The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • C5

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER www.charlotte.com THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2006 5CSPORTS By Mike Cranston Associated Press The last time Daunte Culpep- per faced the Carolina Panthers, he was hauled off the field with three torn knee ligaments and his playing career in doubt. Culpepper will return to Bank of America Stadium tonight with a new team and renewed confi- dence as he tries to continue a successful comeback with the Miami Dolphins. Culpepper, traded from Min- nesota to Miami in March, has completed 8 of 11 passes for 88 yards and no interceptions in two exhibitions with the Dol- phins. The knee he had surgi- cally repaired 10 months ago has held up so far. not looked at that part of it with any Dol- phins coach Nick Saban said on return to Carolina for the first time since the injury.

do think that him getting banged around a little bit last week is probably beneficial to him. if something psychologically affecting him, that would be something we would need to Culpepper, a three-time Pro Bowler, saw his career flash be- fore him on the final play of the first quarter Oct. 30 when he was hit by Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble after an 18-yard run. just remember hitting him and he was on the ground and hurting, but I think it was Gamble said Wednesday. Culpepper limped off the field, but was in tears in the locker room after the game as the extent of the damage became clear.

The injury and his discontent in Minnesota fueled his trade, and the Dolphins (1-1) have been pleased with his recovery. He led Miami on a 9-minute touchdown drive in win against Tampa Bay. Carolina (2-0) will provide his biggest test yet. The first-team defense has allowed three points in three quarters against Buffalo and Jacksonville. Carolina also has scored two de- fensive touchdowns: Ken interception return against the Bills and Mike fumble return against the Jaguars.

The third exhibition is when the starters play the longest, and Saban said the first team will probably play into the third quar- ter against the Panthers. are a good defense. This is a good he said. have a good front. They have good secondary people.

I think this is probably one of the best teams in the league Rucker is happy Culpepper will be suiting up after last ugly injury in Charlotte. got a big dude who weighs just about as much you do, and fast and can throw the Rucker said. has all the tools you would want in a great quarterback. Now he has a tandem of good receivers. good to see him come back from that and looking forward to seeing him on the Note Panthers all-pro receiver Steve Smith be in the starting lineup.

He missed 17 days of training camp with a strained left hamstring, and has been held out of practice this week with an in- grown toenail. Making a fresh start Culpepper, whose last visit ended his season, returns with new team JON WAY U.S. PRESSWIRE PHOTO Daunte Culpepper has recovered from a serious knee injury suffered the last time he played in Charlotte. also changed teams since then, going from Minnesota to Miami in the offseason. Cramer, but tough to justify keeping three fullbacks.

I I LOCKS: Steve Smith, Keysh- awn Johnson, Keary Colbert, Drew Carter. ON THE BUBBLE: Karl Hankton, Efrem Hill. ANALYSIS: Hankton probably stays, solely for special teams purposes and that means the team would have to carry six receivers for Hill to stick around. Hill had a great training camp, but struggled in the first two exhibitions. The coaches would like him to handle punt returns, but he needs to be more consistent in that area.

I LOCKS: Kris Mangum, Mi- chael Gaines. ON THE BUBBLE: Mike Seid- man, Jeff King. ANALYSIS: Once viewed as the complete package, Seidman never has played up to his po- tential. King has shown some promise, but the Panthers have to decide if Seidman is ready to produce. I I LOCKS: Jordan Gross, Evan Mathis, Justin Hartwig, Mike Wahle, Travelle Wharton, Geoff Hangartner.

ON THE BUBBLE: Todd Ford- ham, Rashad Butler, Scott Pe- ters, Will Montgomery, Dave Kadela, Qasim Mitchell, Chad Beasley. ANALYSIS: Butler, a third- round pick, probably makes the roster and will spend the year trying to bulk up. Fordham probably stays because of expe- rience and versatility. Kadela knows the offense and Beasley has quietly had a nice camp. I I LOCKS: Julius Peppers, Mike Rucker, Al Wallace, Kris Jenk- ins, Maake Kemoeatu, Da- mione Lewis, Jordan Carstens.

ON THE BUBBLE: Kindal Moorehead, Atiyyah Ellison, Tony Brown, Jovan Haye, Stan- ley McClover. ANALYSIS: The Panthers likely will keep nine linemen and ver- satility will be a big factor. Moorehead and Brown have the ability to play inside or out- side. Haye and McClover ap- pear to be in a dead heat for the No. 4 end job.

