[RTBP]

CHARLOTTE -- If everything flows from the center outward, then Jon Beason's role and continued growth might become the most critical factor in determining how Carolina's defense fares in 2008.Beason heads into training camp entrenched as the team's middle linebacker, flourishing after moving inside in Week 5. He averaged 11.2 tackles in his 12 starts at the "mike" slot – by any standards a successful performance for a rookie absorbing a position rife as demanding cerebrally as it is physically.
"It was a big learning curve for me last year. I made a lot of mistakes, but I played hard," Beason said. "So this year I want to come with the same intensity, but be doing the right thing all the time and being more consistent."

Head coach John Fox could already detect the improvement in Beason's game during his work at summer school in May and June.
"I think he got better every week (in 2007)," Fox said, "and he looks that much better this year."

"The comfort level is a lot higher," Beason said at summer school. "I'm just out there making plays and don't have to really worry about too much stuff except just having fun." Fun in the fall, however, comes with victories. With only one full NFL season on his resume, Beason wasn't around for the Panthers' last two winning seasons, both of which saw them win multiple playoff games en route to Super Bowl XXXVIII and the 2005 NFC Championship. Leading the Panthers back to that level is something Beason old sees as a primary responsibility. "The way I'm looking at it is this: 7-9 doesn't meet our standards," he said. But Beason knows he can't pull the Panthers back to a playoff level by himself. Beyond Beason are nine linebackers who will vie for playing time in what could be one of the more intriguing scrums of training camp – one that could see some shift around in order to establish a foothold on both a roster spot and playing time to go with it.


MEET THE LINEBACKERS ...


Thomas Davis (6 feet, 240 pounds) settled in as the team's strongside linebacker last season, and was the only Carolina linebacker to start all 16 games, during which he amassed 85 tackles and three sacks. He remained on the strong side and with the first unit throughout the offseason.

Na'il Diggs (6-foot-4, 240 pounds) is the incumbent first-teamer at weakside linebacker – with 10 starts in the final 12 games of the 2007 season – remained there during the offeason, seeing some time with the first unit throughout minicamp and summer school.
Diggs moved into the starting lineup after Beason moved to the middle for the Week 5 win at New Orleans and was only supplanted for a pair of games in which the Panthers opened in a nickel package – at Green Bay last Nov. 18 and at home against Seattle four weeks later. His 3.5 sacks last year tied with Damione Lewis for the team lead and paced all Carolina linebackers.

Landon Johnson (6-foot-2, 232 pounds) was the only veteran linebacker acquired by the Panthers this offseason, joining as an unrestricted free agent signee on March 10. He saw work at weakside linebacker during summer school, but his paramount value to the Panthers could be his versatility, as his 53 career starts are spread over all three linebacker positions – 21 at on the weak side, 20 in the middle and 12 at the strong side. "He's a guy that had been the leading tackler at his most recent team (Cincinnati) and a guy we liked, his athleticism, liked everything we heard about him, and we've liked what we've seen of him so far," Fox said.
Johnson's first challenge after joining the Panthers rested in the meeting rooms and at home with his playbook. "There are a couple of new things to learn," he said. "You've got to learn the terminology, know the defensive scheme and stuff like that." Johnson begins training camp looking to show his new employers that their investment in him was a worthwhile one.

The same is true of returning young linebackers James Anderson (6-foot-2, 235 pounds) and Tim Shaw (6-foot-1, 235 pounds), products of the 2006 and 2007 NFL Drafts, respectively. Anderson made one start last year – in Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and saw action as a reserve linebacker throughout the season, logging 11 tackles in 10 games played. He was inactive for Carolina's last six contests in 2007.

Shaw, a fifth-round selection in 2007, was active for the Panthers' final 14 contests and became one of Carolina's key special teamers, finishing the season with 14 special-teams tackles, good for second on the team. His tackling proficiency on kick coverage grew as the season progressed, with eight of his 14 stops coming in Carolina's last five games.
Special-teams work was of primary importance for the other four linebackers who return from 2007's corps.

Adam Seward (6-foot-2, 248 pounds) handled special-teams work throughout the season, but also saw time on defense, most extensively in the season finale at Tampa Bay when Diggs succumbed to an ankle injury. A calf injury suffered in Week 2 against Houston scuttled the first half of Seward's campaign, causing him to miss five consecutive games, but he recovered and played in each of the last nine contests.

Donte' Curry (6-foot-1, 240 pounds) signed with the Panthers last Oct. 25 and found himself in uniform three days later against Tennessee, working primarily on special teams for the balance of the season.

Brandon Jamison (6-foot-1, 232 pounds) ended the 2007 campaign as the third-team strongside linebacker, but was nevertheless active for all but one game, playing exclusively on special teams.

Jason Kyle (6-foot-3, 242 pounds) provides depth, but his work since arriving in Carolina seven years ago has revolved around his vital long-snapping duties. Kyle hasn't missed a game since joining the Panthers; his streak of consecutive games played – including playoffs – went into triple digits last December and now stands at 103.

Rounding out the group is rookie Dan Connor (6-foot-2, 231 pounds), a middle linebacker by experience who is willing to play wherever asked in order to break onto the field and contribute as soon as possible. "My position coach (Ken Flajole) mentioned something about trying to learn a little (weak side) during OTAs," Connor said in May. "As much as I can try to handle and try to get in, I want to. "I'm studying the playbook each night, trying to get it down more and more. We'll see how it progresses."
Fox, for one, was impressed with his early glimpse at the Penn State product. "He's a very aware guy," Fox said. "He's picking things up quickly. He's got good football character. I've been impressed with him in a short look."