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As I drove down to Bradenton, Fla., back in February to interview some draft prospects at IMG Football Academy, I thought a lot about Carolina’s 2001 draft class. That’s because I was about to see a member of that class -- Chris Weinke, who now is IMG’s director of football operations.

I also was about to meet Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly, who was preparing for the scouting combine under Weinke’s guidance. The Panthers used their first-round pick on Kuechly on Thursday night, but we’ll get back to Kuechly in just a minute. Let’s stick to the 2001 class for now.

As I drove, I thought about how that class might have been the best in franchise history (although the 2007 class that included Jon Beason, Ryan Kalil and Charles Johnson certainly is in the argument). But the 2001 draft is different in one regard. If not for a few twists of fate, it could have gone down as one of the greatest draft classes in NFL history.

Let’s start with the Panthers' third-round choice of Steve Smith, a wide receiver who is still with the Panthers and is still going strong. He at least has a shot at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Weinke was the fourth-round choice. He got thrown into a bad situation as a rookie starter and never was “the guy’’ once John Fox took over the next year.

Safety Jarrod Cooper (a fifth-round choice) and running back Dee Brown (sixth round) also contributed as special-teams players and offensive lineman Louis Williams (seventh round) hung around for a bit, even though his claim to fame was his willingness to pick up a couple hundred bucks from teammates for practicing in shorts and a t-shirt on one of the coldest and snowiest days in Charlotte history.

Then, there was second-round choice Kris Jenkins. For a brief period, he was the best defensive tackle in the game. He was a major reason the Panthers went to the Super Bowl in the 2003 season. Jenkins’ career got sidetracked by two major knee injuries and he grew unhappy in Charlotte. He later went to the New York Jets and, for a short time, looked like the best defensive tackle in the game again. Then, he got hit with more injuries.

Had Jenkins been able to stay healthy and happy, he might be in Hall of Fame discussions with Smith. Then, there’s the star-crossed case of Dan Morgan, the linebacker Carolina took in the first round of that draft.

“The best football player I’ve ever played with,’’ Jenkins told me last summer, soon after he announced his retirement.

People tend to forget how great Morgan was. That’s because his career was overshadowed by injuries, mostly concussions. Morgan spent seven seasons with Carolina, but never was able to play in more than 13 games in a season. In his last two years, he played in only four games.

But, in the few moments he was healthy, Morgan might have been the best player in this class. Remember Super Bowl XXXVIII? Morgan officially was in on 18 tackles in that game, but Carolina coaches put the number at 25. When Morgan was healthy, he was spectacular. Without all the injuries, Morgan might still be playing and he easily could be ahead of Smith and Jenkins in that hypothetical Hall of Fame conversation.

Through the years, I’ve discussed Morgan many times with Carolina general manager Marty Hurney. Coach George Seifert had the general-manager powers in that draft, but Hurney was part of the Carolina brain trust and moved into his current role the next year. When Hurney talks about Morgan, you hear bittersweet tones. Like everyone else in Carolina’s building that spent time around Morgan, Hurney talks glowingly about Morgan’s talent and how he was a true pro’s pro. Then, the injuries come up and that’s when the tone becomes sad. Hurney saw Morgan as a player that could have been truly special.

That’s why I have to wonder if Hurney was thinking about Morgan (and what he could have been) as he went through the draft process with Kuechly. I sure was. When Carolina’s pick was announced, my first thought was “Hurney just drafted a healthy Dan Morgan."

Kuechly is like Morgan in so many ways – a sideline-to-sideline linebacker who lives for football. Like Morgan, Kuechly had a highly-productive career from a strong college program.

Kuechly is coming in young, fresh and healthy. If he can stay that way, he could end up being the player Morgan never quite was able to become. That would make Hurney and a lot of Carolina fans very happy.

Keep Kuechly on the field for a decade and he could become a Pro Bowl regular. Maybe even, someday, a Hall of Famer.

Let's take a look at the top Saturday morning headlines from around the NFC South.

New Orleans guard Carl Nicks didn’t sound optimistic about his chances of returning to the Saints in this radio interview. He said the Saints seem to want to go in another direction. Nicks knows more about what has or hasn’t happened in talks so far. But I wouldn’t count Nicks out of New Orleans just yet. There’s still time for something to get done and sometimes things can change quickly when there is a sense of urgency.

Roddy White weighed in on the Saints’ bounty scandal. Surprisingly, the often-outspoken Atlanta receiver didn’t say anything controversial.

The Saints reportedly re-signed reserve defensive end Turk McBride.

Here’s a list of the Falcons’ top-10 salary-cap figures for 2012.

Scott Fowler has an excellent reflective piece on how the Carolina Panthers attempted to trade for Peyton Manning before he came out in the 1998 draft. The Panthers wanted to send Kerry Collins and draft picks to Indianapolis for the right to draft Manning. Obviously, no deal went down. But, imagine the possibilities? Dom Capers still might be coaching the Panthers and George Seifert’s disastrous reign never would have happened. Of course, the flip side is the Panthers probably wouldn’t have Cam Newton right now.

