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Panthers' Wharton expecting to play Sunday
Offensive line struggled while veteran left guard recovered from an injury
AP File Photo
Left guard Travelle Wharton of the Panthers was injured in the season opener.
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Published: September 26, 2008
CHARLOTTE
Travelle Wharton is tired of spending time in the training room.
He's ready to get back into the Carolina Panthers' lineup.
And barring any setbacks, that will happen Sunday when the Panthers play the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium.
Wharton, the Panthers' veteran left guard, returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since suffering a sprained knee in a season-opening win at San Diego. He went through his first full practice yesterday, then was all smiles as he talked about playing again.
"You're always happy to be back out there with the guys, out of the training room and out there with the guys," Wharton said. "I'm just trying to take it day by day, trying to do more today than I did yesterday, and do more tomorrow than I did today. But I'm feeling good, and now it's one of those things where you've just got to get the feeling back, getting the comfort level of moving around, and just playing football."
Wharton's return should bolster an offensive line that struggled last week in a 20-10 loss at Minnesota. The Panthers gave up five sacks last week, and finished with a season-low 47 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Coach John Fox said he was looking forward to having the line that he envisioned in the preseason, with Ryan Kalil at center, Wharton and tackle Jordan Gross on the left side, and guard Keydrick Vincent and tackle Jeff Otah on the right side. Geoff Hangartner filled in for Wharton.
"Anytime you list a guy as a starter, you're trying to say that guy is there for a reason," Fox said. "Not to say (problems at Minnesota) were all about that change. I wouldn't want to insinuate that at all. But getting Travelle back in there will be helpful."
Wharton, in his fifth season, was the victim of a freak injury at San Diego. He was blocking on a John Kasay field goal in the second quarter, and one of the Chargers fell on the back of Wharton's knee.
Wharton said there were brief flashbacks to the Panthers' season opener against Atlanta in 2005, when he tore the anterior-cruciate ligament and medial-collateral ligament in his left knee and was lost for the rest of the season.
"The first game of the year and everything, you're thinking, ‘Oh no, not again,' " he said. "You work so hard to get into the football season, and when you feel the knee pain, it's like, ‘Oh, I hope it's not bad.' But as time went on, it turned out to be not as serious as the one before. It wasn't something that required surgery. So that was a relief, and I just had to come back and strengthen it and let it heal up."
The key now will be to get the chemistry back that the offensive line was developing in the preseason. They were dominant in a preseason blowout win over Washington, then ran the ball well (142 yards between DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart) against San Diego. And they also ran well at times in a win over Chicago two weeks ago.
"Getting the chemistry is real important," Wharton said. "Geoff Hangartner stepped in and did a great job while I was out, and now it's just a matter of getting back with those guys and making our calls and forming a unit that we played with during training camp. That was my main focus this week, to get back on track with all of those guys."
Wharton is comforted by the fact that the Panthers have had success running against the Falcons in the past. Last year, they rushed for 175 yards in a 27-20 win at Atlanta.
"I think the big thing is, we have to be balanced," he said. "We've got to take what they give us, nothing more, nothing less. We just have to come out and execute the game plan. We've got to put last week in the past and just be prepared for the Atlanta Falcons."
■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.
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