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Panthers' expectations high for ex-FSU star
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Everette Brown could be replacing Julius Peppers in the Panthers’ starting lineup.
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Published: June 10, 2009
CHARLOTTE - Everette Brown's switch to the right side midway through yesterday's workout was part of a larger decision to test the versatility of the Carolina Panthers' defensive ends.
Yet it was hard not realize the significance of the moment -- Brown was playing Julius Peppers' position.
With Peppers still a no show, his agent not talking and his future with the team uncertain, Brown might eventually find a home at right defensive end with the Panthers.
"Through college, probably 90 percent of my plays were on the right side," Brown said when asked about the decision by Brian Baker, the defensive-line coach, to shift all ends to the other side. "I wasn't a stranger to it."
Although Brown, a former FSU star, has been getting most of his reps with the second-team defense, the Panthers have a lot riding on his quick rise.
Carolina thought so highly of Brown, last season's ACC leader in sacks, that it traded its first-round pick in 2010 to San Francisco for the 49ers' second-round choice. After failing to make a trade involving Peppers, who wants to play elsewhere and hasn't signed his one-year tender under the franchise tag, the Panthers took Brown with the 43rd pick.
Although Coach John Fox and General Manager Marty Hurney remain confident that Peppers will show up for training camp, agent Carl Carey has made no such statement and hasn't returned phone messages in months. Peppers, apparently working out in Arizona, hasn't talked to reporters since January.
That means that Brown, who left school after his junior season, might be counted on to play a major role in 2009. Tyler Brayton has kept his starting job at left defensive end, for now, and third-year pro Charles Johnson has been playing in Peppers' spot, but Brown has been impressing teammates.
"He's a real good player," said right tackle Jeff Otah, who has been matched against Brown when he has been at left end. "He's got real good quickness, and he has that strength that it doesn't look like he has."
At just 6-1 and 256 pounds, Brown is small for a defensive end, a major reason he slipped into the second round despite 13½ sacks last season. But the system of new coordinator Ron Meeks depends on speed and quickness, which Brown hopes to use as he regularly faces players at least 50 pounds heavier and four inches taller.
"The biggest adjustment has just been technique -- working on hand placement. And the key thing is to keep offensive linemen off of you," Brown said. "Just the repetition of hand drills and playing with good leverage."
Brown, known mostly as a pass rusher in college, has plenty to learn about stopping the run. He'll also have to read offensive schemes better, and he acknowledged that "some of the things I did in college don't work here."
But if Peppers fails to report to training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., on Aug. 2, Brown might have to take a quick crash course in the preseason -- and stay on the right side.
"Talking to the vets, one thing they tell me is that the speed will pick up," Brown said. "You anticipate that once the pads come on. I'm looking forward to getting to Spartanburg and getting after it."
Notes: RB Jonathan Stewart has yet to practice this offseason. He missed May's minicamp with what was called a sore ankle and has yet to participate in this month's optional workouts. He has declined interview requests.... A cheer erupted after Fox told the team he has cut short the schedule. The team will practice today, then be off until Monday. The Panthers will finish workouts June 16, two days earlier than scheduled.
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