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From panthers.com


CHARLOTTE -- No matter which combination of defensive linemen strides onto the Qualcomm Stadium field to begin the regular-season opener at San Diego on Sept. 8, Carolina's first-team defensive line will be radically different from the front-line quartet that played throughout the 2007 season.

That much was assured before the draft, by which point defensive tackle Kris Jenkins had been traded to the New York Jets and longtime defensive end Mike Rucker had announced his retirement. Those moves not only removed a pair of longtime standouts -- but 2007 starters, as they made all the starts on the right side of the line last year.

Carolina's decision to add Tyler Brayton, Darwin Walker and Ian Scott via free agency and draft Nick Hayden and Hilee Taylor provided the necessary transfusion of new blood up front.

But the sum of the shifting up front could involve expanded roles for young returnees like defensive ends Charles Johnson and Stanley McClover and a new -- but familiar -- spot for linchpin end Julius Peppers.

Since Peppers (6-foot-7, 283 pounds) was Carolina's first-round pick and No. 2 overall selection in 2002, he's lined up at left defensive end for each of his 90 career starts. With Rucker no longer holding down the right end slot, that could change by September.

"When we drafted Julius (Peppers), he had been a right end in college," head coach John Fox said. "With Mike gone now, we'll take a look at Julius on the right and get him acclimated to that. We may even play him at both just to move him around so offenses can't get a bead on him."


Fox and the Panthers had a chance to examine Peppers on the right side during minicamp and summer school, with nothing permanent being determined.

"He might end up back on the left," Fox said in May. "But we are taking a look at it because he is a natural left-hand stance guy."

Should Peppers end up on the right side, someone will shift over to the left, which would leave left defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu as the only full-time starter back at his previous position from 2007. Damione Lewis rotated in at defensive tackle and also returns, giving that spot the potential for stability from one year to the next.

No matter where Peppers lines up, the defensive line will begin the season in an altered state that mimics the tweaks along its offensive counterpart, where new and shifted starters abound.

Such change would be understandable and necessary after a season in which the Panthers finished with 23 sacks -- 19.4 below their average of the previous five seasons. It was a collective performance as unlikely as it was confounding, and sent coaches and players alike scrounging for solutions.

"You don't just go to sleep thinking you're going to wake up, and at the end of the season have 23 sacks. To us, that's embarrassing," Lewis said. "The year before, Pep (Julius Peppers) had that almost by himself."

"We had to do things to get a better pass rush," Fox said.

That began with a nod toward free agency, a wink at the draft and an embrace of the younger linemen already in place.

"We wanted to get more youthful (on the line) and increase our ability to rush the passer," Fox said. "That was an area where we dropped off a year ago."

THE NEW VETERANS

Ian ScottBefore the draft, the Panthers targeted other areas of the team; the March 7 signing of Brayton represented their only early foray into the market along the defensive line.

Two days after the NFL Draft, that changed with the signings of Scott and Walker, a pair of defensive tackles whose paths were intertwined, even though they didn't share a huddle until Carolina's minicamp in May.

Scott (6-foot-3, 302 pounds) spent most of his career in Chicago; Walker in Philadelphia. By the start of the 2007 season, they were in opposite cities, although Scott never played a down for the Eagles thanks to a knee injury that ended his season before it began.

Now the two South Carolinians are together, with each grappling to overcome seasons that were ultimately wrecked by injuries.

"I played injured the whole year," Walker said. "It's just nice to get a fresh start, to come out here fresh and ready to go. I'm looking forward to it."

Walker (6-foot-3, 294 pounds) had only one sack in his 11 games for Chicago last year. But he notched 28.5 sacks in the previous five seasons -- all with the Eagles -- and saw some welcome familiarity in what the Panthers asked of him during organized team activities.

"This system's a lot more like what I ran in Philadelphia, and I think I fit in real well," Walker said. "I like where they're playing me right now. My job is to get to that quarterback, and no question that's what I plan on doing.

Brayton (6-foot-6, 280 pounds), Carolina's outside free-agent acquisition on the front four, found himself among the players rotating in for first-team work at left defensive end. Should he end up settling there, it would offer a welcome change after a five-year stint with the Raiders in which he was shuffled about the front seven like an ace of clubs.

"He was a high draft pick that never really found a spot," Fox said. "He played outside linebacker, defensive end and some pass rush-defensive tackle. But we liked the way he played. He liked his heart, his aggressiveness, how he competed from snap to whistle."

The University of Colorado product started all 31 games in which he played during the first two seasons of his career, then primarily worked as a reserve in a rotational role from 2005-07, starting 18 of 48 games played in those years.

"He's a guy that we're going to try to work into our system and see how it goes," Fox said. "So far, it's been pretty good."


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