PA Season Ticket Holder
05-06-2003, 01:15 AM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Stephen Davis was confident the Carolina Panthers were headed in the right direction when he signed on to be their featured running back.
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Then the Panthers drafted a pair of offensive linemen with their first two picks and Davis knew he made the right decision. Jordan Gross and Bruce Nelson are expected to shore up Carolina's offensive line and give Davis some room to run.
"I got pretty excited when I saw (the draft)," Davis said. "You still have to come out here and work hard together and everybody needs to get better together, but that showed how serious we are about running this year."
Panthers coach John Fox is committed to running the ball, but Carolina's offense has ranked second to last in the league the past two seasons.
So the Panthers went after Davis during the offseason, signing him after the Washington Redskins had released him.
Davis spent his first seven seasons in the NFL with Washington, leading the NFC in rushing in 1999 and 2001. Now he'll try to be the first Carolina running back to surpass 1,000 yards in a season since Anthony Johnson in 1996.
"The reason I came to Carolina was to get an opportunity to run the ball," Davis said. "I also liked what they did last year. With the guys that we brought in here in the offseason and the guys who were already here, we can get some things done."
The Panthers have shown a commitment to upgrading the offense this season, signing quarterback Jake Delhomme and receivers Kevin Dyson and Ricky Proehl.
But their main focus has been on improving the running game -- via Davis -- and the offensive line. In addition to Gross and Nelson, the Panthers also signed lineman Doug Brzezinski and selected blocking tight end Mike Seidman in the draft.
After his first minicamp this weekend, Davis was encouraged but knows there's still a lot of work to be done.
"We have to come together as a team and work on the chemistry," he said. "The thing we have to do is work on it out here at the mini-camps and summer schools and training camp. Once we do that, everything will take care of itself."
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/6353296
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Then the Panthers drafted a pair of offensive linemen with their first two picks and Davis knew he made the right decision. Jordan Gross and Bruce Nelson are expected to shore up Carolina's offensive line and give Davis some room to run.
"I got pretty excited when I saw (the draft)," Davis said. "You still have to come out here and work hard together and everybody needs to get better together, but that showed how serious we are about running this year."
Panthers coach John Fox is committed to running the ball, but Carolina's offense has ranked second to last in the league the past two seasons.
So the Panthers went after Davis during the offseason, signing him after the Washington Redskins had released him.
Davis spent his first seven seasons in the NFL with Washington, leading the NFC in rushing in 1999 and 2001. Now he'll try to be the first Carolina running back to surpass 1,000 yards in a season since Anthony Johnson in 1996.
"The reason I came to Carolina was to get an opportunity to run the ball," Davis said. "I also liked what they did last year. With the guys that we brought in here in the offseason and the guys who were already here, we can get some things done."
The Panthers have shown a commitment to upgrading the offense this season, signing quarterback Jake Delhomme and receivers Kevin Dyson and Ricky Proehl.
But their main focus has been on improving the running game -- via Davis -- and the offensive line. In addition to Gross and Nelson, the Panthers also signed lineman Doug Brzezinski and selected blocking tight end Mike Seidman in the draft.
After his first minicamp this weekend, Davis was encouraged but knows there's still a lot of work to be done.
"We have to come together as a team and work on the chemistry," he said. "The thing we have to do is work on it out here at the mini-camps and summer schools and training camp. Once we do that, everything will take care of itself."
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/6353296