More on Kasay's letter

Maybe by the time you read this you will already have seen John Kasay's letter to Panther fans, which can be viewed here if you haven't.

I also wrote a column about the letter, explaining a little how it happened. Here's a little more of the story.

John dated the letter last Tuesday, Aug.2nd, and he dropped it off at The Charlotte Observer security desk, to be delivered to me. It was put in my mailbox sometime Wednesday, and originally John was hoping (he told me in his separate cover letter) that the letter could be published in the Sunday, Aug.7th newspaper.

One problem: I didn't see it until Monday, Aug.8th. I work out of the office almost all the time these days -- most sportswriters do, working from either a press box at some offsite location (for me it's been Spartanburg for most of the past few weeks at Panthers camp) or telecommuting from home.

So I came in and saw John's letter on August 8th and, as I wrote in the column, was very touched by it. I was touched he entrusted it to me to spread the words he wrote, and I was also touched that he wrote fans a handwritten, 257-word, two-page letter like that. In more than 20 years in the business, I've never gotten a letter quite like that one.

You can obviously see the letter by using the link. However, since you may well be a Panther fan if you're reading this, I want to make you an offer:

Email me at sfowler@charlotteobserver.com and I will send you a free PDF attachment of the first and second page of Kasay's letter in a reply email. Or you can email me someone else's address who you think would like it, and I will send it to them. Please don't send me dozens of people at a time, but I'm happy to email it to someone who you don't think would have seen it.

Kasay, after all, wanted me to get this to as many Panther fans as possible, and I want to do that for him. So if you want to have a PDF of the original letter for some reason, let me know.(I'm not able to send out hard copies of the actual letter through snail mail, but you can certainly print it out yourself from the PDF for you or someone else if you so desire).

I think we can all agree this is one of the classiest things an athlete can do when he basically gets fired by his longtime employer, so feel free to spread John's words of thanks to all Panther fans in whatever ways you think are appropriate.

Notes from Tuesday's Panther camp

A few notes from the Panthers' padded practice Tuesday, which was intense, sometimes sloppy and sometimes very entertaining:

-- Steve Smith's finger injury, likely to keep him out a week or so after he injured it in practice, will give the younger receivers a chance to make some plays against the New York Giants Saturday night (I certainly wouldn't expect Smith to play in that game). On the other hand, it may make it harder for either Jimmy Clausen or Cam Newton to look good.

-- The best and worst of Newton was on display. He fumbled one ball that might have gotten returned for a TD in a real game, but also made an incredible touch pass to Jeremy Shockey over James Anderson.

-- I still would like to see Jimmy Clausen throw more downfield, but he was more consistent than Newton Tuesday.

-- Brandon LaFell made a terrific catch off a tipped ball.

-- Coach Ron Rivera didn't sound terribly pleased after the practice, as he believes the Panthers aren't performing consistently enough.

-- Interesting to hear Rivera's take on why Eric Norwood has moved ahead of Everette Brown to become a starter at defensive end (at least for now).

Rivera said Norwood has been extremely physical in camp, while Brown -- despite the speed rush that sometimes gets him to the quarterback -- has been a little too much of a finesse player and sometimes isn't as consistent. That's the sort of honest explanation you never would have heard from John Fox.

Ron Edwards' injury

I wrote my column today about Ron Edwards, the Panthers' new defensive tackle who tore his triceps in his very first practice as a Panther.

(MONDAY UPDATE from "Inside the Panthers" blog: Edwards has to undergo surgery and will likely be out a minimum of two months, and maybe the whole season).

This was a column I actually wrote twice. I talked to Edwards Thursday night by phone (I was out of town and not in Spartanburg, although I will return there for much of this week). He sounded happy. The column was slated to be published on Monday -- occasionally we try to work a few days ahead in the sports coverage business, although to do so is always somewhat perilous.

I wrote most of the column Friday. Sure enough, on Friday night, the Panthers said Edwards had torn his triceps.

At first, I was going to throw away the column completely. But then I decided to rewrite it instead, more on the theme of how quickly the ground can shift under your feet in the NFL (as in life).

Fans remember Kasay

When I think of the Carolina Panthers' various incarnations of Fan Fest over the years, I think of two Panther players above all else -- the late Fred Lane and John Kasay.

