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June 05, 2008
Jarrett ready to make plays
Panthers receiver Dwayne Jarrett can only hope his second season in the NFL goes better than his rookie year.
Jarrett, the team’s second-round draft choice in 2007, caught six passes for 73 yards and no touchdowns in seven games last season. He thinks he’s got a better handle on what it takes to succeed in the NFL now.
"It was a whole learning, transition thing last season," Jarrett said Thursday after a summer workout session on the team’s practice fields behind Bank of America Stadium. "I went through the trials and tribulations of last year, but I’m looking up and up now."
Jarrett, who will compete for a starting spot opposite Steve Smith with veterans Muhsin Muhammad and D.J. Hackett, also has to overcome another setback: He was arrested in March for driving while impaired in Mint Hill. His court date is June 23.
"That’s a chip on my shoulder," Jarrett said. "I’ve got that in my back pocket, but it won’t affect me. I’ll make plays and do what I have to do. I’ll make myself accountable."
Read more in tomorrow's Observer.
David Scott
Posted by Observer Sports on June 5, 2008 at 01:50 PM | Permalink
Comments
We will see, he is young and can change but will he? If Steve Smith has a problem with him, I have a problem with him. We will be praying for the young man.
Posted by: Roger | Jun 5, 2008 2:11:25 PM
We will see, he is young and can change but will he? If Steve Smith has a problem with him, I have a problem with him. We will be praying for the young man.
Posted by: Roger | Jun 5, 2008 2:11:33 PM
Yeah I agree. But hopefully he is getting it together. Steve Smith is the explosive playmaker of this group, but mark my words if this guy gets it together he will lead this team and be among the league leaders in touchdown receptions year in and year out. If Jarrett gets it together we will be lethal at the receiver position.
Posted by: Ron | Jun 5, 2008 2:23:03 PM
Roger - Jarrett will be lethal??? What have you possibly seen from him to say such a thing. He could not get playing time over Colbert last year and the team went out and got two veterans in the off season. I dont they are overly confident in Jarrett. I am not writing him off yet, but to say 'if he gets it together' he will lead the team and be a league leader in TDs is moronic at this point.
Posted by: mark | Jun 5, 2008 2:35:22 PM
Mr. Smith himself had some rough spots early in his career, so I don't want to write off Jarrett yet. (Yes, at one point, I called for cutting Steve Smith in the charlotte.com forums, after his head-kick incident. Thank God no one important listens to me.)
The thing that actually gives me hope for Jarrett is bringing Moose back. Smith frequently credits Moose for teaching him how to play in the league. I'm not sure Smitty is the best mentor, as I'm sure he can come across as pretty cold and intimidating. Maybe Moose can work a little of that magic with Jarrett while he's here.
Posted by: BullCityDog | Jun 5, 2008 2:35:35 PM
Jarrett has all the talent and tools to be a great possession receiver in the NFL. He needs to work on his release from the line of scrimage, get a grasp of the playbook, play with some fire, and just mature (he's 21). If those things three things begin to happen this year, then look out.
Posted by: J Thomas | Jun 5, 2008 2:42:03 PM
Hold on!
In response to either his lacking performance last season or being arrested, Dwayne Jarrett responds with this -
"That’s a chip on my shoulder," Jarrett said. "I’ve got that in my back pocket, but it won’t affect me. I’ll make plays and do what I have to do. I’ll make myself accountable."
What does that mean? This guy can't even use cliches correctly? A "chip on my shoulder" is a phrase that is almost never used to describe oneself nor does it describe any sense of a negative mark on a man's reputation as Jarrett used it.
I get the feeling that the USC football program just doesn't produce the most brilliant minds. I wonder if Jarrett will have the brains to learn his playbook the second time around.
