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They have needed one. Nice to see it might be Carter. For somebody with the rep Gardner had in the league, he dropped many a ball. I think Fox got tired of it.
I said when Carter got drafted, the Panthers got a steal in the long run.
NFL Training Camp Battles
Panthers Wide Receiver
Keary Colbert (third) vs. Drew Carter (third)
Colbert (right) flopped as a starter last year and is now fighting the up-and-coming Carter for the No. 3 spot behind Keyshawn Johnson and Steve Smith.
Panthers' Carter puzzled with former teammate Clarett
MIKE CRANSTON
Associated Press
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Carolina Panthers receiver Drew Carter said he has sympathy for his troubled former Ohio State teammate, Maurice Clarett.
"It's sad, I feel bad for him," Carter said Thursday, a day after Clarett was arrested following a chase with police. Authorities said four loaded guns were found in Clarett's sport utility vehicle.
Carter was a reserve on the 2002 Buckeyes team that won the national championship on Clarett's winning touchdown run in the second overtime of the Fiesta Bowl against Miami.
He started as a senior in 2003, but Clarett was suspended for the season after being charged with falsifying a police report.
Clarett eventually dropped out of school and was cut by the Denver Broncos before the 2005 season.
"The only thing I can think about is he was my teammate," said Carter, who hasn't spoken to Clarett since the 2004 college combine. "He was a good guy when I was there with him and he was a team guy."
Clarett was also arrested in January and charged with robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.
"I would figure that sooner or later he'd figure it out, but unfortunately he hasn't," Carter said. "Hopefully he'll get it soon."
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WILLIAMS VS. FOSTER: While DeShaun Foster is the Panthers' No. 1 running back, rookie DeAngelo Williams is expected to eventually challenge for the job.
But it hasn't affected their relationship, as the two took friendly shots at each other while talking to reporters Thursday.
"Every game he comes onto the field he's always holding his stomach, so I call him 'Krispy Kreme' and 'Fat Boy,'" Williams said.
Told of his nickname on the way to the cafeteria for lunch, Foster spun around and said, "That is a lie! Hold on." He then darted toward Williams before returning to a group of reporters.
"Most short people have complexes," Foster said of the 5-foot-9 Williams.
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ROOKIE NIGHT: Williams served as master of ceremonies for Wednesday's annual rookie night, when first-year players put on skits and sing for the veterans. Williams wore a wig and fake teeth as he played the role of a pimp.
Tight end Michael Gaines, a master impersonator and aspiring musician, gave it a thumbs down.
"It didn't top my rookie class," Gaines said. "I'm very disappointed in DeAngelo. It just wasn't good at all.
"I set the standard for the rookie show three years ago. Nobody came close to that."
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QUICK HITS: Quarterback Jake Delhomme did not throw in the morning practice Thursday as he continues to rest his arm. ... Receiver Steve Smith missed his 12th straight day with a strained left hamstring. ... Receiver Efrem Hill continues to turn heads in camp, making an impressive deep catch over the middle in the morning workout. ... The Panthers are to practice Friday morning before returning to Charlotte for Saturday's preseason opener against Buffalo.
Carter will try to seize the play
SCOTT FOWLER
JEFF SINER - [email protected]
Panthers wide receiver Drew Carter runs upfield after making a pass reception during practice.
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The Carolina Panthers won't be able to keep Drew Carter off the field this season.
All you have to do is watch a few Panthers practices to see that. Which is odd, because for most of Carter's NFL career, he has hardly touched the field. He spent all of 2004 on injured reserve with a serious knee injury (he has had three major knee surgeries in his career). He spent most of 2005 healthy, but waiting his turn.
But as the Panthers enter their first exhibition tonight at home against Buffalo, Carter will be one of the offense's most intriguing spices.
Carter is "probably 100 times more confident than he was last year," Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme says. And Carter wasn't bad last year when he finally played. He's tall (6-foot-3) and faster than everyone on the team except for, possibly, Steve Smith.
Carter's first NFL reception was a 40-yarder. In six NFL games, he also has a 32-yard touchdown catch (against Dallas) and a 47-yarder (late in the NFC Championship, against Seattle) to his credit.
With so little experience, you probably understand that Carter gets impatient. He is go-go-go, sometimes forgetting that go-slow-go is a more effective way to get open.
"You don't want to rush everything," Carter says. "Sometimes, I run full-speed every time on every route. I watch Steve and Keyshawn (Johnson) and they don't do that, but they still get open. I've got to learn patience."
He also knew at the end of last season that he must get stronger. Although Carter is listed at 208 pounds, he looks thin. Much of his offseason was devoted to increasing his upper-body strength.
"That's one reason Drew has been a real bright spot so far in camp," says Richard Williamson, the wide receivers coach who has been a Panthers' assistant since the team's inception.
Carter doesn't expect to start behind Smith and Johnson. He's locked in a battle with the resurgent Keary Colbert for the third wideout spot. Colbert is also Carter's roommate at training camp in Spartanburg. Both have to learn what route every wide receiver runs on every play, since they could fill in at any position.
"We do a lot of reviewing in our dorm room," Carter says.
But isn't that weird, trying to help the guy who might take a lot of your playing time?
"I don't think so," Colbert says. "It's not really about who's the third wide receiver and who's the fourth to us. All four of us will be expected to make plays."
Carter can certainly do that. He counts his TD catch over Dallas safety Roy Williams as his favorite one so far -- he punctuated it with a lefty dunk over the goalpost. He's obviously a home-run threat, averaging 26 yards per catch last season overall (including the playoffs).
But Carter also got his hands on some balls last season that he didn't haul in. That's another area he must work on. He'd like to be an everyday threat and not just run deep routes all the time.
"Make some plays," Carter says. "Do something good. That's all I want."
Count on that. It's going to happen.