Here’s a look at a list of offensive linemen the Bucs could target in free agency. Ironically, I think there’s a better chance the top two guys on the list – Nicks and tackle Jared Gaither – end up with the Falcons instead of the Bucs.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Chris Weinke sat behind his desk Tuesday afternoon, expressing lots of awe but only a slight shock about the rookie season of Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

Weinke’s got a unique perspective on this one from several levels. Before Newton, Weinke was the only rookie quarterback in franchise history to start a season opener until Newton did it in 2011. Weinke started for the Panthers in 2001, a complicated season in which he was surrounded by a bad team with George Seifert on his way to a 1-15 record in his final year as an NFL coach.

Weinke also has a unique connection with Newton. As director of football operations at IMG Academies, Weinke spent seven weeks working with Newton last spring and summer as the NFL was in a lockout and players weren’t able to work out with their coaches.

“Was I like everybody else, a little surprised at what he was able to accomplish?’’ Weinke said. “Yeah, history shows rookie quarterbacks struggle. I know that as well as anybody.’’

Newton went out and threw for more than 400 yards in each of his first two games, became the first rookie in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards in a season and set an NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (14) on his way to being named Offensive Rookie of the Year.

That didn’t come as a total shock to Weinke, who was one of several independent coaches to work with Newton last offseason. Weinke’s not the kind of guy that’s going to claim he was the reason for Newton’s success. He gives the credit to Newton, but there’s no doubt Weinke played some role in what transpired in Carolina.

Weinke said his satisfaction came from watching Newton prove so many critics wrong.

“If you go back in history a little bit, coming out of college, there were a lot of question marks and the media really built those things up,’’ Weinke said. “Then he gets on television with (ESPN’s) Jon Gruden and people think, 'Hey, there’s no way this guy’s going to be able to absorb an NFL offense and be successful.'’’

Weinke said that was never a concern once he got to spend time with Newton. Most of their work together came after Newton was drafted No. 1 overall and had a chance to grab a Carolina playbook during a brief stoppage of the lockout.

“What I found from Day 1 with that guy is he’s unbelievable in the classroom,’’ Weinke said. “I tell this story all the time. The first day I got him in the classroom and we started installing their offense. I go over personnel groups, formations, concepts and protections. Then, we went out on the field and we did some fundamental work and went over some of the concepts and did all the footwork. We came back in after and I put 30 questions up on the board and quizzed him. Thirty for 30. From Day 1, I knew this kid was going to be special.’’

Weinke said he only expects Newton’s success to continue going forward.

“To me, I knew he was going to have more success than people probably thought he would,’’ Weinke said. “But to accomplish what he accomplished? No, I can’t quite say I expected that. I can tell you this about him. He wants to be great. He does not just want to be good. He’s not going to rest on his laurels. At the end of the day, he’s always going to try to find a way to get better.’’

The Atlanta Falcons may stay within the organization when they fill their vacancy at quarterbacks coach. Glenn Thomas is a leading candidate for that role, D. Orlando Ledbetter reports.

It makes plenty of sense. Thomas, 34, has been an offensive quality-control coach for the Falcons since the arrival of coach Mike Smith in 2008. He obviously has to know quarterback Matt Ryan pretty well.

The Falcons lost quarterbacks coach Bob Bratkowski, who became the offensive coordinator in Jacksonville when former Atlanta coordinator Mike Mularkey became the Jaguars' head coach earlier in January.

Bratkowski spent only the 2011 season with the Falcons. He replaced Bill Musgrave, who had been Ryan’s quarterbacks coach in his first three seasons. Musgrave left after last season to become offensive coordinator in Minnesota.

Former Jacksonville coordinator Dirk Koetter has been hired as Atlanta’s offensive coordinator. Koetter obviously will bring some subtle changes to Atlanta’s offense. But promoting Thomas to quarterbacks coach could provide some familiarity and continuity for Ryan.

Smith is a coach who believes in loyalty and promoting Thomas would illustrate that. It’s also not a bad thing to start moving young coaches up the ladder.

The best example I can give you of that is Mike McCoy. I saw him join the Carolina Panthers as a quality-control assistant under George Seifert. McCoy later worked his way up to quarterbacks coach and he had a strong relationship, and a fair amount of success, with Jake Delhomme.

That success put McCoy on the radar for bigger things and he was hired as Denver’s offensive coordinator in 2009. He was reunited there with former Carolina coach John Fox in 2011 and McCoy largely was credited for the success of Denver quarterback Tim Tebow. That led to McCoy getting several interviews for jobs as a head coach this offseason.

NEW ORLEANS -- Usually, I’m a traditionalist and prefer football games outdoors over indoors.

But I’m very happy the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints will be playing their “Monday Night Football’’ game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Monday has not been a pretty day in New Orleans. It’s rainy and very foggy (my hotel room is pretty high up and I haven’t been able to see the ground). It’s also a little cold, but that opinion is coming from someone who is used to Florida weather.

Gee, you could make the case an outdoor game in these conditions could help the Saints and Falcons prepare for potential playoff trips to San Francisco.

