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Still strong up front
By Andrew Mason, Panthers.comOctober 06, 2008
CHARLOTTE -- The man whose absence spawned ceaseless public discussion and fretting about Carolina's offensive line was also the one who was most comfortable with the Panthers' plan for thriving without him.
"We had our meetings (Saturday) night and I told the O-line, 'This is the first time ever we could have two linemen out, and I don't think anybody in the building is worried about it,'" said left tackle Jordan Gross, who was inactive for the first time in his six-season career while recovering from the concussion he suffered against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4.
Gross and right tackle Jeff Otah, who nursed an ankle injury, watched Sunday's game from the south sideline, clad in workout clothes. But their replacements, Frank Omiyale and Jeremy Bridges, were more than up to the task of keeping the Panthers' offense humming in a 34-0 win.
Their performance was testament to the quality of Carolina's front-line depth, which was further tested when center Ryan Kalil left in the third quarter with an ankle injury. But he was replaced by Geoff Hangartner -- who started Weeks 2 and 3 while Travelle Wharton sat out with an ankle injury -- and the Panthers' offense continued unaffected.
"(It's) because we've got eight or nine solid players and we don't have to make any adjustments when somebody gets hurt," Gross said.
Added Bridges: "We had faith in each other. We know that if anybody goes down, we've got guys that are veterans, experienced and can get the job done."
Bridges and Hangartner are experienced backups, and both have been full-time starters for Carolina in previous seasons. That was not the case for Omiyale, who had only played once and had never started in his first three seasons and four weeks in the NFL prior to Sunday.
For those outside the corridors of Bank of America Stadium, Omiyale was a mystery. To those within, he was a diamond waiting to be polished.
"I knew he would do an awesome job," Gross said. "I knew that there would never be a drop-off. He's been our secret hidden gem for the last year and a half, and now the cat's out of the bag."
But when that cat was consigned to the practice field, he was able to learn how to scratch in his daily face-offs with defensive end Julius Peppers.
"(Omiyale) does a great job in practice," said running back DeAngelo Williams, a primary beneficiary of Omiyale's work Sunday. "He goes against Julius Peppers -- all day, every day. If he doesn't get you ready, then who will? He did a great job. My hat's off to him.
Concurred Omiyale: "I go against Pep every day, so if that ain't getting you ready --"
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to. His performance -- and that of the entire rejiggered offensive line -- spoke for itself.
Williams didn't notice a gap between the first- and second-team tackles as he dashed to a career-high 123 yards and three touchdowns.
"There wasn't much of a drop-off from our starting offensive tackles to the ones backing them up," he said. "I've got to give that to the front office to them drafting guys and getting good guys here that can play."
So deep was the Panthers' confidence in Omiyale that the first play of the game went in his direction -- a Williams sweep to the left side. It was a baptism by fire, but it helped the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder settle into his duties.
"It felt good, because in coming my way, it's like, ‘All right; I've got to dig down here and show them that they didn't make a mistake,'" Omiyale said. "It was good. It felt good. A couple of times today it came my way. It helped my confidence a lot."
The result was an offense that played exactly as it wanted to, showing a run-pass balance that kept Kansas City off-balance, and displaying consistency on offense that bore itself out in conversions on 10 of 18 third downs and six drives before halftime that took at least seven plays, with a pair of 80-plus yard drives.
"I think he did awesome," Gross said. "I never want to miss a rep, but I couldn't have been more excited for Frank."
MEANWHILE, ON THE SIDELINE ... Gross stayed busy by doing what Omiyale did when he was inactive in Weeks 1 and 4 -- watching the man at his position and offering tips and observations.
"He was watching my back," Omiyale said, "seeing little things for me to keep thinking about."
The hardest part of the game for Gross, who saw a streak of 84 consecutive starts end, were the moments leading up to it.
"At first it was hard, in warmups and introduction, and then when we started rolling offensively, I was just happy they were doing so well," he said. "We’ve got a good group and we’re all close friends, and it’s just nice to see other people get opportunities and make the best of a bad situation for me, but there’s no way you can feel bad after a day like today."
It also helps that Gross' recovery from the concussion is progressing as well as can be expected.
