SB Nation - J.J. Jansen

Panther Paw Prints - Week 1 TC Wrap-up Edition

Jaxon — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:08:51 -0000

Lots to choose from now. Let's start with Andrew Mason's report that includes lots of juicy stuff:

Beavers had the longest gain of the team scrimmage period, grabbing a 16-yard pass from Hunter Cantwell on the last play of the practice.

If Beavers can show he can handle both the PR and KR duties his stock goes up.

Dan Connor continued working with the first team at middle linebacker and had some solid stops, including one where the force of his hit sent Jamall Lee's helmet flying ...

Conner is going to be a special teams beast!

... The most acrobatic catch of the day belonged to Kenneth Moore, who hung on to a pass from Delhomme during seven-on-seven work in spite of being hit by cornerback C.J. Wilson. Moore, however, was out of bounds, nullifying the acrobatic catch.

Who cares if it was out of bounds if it's a scrimmage? They still count in the reviews. Moore has an outside chance of sticking.

Inside the Panthers: Observations from Fan Fest
- New long-snapper J.J. Jansen looked good snapping the ball on John Kasay's 42-yard field goal, the only scoring of the day.

The more confidence builders the better.

Fox at Fanfest:

Foxhole: Fan Fest
On what the players get out of Fan Fest: It's a first little taste. It's a little sliver of what it's going to really be like. It's a good way to ease into it. They get to come into a stadium with fans here and kind of see what it's like - the pressure of a real game, partially. So from that standpoint it's more game-like.

A guy from Bleacher report went to Panthers TC and offers this assessment of the WR competition:

Notes From Carolina Panthers Training Camp | Bleacher Report
# I don't think it'll be hard for Fox to pick which receivers to release. Kenneth Moore, Marcus Monk, Kevin McMahan, Jason Cherry, and Larry Beavers will all be released. They had some flashes, but nothing great. # Ryan Robinson and Jason Carter are looking great, at both kick returning and receiving. But will Fox keep both of them on the team? I hope so, because they both have huge potential.

I want to see this Beavers kid in action before agreeing with that.

Mason's Minutes: 'D' dominant at Fan Fest
With Williams and Stewart watching, rookie Mike Goodson carried the load, picking up 14 yards on three carries, including a seven-yard, second-and-7 pickup that moved the offense onto the defense's side of the field for the first time in the period.

Nice to see the D take care of business.

Last season the running game was very impressive but looking at this list of accomplishments now seems surreal to a degree. I need to see some more.

Panthers returning the perfect rushing combination | GoUpstate.com | Spartanburg Herald-Journal | Spartanburg SC
The duo helped lead the way to a franchise record for rushing yards in a season, accounting for 2,351 of Carolina’s 2,437 yards, besting the former high, set in 2003, by 346 yards. The Panthers also tallied 30 rushing touchdowns, 13 more than the record, set in 2005.

Williams established individual highs for season rushing yards (1,515), single game rushing yards (186), 100-yard rushing games (eight), average per rush (5.56 yards), rushing touchdowns (18), total touchdowns (20) and consecutive games scoring a touchdown (eight), including a record four in one game.

Stewart set new rookie standards with 836 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns (the third highest overall total in team history).

Here's a guy with a lot to prove this season:

Panthers CB Marshall ready for increased role
"Oh man, his intensity level has picked up," safety Chris Harris said. "Richard, I think he's going to be a great starting corner for us. I always felt we had three starting corners on our team last year and the year before. But now he gets his time to shine."

He better be ready to get picked on.

Panthers End Panther Long Snapper Competition Early

Jaxon — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:42:28 -0000

Darin Gantt tweeted that the Panthers have cut rookie UDFA long snapper Nick Sundberg essentially crowning JJ Jansen as winner of the starting spot.

daringanttNo more snapper competition for #Panthers. They cut rookie Nick Sundberg, leaving J.J. Jansen as the last man standing.

