Some observation from Tuesday afternoon's practice:
1. The Panthers, in full pads for their only practice of the day, worked almost exclusively on red zone offense on Tuesday with varied degrees of success on both sides of the ball. On offense, the highlights came on two D.J. Hackett touchdown receptions (one from Jake Delhomme and the other from Matt Moore) and two nifty scores from running back Jonathan Stewart, one on the ground and the other through the air. I still want to see Stewart in the preseason games, but all I can tell you right now is THIS KIDS LOOKS GOOD!
2. The defense had its share of good plays as well with Chris Gamble and Nate Salley both coming up with interceptions. Tyler Brayton slopped into a sack of Delhomme and cornerback Dante Wesley broke up a pass in the end zone.
3. Jason Carter really struggled in red zone drills, dropping two passes in the end zone. Dwayne Jarrett also dropped a potential touchdown pass.
4. The Panthers are using Stewart quite a bit in the passing game, regularly dumping passes off to him, whether by design or simply because he's the safety valve. Regardless, Stewart is going to be tough in the open field because he's small and kind of gets lots among the big bodies. All of a sudden he just seems to appear and emerge from the pack. Did I mention he looks good? (By the way, that doesn't mean DeAngelo Williams hasn't flashed. He's looked very quick as well and they should provide a good one-two punch if they can stay healthy.)
5. If you're ever looking for rookie safety Charles Godfrey during practice, just find defensive backs coach Mike Gillhamer. Godfrey almost never leaves Gillhamer's side during practice, picking up anything he can from the coach.
6. Nick Goings returned to practice.
7. Tackle Charles Spencer, acquired off waivers from Houston last week, sat out while resting a knee. Also sitting out were both starting defensive tackles Maake Kemoeatu and Damione Lewis. They are all listed as day-to-day and the injuries are not believed to be serious.
8. Dan Connor is now a real NFL linebacker. He switched numbers, going from 44 to 57.
9. Keydrick Vincent work with the first team at right guard for the second straight day.
10. Landon Johnson, who led the Bengals in tackles three of the last four seasons, worked with the first team at strong side linebacker for part of practice. Clearly that is one spot on defense that remains up in the air. Na'il Diggs is trying to hold off Johnson.