Posted by: Cougar Fan | Jun 5, 2008 2:43:44 PM
quit hatin on jarrett. if the panthers won the superbowl most of u so called fans would still have somthing to bitch and moan about. panther fans as a whole are pathetic. u don't know shit about football because if you did you would be in the front office somewhere. so please don't quit your day jobs. he was a ROOKIE nobody here knows how hard it is to play in the NFL. give it a rest
Posted by: james | Jun 5, 2008 3:09:10 PM
Thanks for sharing James. Very insightful. Perhaps you were in the car with Jarrett when he was arrested last month, no?
Posted by: Drew | Jun 5, 2008 3:35:06 PM
i do not like that he got caught with a DWI, but i also dont like how so many people can be so negative. the kid wants to play and has enough ability to do so or he would not have been drafted. there is a learning curve when you come to the league and hopefully he will adjust accordingly. all of you whiners who write people off for not being probowlers their first years need to examine what world they live in. just because he has not lived up to expectation yet does not mean he will not reach it and surpass it. most of you were not perfect the first day on the job and it took some time to adjust. its the same with Jarrett. give the kid a break and let him do his job
Posted by: mhm | Jun 5, 2008 3:40:05 PM
I'm going to have to alter my name a bit, there's just too many people named James out there. Either way Jarrett does have work to do, but it's way too early to call him a bust. As far as dogging his use of clichés, give the guy a break. That particular cliché can be used to describe yourself or anyone else, and only means that you're angry about something that's happened in the past. He could be angry that he was irresponsible enough to get a DUI or that he didn't study the playbook hard enough. He DOES need to perform better this year or doubts will continue to grow. However, picking on his use of clichés is silly and judging an entire athletic department's education level based off of one person saying one thing is ignorant.
Posted by: James | Jun 5, 2008 3:45:05 PM
Talk is cheap Jarret, show us you mean it on the field.
Posted by: Michael | Jun 5, 2008 3:49:16 PM
"Yes, at one point, I called for cutting Steve Smith in the charlotte.com forums, after his head-kick incident. Thank God no one important listens to me” I did the same thing! The difference is Steve Smith never had a problem with working hard. Steve was a hot head. Some people never learn to work hard and that is according to rumor Jarrett’s problem.
Posted by: Roger | Jun 5, 2008 4:05:51 PM
Moose had some rough patches early in his career here, as did Smitty. Give the kid some time - he was a beast in college and has a good group around him now.
Posted by: John | Jun 5, 2008 4:06:25 PM
"Roger - Jarrett will be lethal??? What have you possibly seen from him to say such a thing. He could not get playing time over Colbert last year and the team went out and got two veterans in the off season. I dont they are overly confident in Jarrett. I am not writing him off yet, but to say 'if he gets it together' he will lead the team and be a league leader in TDs is moronic at this point."
I did not write that, I believe Ron did.
Posted by: Roger | Jun 5, 2008 4:07:44 PM
"I get the feeling that the USC football program just doesn't produce the most brilliant minds." We have been say that in the Charlotte.com forums for years!
Posted by: Roger | Jun 5, 2008 4:10:36 PM
I think Jarrett has an uphill battle...for a lot of reasons. First, I don't think he's the brightest WR...even if he did come out of the USC system. I think his production there was more a product of their system and who he had around him. Since landing here, he's had real problems learning the playbook. He also doesn't have his head on straight if he's been caught up in a DWI. And even with multiple opportunities to contribute in a down year last year, he still didn't distinguish himself that well.
Now, add to that the fact that the Panthers have brought back Moose and added Hackett. And there's some young, hungry, more productive receivers making plays in practice. And I just don't see good things for him on the horizon.
I think Fox's comment about WRs showing the most improvement from Year One to Year Two...or Year Two to Year Three...is mostly lip service to quell the question that keeps coming up about Jarrett. Yes, if he applies himself, he could show that kind of improvement Fox is describing. But the coach is leaving it open-ended and in his hands. All of the commentary from Moose and the other wideouts about him is very similar. It's up to Jarrett to make the changes necessary to make the team at what's turning out to be a very competitive position now. I'm just not sure he's up to the task, given how he's performed and presented himself since joining the league.