It was obvious the job was Jansen's to lose given the Panthers gave up a 7th rounder for him. Yet for Sundberg to be cut so quickly must indicate he failed to impress in his short time. Congrats J3! Let's hope you go unnoticed this season.

Thoughts anyone?

Panthers Training Camp Day 4 & 5 Report

Jaxon — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:53:23 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

4 months ago: Carolina Panthers' DeAngelo Williams (34) is shown during the team's NFL football training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Browse more photos »

The following is a summary of the key happenings from day 4 and 5 of Panthers TC. Since we can't get a way from injury news lets start with that and then discuss the positive developments.

cpanthers#JohnFox also said WR #Dwayne Jarrett banged his wrist in practice. Jarrett returned to the field after being hurt.about 17 hours ago from web.

Jarret is back in action on Day 5. These three remain out:

cpantherscpanthersDid not practice: OL C.J. Davis (ankle), LB #ThomasDavis (knee) and LB #JonBeason (knee).

When asked about the effect of injuries Panthers GM Marty Hurney had this response:

Camp Confidential: Panthers eye next step - NFC South - ESPN
"It starts with having enough depth to sustain," Hurney said. "Different things happened in different seasons in the past. But drafting well and having a young base is really important as far as staying ahead of the game and not having to go out in free agency and bring in guys a lot. If you draft well and bring those guys up, you have a continuity in there that should keep you competitive. Continuity is a result of bringing in the right guys from the start."

Come on Marty, you know if you had the cap space you'd have a couple FA's in here right now competing for back-up spots on both lines.

Here's a key development in the return game:

-- We're starting to figure some things out in the return game. They were working on punts Thursday, and the sad reality is that RB Mike Goodson can't really catch them.

Special teams coach Danny Crossman was putting them through drills before practice, asking them to catch a pass, then field punts one-armed.

At several junctures, Goodson looked like a juggler in a circus. It's weird, for a guy with good hands in the passing game, this seems to stump him.

He might return kicks, but punts aren't in his future.

If this holds then Ryne Robinson has one fewer guy to beat out. From the same link:

-- It's way early, but LS J.J. Jansen looks to my untrained eye to snap a tighter ball than Nick Sundberg.

P Jason Baker saved both of them yesterday during field goal drills, picking balls up to place them.

I said it months ago, if there's one decision this offseason they'd regret, it's letting Jason Kyle go. Maybe they can go sign Kevin Houser later, but only if he leaves his stock tips at home.

This is cause for concern in my view. Here's some positive plays from practice:

The one-on-one duels were highlighted by a deep reception by Kenneth Moore and an interception by Richard Marshall. Moore's catch saw him work past rookie cornerback Sherrod Martin up the left sideline, allowing him space to reach out and lunge for a sliding touchdown grab. Two plays later, Marshall picked off quarterback Matt Moore, tipping a pass that was intended for wide receiver Kevin McMahan and coming down with it before heading upfield ...

This Camp Report video I found disappointing. It is focused around an interview with UDFA Patrick Brown and his match-up with Julius Peppers. I say disappointing because it didn't show footage of the match-up in the question.
You can catch Darin Gantt's podcasts here. If I was to recap his Day 4 podcast: He's really high on Larry Beavers as KR with his elite speed. He also compares Mike Goodson with Kevin Faulk in the way he might be used. Finally, he thinks TE Gary Barnidge has the chance to be an all-around TE, a downfield threat who can also be a good blocker.
So will CB Chris Gamble get the opportunity to be a 'shutdown corner'?

Asked Thursday if he'd consider such a move in the future with Gamble, he hedged as is his custom.

"We've done both," Fox said. "Each game takes on its own personality. Sometimes matching up is an option; sometimes it's left and right. But you mix that up. Everybody in the league does that; we've done both."

Typical Fox answer. Definitely something to watch come the Eagles game.

