Panthers will likely thrust Gamble into a rebuilt defensive backfield
By Brett Friedlander
Staff writer
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Chris Gamble will soon learn there are plenty of perks that come with being a first-round draft choice in the National Football League.
Panthers coach John Fox, left, laughs as he watches defensive lineman Kris Jenkins taunt a teammate at practice Sunday.
First, though, he's got to pay his dues.
On Sunday, following his first full practice as a professional, the 21-year-old from Ohio State had to carry veteran Mike Minter's helmet and pads up the hill to the locker room at Wofford College's Richardson Building.
"I did it at minicamp, too," Gamble said. "So it wasn't anything new."
The traditional rookie ritual is about the only thing that hasn't changed in the Carolina Panthers' secondary this season.
Gone are three starters from the playoff run that ended in Super Bowl XXXVIII in February, leaving plenty of holes to be filled and questions to be answered before the season opener against Green Bay on Sept. 13.
At least one of those holes was filled Friday, when Gamble averted a lengthy holdout by agreeing to a five-year, $9.1 million contract. He arrived in Spartanburg on Saturday afternoon and was in uniform for the first time within 24 hours.
With their most important newcomer finally signed and in camp, the Panthers and coach John Fox can now begin work on fitting all the pieces of their new secondary into their proper place.
"There's no question that's where most of our losses were in personnel," Fox said.
"That's the area (in which) we're going to have to improve, to jell and become more cohesive.
"Because it's going to be different, there are going to be different faces. But different doesn't always mean worse, either. I feel good about the talent level, now it's just a matter of getting battle tested."
Free agents leave
The overhaul became necessary in the months following the Panthers' Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots when cornerback Reggie Howard and safety Deon Grant signed free agent contracts with other teams.
The other starting corner, Terry Cousin, was later released for salary cap reasons.
Gamble
That left Minter, an eight-year veteran and the spiritual leader of the defense, as the only experienced pass defender on the roster.
It was a situation that, despite the emergence of 2003 third-round draft choice Ricky Manning Jr. during the playoffs, had Minter feeling a little uneasy during the early part of the offseason.
"It always worries you when there's that much change. Changes in anything worries you," he said. "But again, you look at the talent we have, that potential. You look at the guys and you say, 'We're going to be OK.'
"When it first went down, that's when you worried. But as soon as it went down you got over that and said, 'Let's move forward.' That's what we've done as a football team and a secondary."
The Panthers took their first step forward by taking a Gamble.
Actually, they rolled the dice by trading up two spots to the 28th position and picking a cornerback in the first round of the draft. Gamble, a confident 6-foot-1, 180-pound college All-America, was immediately penciled in as the starter in Grant's former position.
It's a challenge he began preparing for long before he arrived at camp.
"I picked up a lot from minicamp (this summer)," Gamble said. "Two-a-days are like picking up from there. It's coming easier for me. I'll be ready to go."
He's got a lot of work to do for that to happen, said Manning, who went through a similar learning process last year.
"The first thing he'll have to learn is the defense," said Manning, who intercepted Donovan McNabb three times in the Panthers' NFC Championship Game victory against Philadelphia last January. "He's going to struggle with it because it's a whole new language.
"It's a short time to learn it, because they're going to throw a whole lot at you at camp. You're going to have to digest a lot. But he'll learn more each week."
Manning had the advantage of being broken in slowly, playing mostly on third downs and other passing situations early in the season while he learned.
Gamble probably won't have that luxury. Behind him, the Panthers' only other options are journeymen Hank Poteat, Terrance Shaw and Antrell Hawkins. Tavares Tillman and Colin Branch are competing for Grant's spot at safety.
"There are some holes to fill, especially Deon Grant," Manning said. "But I think we'll be OK."