I think there's a vast difference to him and Steve Smith or other WRs and how they handled "adversity" like this in their rookie season. Those guys applied themselves and made a turnaround because of their work ethic. Jarrett just doesn't seem to have much of a work ethic, because a good part of that involves not just your physical skills. Everyone has those in the NFL. The work ethic that sets people apart in this league is that you can be a student of the game. And that starts with the playbook, so you can translate those god-given gifts into productive play-making come gameday.
Just my two-cents,
--Neil
Posted by: NSpicer | Jun 5, 2008 4:20:34 PM
i am not saying Jarrett is a bust. i am just questionning someone saying that he has the potential to be a league leader in TDs. What could you possibly base this on? He is big and has good hands, but also ran a really slow 40 and has trouble getting off the line. yeah he put up crazy numbers at USC but lots of people do - look at Colbert. When you are playing with Heisman QBs and all-american RBs and all-american lineman, WRs are set up to put up big numbers. He played with a heisman 1 round pick QB and a heisman #2 pick overall RB and another 2 round RB.
Posted by: mark | Jun 5, 2008 4:32:15 PM
Neil,
Great post end of story!
Posted by: Roger | Jun 5, 2008 4:34:39 PM
The "chip on his shoulder" should have been the fact that last year, every single team passed on him and he fell to the middle of the second round when he was "projected" as a 1st round pick.
He is lucky that the Panther's drafted him when they did. Who knows how much further he would have fallen. He should have used the fact that he fell so far in the draft as a motivation to succeed, not a stupid DUI! That right there says it all. You can say that I'm whinning but the more I read (and have seen) the more I see a complacent WR, who has yet to gain an ounce of respect from Smitty, on a very good football team who is just along for the ride. I think the reason that Smitty is so hard on Jarrett is that he sees how much potential is just sitting there. Jarrett was probably given a pass his entire football career, based on POTENTIAL! Potential does not earn you a career in the NFL.
Posted by: hackney.robert | Jun 5, 2008 4:43:26 PM
Dwayne J (#80) is a spoiled boy that bumbled ass-backwards into one of the finest college teams in existence, and of course, excelled. Sound familiar? Uh hum… Colbert… He seems like a nice guy. He also seems to be full of excuses. No successful person I have ever met makes excuses for things gone wrong. And I think Dwayne would have a problem placing the blame on someone else in his current organization. Cheers, Mr. Jarrett.
Posted by: KatFanKitti | Jun 5, 2008 5:58:26 PM
Hey, at least Colbert was good for at least one season. Jarrett's got a lot of work to do to make even that ONE year happen.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 5, 2008 6:45:09 PM
I laughed as soon as I seen the title... "I can hear the comments now." Look, everybody deserves a second (and sometimes third) chance. God forbid, we all didn't get one at some point in our lives. As long as this kid is able to live and learn (Pathontas, Mathontas) then he will actually be one step ahead of many (if not most). Time will tell.
Posted by: SYRPIS | Jun 5, 2008 7:09:46 PM
Bullcity Dog, I guess you forgot how much Smith credits Proehl in his development as well as Muhammed. He has said on numerous ocassions it was just as much Proehl as Muhammed,dont ever forget that..........
And Ive changed my mind on the Over/Under on D.J. Hackett,Im going with Under 8 games for Hackey.
Some of you guys are really hating on Jarrett just a little to much,there where alot of rookies that didnt produce last year,and then he has a DWI so alot of folks already label him a bust.
These are the same Folks who have never played a down of football in their life,except for possibly on a video game,that need to sit back let things work themselves out and try not to judge like they know better than Coaches and people who actually run a Nfl team.
Look at it this way,no matter how much you cry about it or try to label him a bust he will be with the Panthers for the rest of his rookie contract (Just like Colbert),All you can do is sit back and watch and keep crying.........
Posted by: Ghost of Sparta | Jun 5, 2008 9:19:19 PM
We should have taken Steve Smith instead (last years rookie also from USC who helped the Giants win the Super Bowl by going 5 catches for 50)
Posted by: isaiah | Jun 5, 2008 10:06:34 PM
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