I A LOCKS: Dan Morgan, Thomas Davis, Diggs, Adam Sew- ard, Chris Draft. ON THE BUBBLE: James An- derson, Keith Adams, Vinny Ci- urciu. ANALYSIS: Anderson, a third- round pick, is likely to stay and play a big role on special teams. Adams and Ciurciu could fall victims to numbers at one of the deepest positions. I A LOCKS: Chris Gamble, Ken Lucas, Richard Marshall, Mike Minter, Shaun Williams, Colin Branch.

ON THE BUBBLE: Reggie How- ard, Nate Salley, Kevin McCa- dam, Jarrett Bush. ANALYSIS: Howard probably stays because of his experience and Salley likely sticks because he could be an eventual starter at safety. Bush might be a sur- prise because had a strong preseason. McAdam, a free agent pickup from Atlanta, has been hurt most of the presea- son and might not last. I A I LOCKS: Kicker John Kasay, punter Jason Baker, long snap- per Jason Kyle.

ANALYSIS: Kasay, Baker and Kyle are as secure as anyone on the roster. Panthers to clear up roster questions Countdown from 1C JEFF SINER Linebacker Dan Morgan is a lock at one of the deepest positions. The Panthers must trim their roster to 75 Tuesday. And like any good ode or an- them, it sounds better the 15th time than it does the first. There are drums and then gui- tar and then praise for Steve Smith and then a nice little dig at Charlotte fans who cheer for New England, Washington, Green Bay and St.

Louis. The Sammies had been play- ing the song for months, but the group had yet to find lyrics. So one night they wrote their ode. big Panther says Backgammon, 26. know that sounds kind of dorky, but we is on The Sam- mies first CD which is called, not surprisingly, The Sammies.

Now, these guys are supposed to be hip. They are artists. Yet, they put a fight song on their CD. Instead of black shirts, they wear Steve Smith jerseys to home exhibition 10 days ago. guess not cool to be a musician and follow says Backgammon, who played base- ball, basketball and golf at Anson Senior High in Wadesboro.

just found that out from talking to other musicians. ask them if going to watch the game and they say, follow If a musician, sup- posed to spend Sunday sucking down cigarettes, drinking coffee, strumming an acoustic guitar and having an intellectual dis- cussion. Sundays, we follow the Panthers and the NFL and check on our fantasy The Sammies all come from Anson County. Backgammon is a Charlotte graduate with a degree in marketing. The other three band members drummer Don- nie Yale brother), guitar- ist Murphy Upshaw and bassist Gymmy Thunderbird are 22.

students at Charlotte un- less they are taking a break from being students. known each other since Little League. The names are not real. Nei- ther is Bono or Sting. Two years ago, they even a band.

None of them have taken a lesson. They just played for fun in an apartment across the street from the Charlotte campus. Then they played the wedding of a sister. Then they played The Room, which was off Park Road. Now they are about to embark on their longest tour, a two-week gig that will start Saturday at the House of Blues in New Orleans and end Sept.

7 in New York. Two of their songs, out (which is excellent the first time as well as the 15th) and will be in the new Dane Cook-Jessica Simpson flick, of the Backgammon describes their music as rock and roll, upbeat, high energy, with a little South- ern rock and Indie rock and blues. Growing up, he and his brother heard every song Eric Clapton ever played. Their father made sure of it. The Sammies play live before they head to the TV on Sundays.

If Carolina plays poorly, they blame themselves and play it again. Tom Sorensen: 704-358-5119 Sammies get it with Sorensen from 1C Hey, we know the Carolina matchup with Miami tonight is an exhibition, but it is the most significant of an insignif- icant bunch, because the starters are ex- pected to play a preseason high of three quarters. see a lot of the first team, but there are more specific things to watch for as well. 1. THE BATTLE FOR STRONG SAFETY Free-agent signee Shaun Williams has spent considerable time at No.1, but Colin Branch, who had the spot last year before tearing up a knee, has been making solid progress, and neither player has a lock on the job.

2. THE OFFENSIVE LINE When all the kinks are worked out, this is ex- pected to be one of the best groups in team history. But still considerable kinking going on, as two new starters work to be- come compatible with the holdovers. Keep an eye on how they work together to- night. 3.

RB ERIC SHELTON The Panthers were hoping Shelton would be- come the big-back answer to their short- yardage issues, but location in the rotation in the first two games and lack of work suggests they might already be looking elsewhere. Maybe toward Alex Haynes, who is only 5-foot-10 but lowers his center of gravity with a sturdy 223 pounds. 4. DAUNTE CULPEPPER Culpepper, the new quarterback, returns to where it all went wrong for him a year ago. Culpepper, then with Minnesota, played the Panthers here on Oct.