"I was foggy for a few days. Today was some good medicine, I think," he said. "Yesterday I turned the corner, and I feel great today. I’ll get back out there and go through the ropes this week, but I feel fine and I'm optimistic about next week."
"We had our meetings (Saturday) night and I told the O-line, 'This is the first time ever we could have two linemen out, and I don't think anybody in the building is worried about it,'" said left tackle Jordan Gross, who was inactive for the first time in his six-season career while recovering from the concussion he suffered against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4.
Gross and right tackle Jeff Otah, who nursed an ankle injury, watched Sunday's game from the south sideline, clad in workout clothes. But their replacements, Frank Omiyale and Jeremy Bridges, were more than up to the task of keeping the Panthers' offense humming in a 34-0 win.
Their performance was testament to the quality of Carolina's front-line depth, which was further tested when center Ryan Kalil left in the third quarter with an ankle injury. But he was replaced by Geoff Hangartner -- who started Weeks 2 and 3 while Travelle Wharton sat out with an ankle injury -- and the Panthers' offense continued unaffected.
"(It's) because we've got eight or nine solid players and we don't have to make any adjustments when somebody gets hurt," Gross said.
Added Bridges: "We had faith in each other. We know that if anybody goes down, we've got guys that are veterans, experienced and can get the job done."
Bridges and Hangartner are experienced backups, and both have been full-time starters for Carolina in previous seasons. That was not the case for Omiyale, who had only played once and had never started in his first three seasons and four weeks in the NFL prior to Sunday.
For those outside the corridors of Bank of America Stadium, Omiyale was a mystery. To those within, he was a diamond waiting to be polished.
"I knew he would do an awesome job," Gross said. "I knew that there would never be a drop-off. He's been our secret hidden gem for the last year and a half, and now the cat's out of the bag."
But when that cat was consigned to the practice field, he was able to learn how to scratch in his daily face-offs with defensive end Julius Peppers.
"(Omiyale) does a great job in practice," said running back DeAngelo Williams, a primary beneficiary of Omiyale's work Sunday. "He goes against Julius Peppers -- all day, every day. If he doesn't get you ready, then who will? He did a great job. My hat's off to him.
Concurred Omiyale: "I go against Pep every day, so if that ain't getting you ready --"
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to. His performance -- and that of the entire rejiggered offensive line -- spoke for itself.
Williams didn't notice a gap between the first- and second-team tackles as he dashed to a career-high 123 yards and three touchdowns.
"There wasn't much of a drop-off from our starting offensive tackles to the ones backing them up," he said. "I've got to give that to the front office to them drafting guys and getting good guys here that can play."
So deep was the Panthers' confidence in Omiyale that the first play of the game went in his direction -- a Williams sweep to the left side. It was a baptism by fire, but it helped the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder settle into his duties.
"It felt good, because in coming my way, it's like, ‘All right; I've got to dig down here and show them that they didn't make a mistake,'" Omiyale said. "It was good. It felt good. A couple of times today it came my way. It helped my confidence a lot."
The result was an offense that played exactly as it wanted to, showing a run-pass balance that kept Kansas City off-balance, and displaying consistency on offense that bore itself out in conversions on 10 of 18 third downs and six drives before halftime that took at least seven plays, with a pair of 80-plus yard drives.
"I think he did awesome," Gross said. "I never want to miss a rep, but I couldn't have been more excited for Frank."
MEANWHILE, ON THE SIDELINE ... Gross stayed busy by doing what Omiyale did when he was inactive in Weeks 1 and 4 -- watching the man at his position and offering tips and observations.
"He was watching my back," Omiyale said, "seeing little things for me to keep thinking about."
The hardest part of the game for Gross, who saw a streak of 84 consecutive starts end, were the moments leading up to it.
"At first it was hard, in warmups and introduction, and then when we started rolling offensively, I was just happy they were doing so well," he said. "We’ve got a good group and we’re all close friends, and it’s just nice to see other people get opportunities and make the best of a bad situation for me, but there’s no way you can feel bad after a day like today."
It also helps that Gross' recovery from the concussion is progressing as well as can be expected.
"I was foggy for a few days. Today was some good medicine, I think," he said. "Yesterday I turned the corner, and I feel great today. I’ll get back out there and go through the ropes this week, but I feel fine and I'm optimistic about next week."