The Packers Make A Trade With Carolina

Brandon — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:00:12 -0000

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

8 months ago: FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2009, file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison returns an interception for a 100-yard touchdown during the second quarter of the NFL Super Bowl XLIII football game in Tampa, Fla. At right is Arizona Cardinals guard Reggie Wells. Harrison reached terms Monday, April 13, 2009, on a $51.75 million, six-year contract that will make him the second highest-paid player in franchise history. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

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Anyone who read the above title expecting something regarding Carolina's unsigned franchise DE Julius Peppers will be disappointed.

Instead they traded LS J.J. Jansen to Carolina for what might amount to a 6th round pick in 2010. Not a bad haul for a player who spent all of last season on the I.R. and, as far as I recall, has never played in a single regular season game for the Packers.

And GM Ted Thompson has done pretty well in the 6th round since 2005. He's drafted four players who started games last season (DE Michael Montgomery, DT Johnny Jolly, LB Desmond Bishop, and FB Korey Hall) plus K Mason Crosby.

.....

On a side note, Pittsburgh signed reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, LB James Harrison, to a contract extension that will pay him $20 million in guaranteed money. That's a good contract for Pittsburgh, it's probably much less than he would have gotten as an unrestricted free agent. But since I don't know much about the Steelers or their roster, this really caught my eye:

Harrison, cut four times earlier in his career, cashed in after being an NFL starter only two seasons.

He was released four times? Looking back at the list of former winners of that award, none of them have ever been an undrafted player. I doubt any of them were released before they won that award either.

2009 Packer Free Agents

Brandon — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:00:12 -0000

The 2008 season's over. Let's start speculating about 2009! Free agency comes first. It begins on February 27th. The first order of business; take care of your own free agents. Who should the Packers keep? The following is a combined list based on info from KFFL and Ask The Commish:

Player Name	Position	FA Status
Mike Montgomery	DE/DT	UFA
Mark Tauscher	RT	UFA

Atari Bigby	S	RFA
Jarrett Bush	CB	RFA
Jason Hunter	DE	RFA
Shaun Bodiford	WR	RFA

J.J. Jansen	LS	ERFA
Tramon Williams	CB	ERFA

UFA=Unrestricted Free Agent.

RFA=Restricted Free Agent.

ERFA=Exclusive Rights Free Agent.

Actually, the KFFL list is questionable. They listed a couple guys I've never heard of who are definitely not on the current roster, and they also included LB Brady Poppinga who signed a 5 year extension a few months ago. Also, they listed DE/DT Mike Montgomery and that's the only time I've seen his name mentioned anywhere.

Montgomery is someone I've been neglecting when discussing the switch to the 3-4. I've never been a big fan of his, but after DE Cullen Jenkins was lost for the season and DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila was released, Montgomery got some playing time and several starts at right DE. He ended up playing the best football of his career over the last nine games in 2008. And as someone who was asked to bulk up last season to play more inside at tackle, he has the size play end in a 3-4. Hopefully the KFFL list is wrong and he's not a unrestricted free agent yet. Then we can see how he plays in 2009 in a 3-4 before deciding whether he should stay.

Otherwise, RT Mark Tauscher is the big name on the list. But since he blew out his knee in December, I'm not sure he'll even be 100% by week 1. Hopefully he is resigned, but hopefully on a 1 year contract to prove he's healthy (think RB Ahman Green after the 2005 season).

I doubt any team will make an offer to S Atari Bigby after his injury plagued 2008 season, so he should return. But if someone did go after him, then it could be a tough choice depending on the size of the contract. CB Jarrett Bush seemed to commit a special teams penalty every week, and he lost his job as the nickel CB to CB Tramon Williams last preseason, so it wouldn't be a big loss if he isn't offered a new contract. DE Jason Hunter is always the lowest paid guy on the roster, but he's managed to keep a NFL roster spot the last two seasons, so he should be back. WR Shaun Bodiford was on I.R. for all of 2008 and I don't expect he'll be offered a contract.

LS J.J. Jansen barely played before he got hurt, but he could get offered a contract to provide some competition in camp. CB Tramon Williams isn't going anywhere.