30. He collided with Chris Gamble and tore three knee ligaments, missing the rest of the season. The knee is healthy again, but his memories of this place be. 5. CHECK OUT DOM That would be Dom Capers, the first head coach the Panthers ever had.

Capers, fired as coach after last season, has al- ways been a solid defensive strategist. He landed in Miami, where running the Dol- defense. STAN OLSON 5 Things to A I A A Name Po Ht Wt College 2 Terrence Metcalf WR 6-3 200 S.C. St. 3 Stefan LeFors QB 6-0 201 Louisville 4 John Kasay 5-10 198 Georgia 5 Daniel Smith WR 6-1 210 Idaho 6 M.

Hoambrecker 6-1 200 N. Iowa 7 Jason Baker 6-2 205 Iowa 8 Lynzell Jackson WR 6-2 193 Weber St. 10 Jovon Bouknight WR 6-1 191 Wyoming 11 Taye Biddle WR 6-1 175 Mississippi 12 Justin McCullum WR 6-4 220 Stanford 14 Brett Basanez QB 6-2 210 15 Efrem Hill WR 6-0 179 Samford 16 Chris Weinke QB 6-4 232 FSU 17 Jake Delhomme QB 6-2 215 18 Drew Carter WR 6-3 200 Ohio St. 19 Key. Johnson WR 6-4 211 So.

Cal. 20 Chris Gamble CB 6-1 200 Ohio St. 21 Ken Lucas CB 6-0 205 Mississippi 22 Jamal Robertson RB 5-10 210 Ohio 23 Reggie Howard CB 6-0 185 Memphis 24 Alex Haynes RB 5-10 223 Central Fla. 25 Kevin McCadam 6-1 219 Va. Tech 26 DeShaun Foster RB 6-0 222 UCLA 27 Billy Parker 6-0 195 Will.

Mary 28 Colin Branch 5-11 205 Stanford 29 Jermaine Hardy 5-10 213 Virginia 30 Mike Minter 5-10 195 Nebraska 31 Richard Marshall CB 5-11 189 Fresno St. 32 Eric Shelton RB 6-1 246 Louisville 33 Nate Salley 6-1 216 Ohio St. 34 D. Williams RB 5-9 217 Memphis 35 Jarrett Bush CB 6-1 192 Utah St. 36 Shaun Williams 6-2 218 UCLA 37 Nick Goings RB 6-0 225 Pitt.

38 Marcus Cassel CB 6-0 189 UCLA 39 DaShane Dennis CB 5-10 175 Delaware St. 42 James Anderson LB 6-2 232 Va. Tech 45 Brad Hoover FB 6-0 245 W. Carolina 46 David Bergeron LB 6-3 245 Stanford 48 Corey Jenkins LB 6-1 228 S. Carolina 49 Casey Cramer FB 6-2 250 Dartmouth 50 Keith Adams LB 5-11 223 Clemson 52 Chris Draft LB 5-11 232 Stanford 53 Diggs LB 6-4 240 Ohio St.

54 Vinny Ciurciu LB 6-0 235 Boston Coll. 55 Dan Morgan LB 6-2 245 Miami (Fla.) 56 Jason Kyle LB 6-3 242 Arizona St. 58 Thomas Davis LB 6-0 231 Georgia 59 Adam Seward LB 6-2 248 UNLV 60 Adam 6-8 270 Will. Mary 61 Dave Kadela 6-6 304 Va. Tech 62 Devan Long DE 6-4 258 Oregon 63 G.

Hangartner 6-5 301 Texas 64 Scott Peters 6-3 300 Arizona St. 65 Adam Stenavich 6-5 317 Michigan 66 Will Montgomery 6-3 312 Va. Tech 67 Jordan Carstens DT 6-5 300 Iowa St. 68 Mike Wahle 6-6 304 Navy 69 Jordan Gross 6-4 300 Utah 70 Travelle Wharton 6-4 312 S. Carolina 71 Evan Mathis 6-5 304 Alabama 72 Kevin Carberry DE 6-4 269 Ohio 72 Albert Toeaina 6-6 355 Tennessee 73 Chad Beasley 6-5 302 Va.

Tech 74 Stanley McClover DE 6-2 263 Auburn 75 Justin Hartwig 6-4 312 Kansas 76 Otis Grigsby DE 6-3 260 Kentucky 76 Qasim Mitchell 6-5 347 N.C. 77 Kris Jenkins DT 6-4 335 Maryland 78 Todd Fordham 6-5 319 FSU 79 Rashad Butler 6-4 293 Miami (Fla.) 80 Sean Mulcahy TE 6-5 297 UConn 82 Mike Seidman TE 6-4 261 UCLA 83 Keary Colbert WR 6-1 200 So. Cal. 84 Michael Gaines TE 6-3 280 Central Fla. 85 Chris Samp WR 6-3 217 Winona St.

