Thursday, July 29, 2010

Beuerlein and the Redskins

Just got off the phone with Steve Beuerlein, the former Panther Pro Bowl quarterback and one of the best guys who has ever been in the Carolina locker room.

Beuerlein was in the car on the way to the Washington Redskins' training camp in Ashburn, Va. At the invitation of Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, Beuerlein is going to be there for the next couple of weeks, starting with a team meeting tonight and Redskins practice Friday. Beuerlein will sit in on coaches' meetings, go to all the practices and see life from an NFL coach's perspective.

Does this mean that Beuerlein would like to go into coaching? "Who knows what the future holds?" Beuerlein, 45, said. "This is not a big deal right now. I just want to basically get a feel for what the coaches do and see if it's something I would like to do down the road."

I was talking with Beuerlein mostly about Jimmy Clausen. Beuerlein has a unique perspective on Clausen, as he preceded Clausen as the Notre Dame starting quarterback by about 20 years and also as a Panther quarterback. "I'm really glad we've got another Notre Dame quarterback in town," Beuerlein said, "and I think he has a bright future."

I'm interviewing lots of people about Clausen for what will be an extensive background story on the Panthers' new rookie quarterback. It is slated to be published in Sunday's sports section, as well as online at www.CharlotteObserver.com. Take a look at it once it is published -- I can promise you there will be some things in there about Clausen you didn't know.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Scott. Let's try to manufacture a quarterback controversy, since we all didn't get enough of that last year. There are some NFL towns where the sportswriters don't actually make it their life's ambition to tear down the team every season.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the comments above. Clausen is not a story until he plays - right now he's not the starter. Let's see an in-depth story on the actual starting QB, not one of the backups.

Anonymous said...

Wow - I guess neither one of you want to know about the players on the team? Why is it such a bad idea to have a background introduction to the player who is quite possibly the highest profile draft pick since Julius Peppers?

Anonymous said...

i dunno maybe he's talking about Clauson because he actually has the CAPABILITY TO BE A NFL STARTING QB. anyone who thinks matt moore will be a good starting QB in the nfl probally also thinks john kasay should handle all kick offs after the 2 minute warning, because he's soo super sweet at directional kicking!!

Anonymous said...

Well its to early to say if Clausen is capable of being a nfl starting QB. Both him, Moore, Pike, or Cantwell are all unproven at this point. But some how Scott is in so much love with Clausen. Did he say how good Moore would do btw? Until they drafted Clausen and his opinion changed by bashing him of playing mop duty games? Clearly i thought he did.

Anonymous said...

I already know a hell of a lot more about Clausen than I do about our ACTUAL STARTING QB. How about a Moore article?

Anonymous said...

I understand your desire to cover the biggest draft pick at
training camp. I understand your position I really do. But just look at the main page too much Clausen. We turn to the Observer for objective insight. I enjoy your articles and this paper. I beg you to put out a poll and ask your readers who they want to hear about. Including myself on this page it is 5>2. Prove me wrong and find out with a poll.

Scott Fowler said...

Hi, guys: Thanks for the comments here. Just a clarification on the Jimmy Clausen story I'm writing for Sunday's paper -- it is not to "manufacture a QB controversy," as "Anonymous 7:06" opined. I believe Moore should be the starter in 2010, for sure. Also, for those wondering about our Moore coverage -- we did the main story in the Thursday Charlotte Observer on him and we have written numerous pieces about him before, including this excellent backgrounder from December 2009 by David Scott. Check it out if you missed it the first time around or want to review Moore's background -- we have never done a similar piece on Clausen. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2009/12/05/1094112/crossroads-led-moore-to-the-nfl.html

Anonymous said...

Jimmy Clausen is a third stringer, why does everyone put him in competition with the starter? For those Claussen fans, Hunter Cantwell is the second string QB and rightfully so. I'd bet if he got his shot, he might impress all of us. I watched him last year during preseason and he definitely impressed me. Honestly, I'm already sick of all of this Claussen hype. The guy should take his rightful place as a third/fourth stringer.

Moore is my man and always has been ever since I saw him play for Carolina. For those of you that doubt Moore, you must not have watched last years games. He reminds me of Tom Brady and I hope he'll become as successful as Brady and make Carolina a Superbowl winner.

I want to know about our team players but too much is on Claussen, I'd rather hear about some of the others.

I'm not Anonymous, I'm Cobrabitn! :)

JAT said...

Scott, you prove everyone's point by referencing the Moore story David Scott did late last year.

What was the news peg for that feature? Moore starting for Jake, who would probably not play again for the Panthers.

