Appalachian State as the quarterback in a spread offense, he never had to get off a jam at the line of scrimmage. So Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn gave him his welcome to the NFL last week.
"Running the routes against a defender and trying to get off the jam," Edwards replied, shaking his head when asked the toughest part of his transition. "I got jammed for the first time today. I have to get used to getting off of that. It caught me off guard, I'll be ready next time.
"Just running the routes against a defender. It's easy to do it when you're by yourself, but once you've got somebody in front of you, you've got to know how to run it then."
PECKING ORDER -- There were reports last week that rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen had already passed Hunter Cantwell for the second spot on the quarterback depth chart. Other than being not true, they were interesting.
The Panthers have always had some degree of rotation for their backups. Even during regular season practices, the third will take a few snaps with the seconds, and vice versa. That's what was happening last week when someone noticed Clausen working with the twos.
Eventually it may turn out that way, but it's certainly not the case at the moment. Despite being an unknown, the Panthers are extremely high on Cantwell, who spent most of last year on the practice squad with a late-season call-up. The former Louisville product has an extremely strong arm, perhaps the strongest on the roster. And while he's not high in the public consciousness, he's very much on the radar in-house.
SPEED DEMON -- Teammates are still amazed by linebacker Thomas Davis running a 4.47-second 40-yard dash recently, especially since he did it less than six months removed from ACL surgery.
He's not participating fully yet (they didn't want to subject him to the cutting and covering involved in 7-on-7 drills), but Davis is close, continuing to impress with the pace of his recovery.
As they were walking off the field last week, linebacker Jon Beason was asked about the 4.47. "Not me, that's that guy," Beason said with a laugh, pointing at Davis walking alongside him.
So what was Beason's time?
"Not 4.47," he replied with a laugh.