86 Kris Mangum TE 6-4 252 Mississippi 87 Jeff King TE 6-3 253 Va. Tech 88 Karl Hankton WR 6-2 202 Trinity (Ill.) 89 Steve Smith WR 5-9 185 Utah 90 Julius Peppers DE 6-7 283 N. Carolina 91 Jovan Haye DE 6-2 290 Vanderbilt 92 Damione Lewis DT 6-2 301 Miami (Fla.) 93 Mike Rucker DE 6-5 275 Nebraska 94 K. Moorehead DT 6-2 285 Alabama 95 L. Alexander DT 6-1 301 California 96 Al Wallace DE 6-5 275 Maryland 97 Tony Brown DT 6-1 280 Memphis 98 Atiyyah Ellison DT 6-3 303 Missouri 99 Maake Kemoeatu DT 6-5 350 Utah Injured list 24 Garnell Wilds CB 5-11 195 Va.

Tech I A I I Name Pos Ht Wt College 2 Ola Kimrin 6-3 230 UTEP 3 Joey Harrington QB 6-4 220 Oregon 5 Donnie Jones 6-3 222 LSU 6 Thomas Olmsted 6-4 214 Troy 7 Brock Berlin QB 6-1 215 Miami (Fla.) 8 D. Culpepper QB 6-4 264 Central Fla. 9 Jamall Broussard WR 5-9 175 S.J. St. 10 Olindo Mare K5-10 190 Syracuse 14 Frank Murphy WR 6-0 206 Kansas St.

15 Jason Willis WR 6-1 196 Oregon 16 Marcus Vick QB 6-0 216 Va. Tech 17 Cleo Lemon QB 6-2 215 Arkansas St. 18 Fred Gibson WR 6-4 202 Georgia 19 D. Aromashodu WR 6-2 202 Auburn 20 Eddie Jackson DB 6-0 200 Arkansas 21 Travis Daniels DB 6-1 192 LSU 22 Sh. Mitchell DB5-11 183 Missouri 23 Ronnie Brown RB 6-0 232 Auburn 24 Renaldo Hill DB5-11 190 Michigan St.

25 Will Allen DB5-10 196 Syracuse 26 Travares Tillman DB 6-1 205 Ga. Tech 28 Travis Minor RB5-10 203 FSU 29 Goodman DB5-10 185 S. Carolina 30 Michael Lehan DB 6-0 190 Minnesota 31 Sammy Morris RB 6-0 218 Texas Tech 32 Jason Allen DB 6-1 213 Tennessee 33 Kay-Jay Harris RB 6-0 235 West Va. 35 Deke Cooper DB 6-2 210 Notre Dame 36 Darian Barnes RB 6-2 241 Hampton 37 Yeremiah Bell DB 6-0 200 E. Kentucky 38 Gerald Riggs RB 6-0 229 Tennessee 40 Fred Beasley RB 6-0 246 Auburn 41 Art Thomas CB 6-3 214 Virginia 42 Norman LeJeune DB 6-0 210 LSU 43 Jack Hunt DB 6-0 195 LSU 44 Siddee Shabazz DB5-11 200 N.Mexico St.

45 Chris Thompson DB 6-0 187 Nicholls St. 47 Teyo Johnson TE 6-6 245 Stanford 48 Matt Sinclair LB 6-2 244 Illinois 49 Travis Harris LB 6-2 241 Florida 50 Sedrick Hodge LB 6-4 246 N. Carolina 52 Ch. Crowder LB 6-2 245 Florida 53 Mike Labinjo LB 6-1 255 Michigan St. 54 Zach Thomas LB5-11 228 Texas Tech 55 Keith Newman LB 6-2 250 N.

Carolina 56 Derrick Pope LB 6-0 232 Alabama 57 Sam McGrew LB 6-2 244 FSU 59 Donnie Spragan LB 6-3 242 Stanford 60 Steve Fifita DT 6-0 327 Utah 60 Emmanuel Akah 6-3 330 W-S St. 61 Orrin Thompson 6-6 310 Duke 62 Fred Evans DT 6-4 305 Texas 63 Bennie Anderson 6-5 345 Tenn. St. 64 Ben Ishola DE 6-3 248 Indiana 65 Joe Berger 6-5 303 Mich. Tech 66 Rex Hadnot 6-2 325 Houston 67 Joseph Toledo 6-5 332 Washington 68 Seth McKinney 6-3 310 Texas 69 C.J.