I think of Lane because that's where he burst onto the scene -- one of the very few players to make a mark on the field at Fan Fest and then continue that momentum for months.

I think of Kasay because of the way he acted at all the fan days like the one coming up Saturday in Charlotte -- he knew they were for the fans, first and foremost. The Panthers' placekicker would literally climb into the stands after some of them, taking a seat in the bleachers and signing autographs for hours until everyone had gone home.

After the Panthers fired the last of the original Panthers last week and hired Olindo Mare, I asked readers on my blog to email me with some of their favorite Kasay memories. I received far too many to publish them all here -- thanks to all who participated. But this edited sampling should give you an idea of what Kasay meant to fans:

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COACHING BASEBALL

My memories of John have very little to do with football.
John helped me coach numerous baseball teams for our sons over the last few years. Through every game, John kept the same composure and combined it with a caring personality for all the boys on the team. One would never know he was one of the greatest NFL kickers of all time by watching him around the baseball field. His faith and personality have made him one of my all-time favorite friends. Regardless of what John does next, he will remain an inspiration to everyone that crosses his path.

Tripp Roakes
Charlotte

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MAKING A CHILD'S DAY

The season before last at Panther training camp I was there at an early practice session. Kasay was practicing on a separate field, with no one watching except a Mom and a young boy about seven years old.

Kasay took notice. After awhile, he went over to the boy and his Mom and tossed the ball to the Mom saying "Can you hold this for me for awhile?" Then he asked if he could take the young boy for a walk to meet the rest of the team.

Kasay and the boy walked down the sidelines, meeting all the players. After about 30 minutes, he walked the boy back to his Mom -- and, of course, told them to keep the ball!
Richard McGinnis
Boiling Springs
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'AS LONG AS IT TAKES'

This was in 1996 at the first fan appreciation day. When they finally finished with their 7-on-7 drills, most of the players jogged off the field waving at the fans.... Walking next to Kerry Collins was this very young player. I thought maybe he was a walk-on. He was wearing the number 4. He turned to the security guard, asked him something and then he jogged over to the wall. He then climbed the wall, with a little help from the guard, and then, very calmly asked everyone to line up in single file, and he would sign autographs and take pictures.

Kids were lined up the as far as you could see, getting all excited at thought of finally meeting a real football player. I was standing in front of John Kasay as he politely talked to each person, and answered their questions. I asked John after 90 minutes, how much longer was he going to do this, he looked up and said, "As long as it takes to meet every person here."

Mickey Kidwell
Charlotte

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A SPONGE FOR CRITICISM

Throughout each season, I always knew the type of on-field performance to expect from Kasay, I always knew to expect his deflection of praise to all his teammates after a game-winning field goal, and I always knew to expect him to act like a sponge for all criticism after a miss.
I don't know what path Jerry Richardson and the Panthers will take in honoring Kasay, but induction into the Panthers Hall of Honor seems to me to be the only proper way to publicly recognize his consistently brilliant Panthers career.

Cody Brown

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EMAIL FROM AFGHANISTAN

I know the kickoff was bad in the Super Bowl... But if you look at that season, how many game-winning kicks did Kasay drill? The guy has been the most clutch kicker in the league for almost his entire career.

I was ten years old when we got the Panthers as a franchise and I have been watching and rooting and screaming and cursing at them since that time. The one guy you could never get mad at during a game has always been John Kasay.

It will be almost like culture shock to see him put on a different uniform this season. No matter what is said or where he goes I will always root for him as a player. I don't even think any Panther fan could ever even say a cross word if he was to put one through the uprights against us with time ticking down this season.

SPC Kirby Daniel
FOB Hadrian
Afghanistan

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"THAT'S NO.4"

I can't remember the game... The Panthers had called a timeout with about two seconds left in the game. They sent Kasay out to kick a field goal. It was win or lose. If he made, the Panther won, if not, they lost. He made it.

The next day, in your paper, I think it was Brentson Buckner who said he was standing on the sidelines, watching Kasay jog out to take the kick, and he saw a rookie player sitting on the bench with a towel over his head. He asked the rookie want he was doing, and the rookie said something like: "This is too nerve-racking, man, I can't watch."

Buckner said: "Man, take that towel off your head. That's number 4 going out there."

That's how I always felt about Kasay--that he was always going to make it.

