BassNBrew
Footballguy
PANTHERS' POTENTIAL POWER BACK
Shelton watched, learned
2nd-year RB will need that education in backfield competition
PAT YASINSKAS
pyasinskas@charlotteobserver.com
As he stood on the Carolina Panthers' practice field Friday morning, it was clear there was more to Eric Shelton than there was a year ago.
Forget for a moment the extra four or five pounds. That's just muscle, and there'll be more on that later. The part that's grown most, Shelton said, is his mind.
"I'm way more comfortable," Shelton said. "There's not a play in the playbook I don't know."
That hasn't always been the case. When we last heard from Shelton, he had completed a rookie training camp in which he frequently looked lost. After he injured a foot in a preseason game, one school of thought said the team might have quickly placed him on the injured-reserve list to avoid having to cut him and admit a mistake on a second-round draft pick.
Shelton disappeared from the public eye after that, and may seem to be the forgotten man in a backfield where DeShaun Foster was signed to a long-term contract and a first-round pick was used on DeAngelo Williams.
"That's only perception," coach John Fox said. "We try to increase the talent level on this team at every position we can. We're firm believers that competition brings out the best in players. We're still way too early for any perception rulings at this point."
But Shelton admitted the perception he was lost as a rookie might not have been that far off.
"If you look at training camp, I was there for three weeks," Shelton said. "No rookie is going to have the whole system down in three weeks."
The reason last year's perception and this year's reality might differ is because of what Shelton did while he seemed invisible. As he recovered from his injury, Shelton sat in on running back meetings and absorbed what his teammates did in practice.
"I just sat there and learned," Shelton said. "It's like any job. The more you're there and the more you're listening, the more you're picking up and the quicker it comes to you."
The Panthers aren't wearing pads yet and aren't hitting, so it remains to be seen if Shelton's education has paid off. But Shelton, a Louisville product, is intent on finding a role in a crowded backfield, and that's where those extra pounds could help.
Shelton, 6-foot-1, says he now weighs 250 pounds. He was 245 or 246 a year ago.
"It's not fat," Shelton said. "It's muscle. I'm not going to stop working out just to be small. If I'm genetically big, I'm genetically big. I have no control over that."
But Shelton did have some control in putting on the weight. He said it came largely from spending so much time in the weight room last year.
"I worked out twice as much as everybody else," Shelton said.
The added bulk could help Shelton claim an important role. Foster and Williams are speed backs, not known as straight-ahead bulls in short-yardage or goal-line situations. Shelton, who ran for 20 touchdowns in his final year at Louisville, could get the carries in those situations.
But Shelton's not ready to accept being a role player behind a guy with a big contract and a first-round pick. He wants to show he can be an every-down back.
"It's not about where you get picked," Shelton said. "It's what you do on the field. You could have the No. 1 pick. If he doesn't do what he's supposed to do, there's going to be somebody else there to replace you. It's like me. If I don't do what I'm supposed to do, one of these other guys is going to replace me. It's a business and I understand that. I've just got to get out here and do my job. If I don't do my job, I'm going to be let go."
Shelton watched, learned
2nd-year RB will need that education in backfield competition
PAT YASINSKAS
pyasinskas@charlotteobserver.com
As he stood on the Carolina Panthers' practice field Friday morning, it was clear there was more to Eric Shelton than there was a year ago.
Forget for a moment the extra four or five pounds. That's just muscle, and there'll be more on that later. The part that's grown most, Shelton said, is his mind.
"I'm way more comfortable," Shelton said. "There's not a play in the playbook I don't know."
That hasn't always been the case. When we last heard from Shelton, he had completed a rookie training camp in which he frequently looked lost. After he injured a foot in a preseason game, one school of thought said the team might have quickly placed him on the injured-reserve list to avoid having to cut him and admit a mistake on a second-round draft pick.
Shelton disappeared from the public eye after that, and may seem to be the forgotten man in a backfield where DeShaun Foster was signed to a long-term contract and a first-round pick was used on DeAngelo Williams.
"That's only perception," coach John Fox said. "We try to increase the talent level on this team at every position we can. We're firm believers that competition brings out the best in players. We're still way too early for any perception rulings at this point."
But Shelton admitted the perception he was lost as a rookie might not have been that far off.
"If you look at training camp, I was there for three weeks," Shelton said. "No rookie is going to have the whole system down in three weeks."
The reason last year's perception and this year's reality might differ is because of what Shelton did while he seemed invisible. As he recovered from his injury, Shelton sat in on running back meetings and absorbed what his teammates did in practice.
"I just sat there and learned," Shelton said. "It's like any job. The more you're there and the more you're listening, the more you're picking up and the quicker it comes to you."
The Panthers aren't wearing pads yet and aren't hitting, so it remains to be seen if Shelton's education has paid off. But Shelton, a Louisville product, is intent on finding a role in a crowded backfield, and that's where those extra pounds could help.
Shelton, 6-foot-1, says he now weighs 250 pounds. He was 245 or 246 a year ago.
"It's not fat," Shelton said. "It's muscle. I'm not going to stop working out just to be small. If I'm genetically big, I'm genetically big. I have no control over that."
But Shelton did have some control in putting on the weight. He said it came largely from spending so much time in the weight room last year.
"I worked out twice as much as everybody else," Shelton said.
The added bulk could help Shelton claim an important role. Foster and Williams are speed backs, not known as straight-ahead bulls in short-yardage or goal-line situations. Shelton, who ran for 20 touchdowns in his final year at Louisville, could get the carries in those situations.
But Shelton's not ready to accept being a role player behind a guy with a big contract and a first-round pick. He wants to show he can be an every-down back.
"It's not about where you get picked," Shelton said. "It's what you do on the field. You could have the No. 1 pick. If he doesn't do what he's supposed to do, there's going to be somebody else there to replace you. It's like me. If I don't do what I'm supposed to do, one of these other guys is going to replace me. It's a business and I understand that. I've just got to get out here and do my job. If I don't do my job, I'm going to be let go."