Brooks 6-5 310 Maryland 70 L.J. Shelton 6-6 345 E. Michigan 71 Mike Pearson 6-7 302 Florida 72 Vernon Carey 6-5 335 Miami (Fla.) 73 Tony Pape 6-6 310 Michigan 73 Howard Green DT 6-2 320 LSU 74 Wade Smith 6-4 318 Memphis 75 Manuel Wright DT 6-6 329 So. Cal. 76 Josh Shaw DT 6-3 305 Michigan St.

77 Damion McIntosh 6-4 320 Kansas St. 78 Jeno James 6-4 320 Auburn 79 Anthony Alabi 6-5 315 TCU 80 Kelly Campbell WR5-10 175 Ga. Tech 81 R. McMichael TE 6-3 255 Georgia 82 Derek Hagan WR 6-2 202 Arizona St. 83 Wes Welker WR 5-9 185 Texas Tech 84 Chris Chambers WR5-11 210 Wisconsin 85 Jason Rader TE 6-4 274 Marshall 86 Marty Booker WR 6-0 210 87 Justin Peelle TE 6-4 255 Oregon 88 Cliff Russell WR5-11 190 Utah 89 Keith Heinrich TE 6-5 250 Sam Hou.

St. 90 Jeff Zgonina DT 6-2 290 Purdue 91 Vonnie Holliday DE 6-5 288 N. Carolina 92 Kevin Vickerson DT 6-5 305 Michigan St. 93 Kevin Carter DE 6-6 305 Florida 94 Keith Traylor DT 6-2 337 Central Okla. 95 Dan Wilkinson DT 6-4 335 Ohio State 96 David Bowens DE 6-3 265 Western Ill.

97 John Denney DE 6-5 270 BYU 98 Matt Roth DE 6-4 272 Iowa 99 Jason Taylor DE 6-6 255 Akron Injured list 4 Eric Kimble WR5-10 195 E. Wash. 34 Ricky Williams RB5-10 228 Texas 1 Rodrique Wright DT 6-5 303 Texas If Going These measures will be in place: An NFL mandated policy means pat-downs for everyone entering the stadium. Security guards will conduct pat-downs on a gender basis. Fans should arrive early.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Consider using the South and East gates. An express check-in line for fans without bags. No bags larger than 8 inches by 10 inches by 14 inches are allowed. Bags within those size limits will be allowed after inspection.

WHAT YOU CAN BRING Small still cameras and sealed plastic water bottles. A portable radio or television if you listen with an earpiece or headphones. WHAT YOU BRING Backpacks, strollers, coolers, umbrellas, video cameras, food, weapons, illegal drugs, beverages other than sealed bottled water, laser pointers, fireworks, pets, baby seats, folding chairs, noisemakers or horns, helium balloons and beach balls. Associated Press HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. Jets run- ning back Kevan Barlow apolo- gized Wednesday to 49ers coach Mike Nolan for comparing him to Adolf Hitler in an interview.

Barlow, traded from San Fran- cisco to New York on Sunday, made the comments to the Con- tra Costa Times. I could take it back, I Barlow said. was very emotional. All I knew at the time was San Francisco, that was where I started my career, where my house was. It was a shock to He was upset because Nolan assured him earlier he be traded.

He told the newspaper Nolan was a head coach with too much walks around with a chip on his shoulder, like a dicta- tor, like Barlow told the paper. are scared of him. If it way, the Around the league CHICAGO: Running back Thom- as Jones will start Friday against Arizona after missing two exhi- bitions with a pulled hamstring. DALLAS: Drew Henson be on the roster this season, and the former third baseman once con- sidered the quarter- back of the future might be on the trading block. His locker was cleaned out before practice.

DETROIT: Receiver Charles Rog- ers will miss exhibition at Oakland because of a knee in- jury. He barely played in preseason opener, catching one pass, and was low on the depth chart when he was healthy enough to practice. He is in danger of being re- leased or traded if the Lions can find a team that wants him three years after he was drafted with the second pick overall. INDIANAPOLIS: Running back James Mungro will miss the sea- son after tearing a knee ligament during exhibition. NEW ENGLAND: The Patriots re- leased Martin Gramatica, giving the kicking job to rookie Stephen Gostkowski, a fourth-round draft choice from Memphis.

He will replace Adam Vinatieri, who signed with Indianapolis in the offseason. OBSERVER NEWS SERVICES NFL NOTEBOOK Barlow regrets Hitler reference.