Especially if it counted.

Stan Meihaus
Davidson

Panthers are 150-1 to win Super Bowl

Bodog sent me its current Super Bowl odds, which are below. The Panthers and Buffalo Bills are the longest shots to win the Super Bowl, at 150-1.

But get this -- the Panthers odds have actually gotten worse than they were three months ago, BEFORE this current spending spree that they're on. On May 4th, shortly after the NFL draft, they were only 100-1.

So let's just say oddsmakers aren't as impressed as folks locally have been with Carolina's recent upgrades. New England has surged ahead of Green Bay in the past three months and now ranks as the slight Super Bowl favorite.

For your perusal, listed in order of shortest to longest odds to win the next Super Bowl:

Odds to win the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI (Current)

New England Patriots 13/2

Green Bay Packers 7/1

Philadelphia Eagles 8/1

San Diego Chargers 11/1

New York Jets 12/1

Atlanta Falcons 14/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 14/1

Baltimore Ravens 16/1

Dallas Cowboys 16/1

New Orleans Saints 16/1

Indianapolis Colts 18/1

New York Giants 25/1

Chicago Bears 28/1

Houston Texans 28/1

Detroit Lions 30/1

Minnesota Vikings 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Kansas City Chiefs 40/1

St. Louis Rams 40/1

San Francisco 49ers 50/1

Miami Dolphins 55/1

Arizona Cardinals 65/1

Oakland Raiders 65/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 75/1

Tennessee Titans 75/1

Cleveland Browns 80/1

Denver Broncos 80/1

Seattle Seahawks 80/1

Cincinnati Bengals 100/1

Washington Redskins 100/1

Buffalo Bills 150/1

Carolina Panthers 150/1


Odds to win the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI (as of 5/4/2011)

Green Bay Packers 7/1

New England Patriots 7/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 11/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

New York Jets 14/1

New Orleans Saints 16/1

Indianapolis Colts 16/1

Atlanta Falcons 16/1

Philadelphia Eagles 16/1

Dallas Cowboys 16/1

New York Giants 18/1

Chicago Bears 25/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Minnesota Vikings 35/1

Detroit Lions 35/1

Houston Texans 35/1

Kansas City Chiefs 35/1

Oakland Raiders 40/1

San Francisco 49ers 40/1

St. Louis Rams 40/1

Miami Dolphins 50/1

Tennessee Titans 50/1

Washington Redskins 50/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

Denver Broncos 60/1

Cleveland Browns 65/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 65/1

Arizona Cardinals 75/1

Seattle Seahawks 80/1

Buffalo Bills 100/1

Carolina Panthers 100/1

10 quick impressions of Panther camp

I forgot to put up a link to my "10 quick impressions" column after watching the first few days of Panther camp.

Here it is, with some interesting nuggets about Cam Newton, the Panthers' blitz package, Olindo Mare, the problem at cornerback and so on.

Also, this isn't in the column but that is interesting that Ron Rivera gave a one-word impression of Newton Tuesday at training camp, and the word was "Wow." That indicates to me that Rivera is thinking very hard already about starting Newton in the regular-season opener Sept.11 at Arizona.

On Olsen, Goodson and Armanti

I wrote my column today about Greg Olsen, who I've been very impressed with so far just watching him catch off a JUGS machine (which is about all he can do until later this week due to the new CBA rules). Here's the column.

Some other notes from the last couple of days:

-- Armanti Edwards said last season - when he barely played as a rookie trying to make the change from star college quarterback at Appalachian State to NFL receiver - was "one of the lowest points" of his football career.

Edwards said he lost confidence, particularly on punt returns.

"Last year I didn't trust myself," he said.

He has spent a large part of the summer working on route techniques with former Panther receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who has tried to get Edwards to use his hands more to get off the jams that NFL cornerbacks employ to throw receivers off-stride.

How that will all work out remains to be seen, but I will say that Edwards looks far more comfortable circling under a punt right now than he did in last year's practices.

-- Third-string running back Mike Goodson knows his opportunities to carry the ball will be limited because DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart - "Double Trouble," as they call themselves - are back. But Goodson plans to make the most of his chances.

"I'm going to try and change it to 'Triple Trouble,' " Goodson said of the running backs' nickname.

-- The Panthers' first padded practice is tonight (Monday).