What is the news peg for the Clausen feature? Besides him being in heavy rotation on S-PIN, I mean. Glittering rookie in first training camp? Is he "learning to lead?" Ho-hum.

It is not the kid's fault -- or yours -- that he has been heavily covered since he was 17. As a result, I'll be shocked and amazed if you find a single new or interesting thing to write about him.

I'd much rather read about Jordan Senn.

John said...

Hey Scott,

I enjoy your work. I think what many fans are seeing, myself included, is that in a large number of the Observers stories about our QBs the writer goes out of his way to downplay Moore while elevating Clausen. For example in the story on the sports page now the writer is sure to mention how Moore was undrafted while Clausen was a draft pick. And it's done in a way to suggest that has meaning and reflects their value. We all know it's meaningless and it was an unnecessary dig.

Further some of the writers here have been dissing Moore for a while and instantly were all in on Clausen. Constantly insinuating that the starting job is just waiting for Clausen. Discounting everything Moore has done. No one game planned him. The games didn't count. The other teams had hurt players. That's all BS. Those were teams fighting for playoff berths in some cases. We had 14 starters on IR ourselves. And I can guarantee you closing the stadium counted for the Giants.

So the comments you see here are not so much about your planned story I don't think. Personally I look forward to it. But it is about a general feel that people here have already tied their wagon to Clausen because they have some problem with Moore. And a lot of fans of this team don't like it one little bit.

Anonymous said...

The real story is that we don't need four quarterbacks. I honestly believe that any of these guys can be an NFL starter. Honestly. And, we need a good defensive stopper, especially after losing TD for the year. I smell a trade. Let Pike and Cantwell impress all the other teams in the preseason and let's trade for a very good defensive player. Three QBs is the max.

Unknown said...

I have a question maybe someone can answer. Remember last season, the Observer had a free football pool link here? When & where will that be this year? Last year i missed the pre season games & was behind too far to keep up & i dont want to miss them this year.

Anonymous said...

I am not a Panthers fan, so this is pretty unbiased. But are you all seriously slamming Scott for an article on Clausen? Clausen was one of the top 5 stories of the NFL draft. Not only that, but he was projected to be a top 15 pick and start right away. When Clausen signed his contract, ESPN covered it immediately and talked about it on assortment of their programs that night. Matt Moore is highly unproven and Clausen comes with huge expectations from not only Panthers fans, but NFL fans and experts. I think its totally understandable for there to be an article on Clausen and quite frankly, Scott wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't. You guys think Cleveland isn't doing the same for Colt McCoy, or even Denver with Tebow? Come on people, get a grip.

Unknown said...

You are saying Moore is highly unproven? He is 8-2 as a starter, he may not be proven but he isnt highly unproven. He has a good start on proving he can play & did it against teams that were definitely proven.

Unknown said...

oops i meant 6-2 as a starter, my bad.

itsjimmyon said...

I welcome the Clausen profile. I enjoyed watching him play for ND last season and would like to eventually see him play and star (that's right, not just start, but star) for the Panthers.

I also look forward to Matt Moore having a successful season this year, and if emerges as a star, for many more years.

I am one who actually believes that in this win-now league, quarterbacks should brought along carefully whenever possible and allowed to prove themselves on the field when they are ready, preferably with at least 2-3 years of grooming under a seasoned vet.

Now, I understand Moore isn't much older than Clausen, and I also believe Tony Pike could be a solid pro given the opportunity, but as for the featured article, Panthers fans are interested in their top drafted quarterback, so let's learn more about him. Let's also learn about our new linebackers, dbs, receivers, etc.

As a Panthers fan, you should welcome getting to know more about all your players.

I am a Broncos fan, first and foremost, living in Charlotte, and the Panthers haven't even been my top NFC team since I first moved here in 2006, but I got on the Bobcats bandwagon last season (my fav NBA team now) and and I'm ready to start pulling for the Panthers hard core as my hometown team this year, even though Denver will always be my default #1.
Can't wait to read your article in the Sunday paper, Scott.

ACwJ said...

Normally I try to take Scott's side, but this is obvious bias.
Let's see, the starting QB gets a Thursday article...
The THIRD stinger gets the Sunday feature.
And the guy who's worked his way to 2nd gets - NOTHING.
This is so blatent as to be painful. I truly believe the Obscurer is waiting for Moore to fail and are already anointing Clausen before he's thrown a single NFL pass.
Why didn't the 3rd stringer get the Thursday article, the 2nd a Saturday, and a nice Sunday feature on the Franchise's #1 QB?
Bias.
Pathetic. I read the WSJ to remember what quality journalism is.