Professor

NOTEBOOK: Screen passes figure into Carolina's future - CarolinaGrowl.com

excerpt:

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - You remember the play.

It came last December against Philadelphia when Jake Delhomme dropped back and lofted a perfectly thrown screen pass to DeAngelo Williams, who took the ball and raced around defenders like they were pylons on his way to a 35-yard touchdown.

Panther fans across the Carolinas likely screamed in unison: [i]Why the heck don't we do that more often?[r]

It's a question many players asked during the Dan Henning regime, a five-year time period where screen passes were as rare as flea-flickers in Carolina’s offense.

By Delhomme's account, Williams' touchdown was the team’s first off a screen pass since DeShaun Foster scored in December of 2003, a span of 45 games.

But if new offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson's has his way you'll see plenty of screens this year beginning Saturday night when the Panthers open the preseason schedule against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium.

While much of the talk has revolved around the team’s zone-blocking scheme, the team has worked just as hard installing screen passes. Back in the team’s three-week minicamp, Davidson installed at least one new screen pass per day and a few more have been added since the start of training camp.

"I think we have two backs who can really get it done," Delhomme said. "I think our guys can run with the ball when they get it in their hands out in space, and they catch extremely well.

“Having those two guys (catching screen passes) could be pretty big."

Both Williams and Foster have proven adept as receivers, combining for 65 receptions last season, although very few of those were on set screen passes.

A GREAT SEGWAY: Speaking of Foster, he showed up at the team cafeteria driving a Segway, one of those human transporters you often see in larger cities and looks a scooter for adults.

He had a little trouble getting in and out the doors, but overall looked pretty comfortable riding it.

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