Anyway, I’m about to brave the elements and I’ll have company. I ran into Dan Wolken, the fine national columnist for The Daily in the hotel workout room this morning and we’re going to share a cab into the dome.

Dan worked with me on the Carolina Panthers’ beat back in 2001 when I was with The Charlotte Observer. Dan was an intern and he got a true baptism by fire because that was George Seifert’s final season in Carolina. The Panthers won their opener and lost their next 15 games. Those were not pleasant days because coaches and players seldom were in good moods. But that season helped Dan get to where he is now. He spent five years living and working in Memphis before moving to New York to work for The Daily.

Fortunately, Dan and I should see a much better game between the Falcons and Saints than anything we saw back in 2001. By the way, I did sneak out in the rain earlier. I went to the record store and bought a CD of Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis’’ and I’m going to have the cab driver play it the whole way in. I’m guessing Dan hasn’t heard that one too many times.

Anyway, I’ll be back in touch once I get settled into the dome. I’ll have inactives for both teams roughly 90 minutes before kickoff. Also, remember, we’ll be doing a live chat throughout the game. Just go to the NFC South blog anytime shortly before or during the game and you’ll be able to get in. I’ll have a Rapid Reaction as soon as the game ends and a full column a couple hours after the game.

A very Happy Thanksgiving to all. Hope you have a great day enjoying family, fun, food and football.

As always, I’m particularly thankful for having such a great group of NFC South readers. You’re dedicated, you’re passionate, you’re smart football fans and you keep my traffic numbers rolling.

As noted above, fun, food and football are important on this day. With all of that in mind, I’m going to share a post that involves all of those.

What I’m about to share is one of the most entertaining and fun interviews that ever has taken place in the NFL. It happened the day before Thanksgiving in 1999 in Charlotte.

Back then, Nate Newton who spent most of his career in Dallas, was finishing it up with the Carolina Panthers. For those who are too young or don't remember, he was a very large offensive guard. And, as you're about to hear, food was very important to him in those days. Times change and people change. Newton had surgery in 2010 to help him lose weight. He does radio for ESPN Dallas and those who knew him in his playing days, say he now looks like a completely different person.

In his year in Carolina, though, Newton wasn't all that conscious of his weight. As I recall, it was a slow day in the locker room, as it often was during the forgettable tenure of coach George Seifert.

Most of the Panthers were hiding in the players’ lounge, but Newton happened to walk into the locker room. I can’t remember if the media approached him, but I have a vague recollection that Newton, a very chatty guy, initiated the conversation and went into great detail describing how Thanksgiving worked at "The Newton Crib."

I’m also extremely thankful to Darin Gantt, one of the many fine writers and friends who covered the Panthers back in the day, for somehow saving the transcription of this interview. Darin is pretty sure he still has the tape of this one. When he finds it, I'm going to make a special trip to Charlotte to listen to it because I don't think the written word quite does this justice.

I’ve cleaned up the transcript slightly because Nate’s language sometimes was a little rough and I’ve also cut it down a good bit because the interview went on for about 40 minutes. Grab a knife and fork and dive into the highlights:

(Newton talking about what it was like when he was with the Cowboys, who routinely played on Thanksgiving): “We would do it twice. We would do it before the game. Eat and go to the game. The game's over at 7 o'clock, so everybody's ready to eat again. So we would go home and do it again.’’

(Newton then really got into the food aspect): “I like collard greens, then I like the turkey, but it's got to be cooked right. Usually we have a fried turkey. At my house, we would have fried turkey. My mother-in-law would come in and we'd have gumbo, and ham, fried chicken. Winn-Dixie liked us, because we came in and hit every shelf.

“It wasn't like some people, who say 'We're having ham this year, or turkey.’ We'd have two different types of turkey, we'd have a baked turkey and a fried turkey. Then we'd have a ham, and we'd have the gumbo and we'd have fried chicken, two or three different kinds of stuffings and salads and dressing. That day's like the Mardi Gras for us.

(Newton was asked if potatoes were on the menu) “Potatoes? Oh yeah, dog. Mashed potatoes, baked, we do it all, bro. In the Newton crib, we break it down.’’

(Some top-secret dining strategy): “I don't eat with the crowd — I'm more of the entertainer. Make sure everybody's got what they need, I'm talking most of the time, having fun, messing with the kids. Then at the end of the day my wife would have me a big plate. Not a plate, I would eat off a platter. You know how you have a serving platter? I eat off of that. A plate's too small.

(At one point, former Carolina media relations assistant Bruce Speight, now the director of media relations for the Jets walked up and Newton got off the topic of food for just a few seconds)? “You need me dog, or you just making sure I ain't gonna say too much bad (stuff)? A lot of people don't like when I cuss, but it's my interview.

(Then, back to food): Man, when I walk into my house, it's going to be so smelly, and warm and rosy. You know what I'm saying? The food and spices and the food. I break into a sweat.

(No question prompted this part, but read it carefully because it might be the best part of the interview): “See, you all eat. I enjoy food. I feel food. You know what I'm saying? I feel the texture when it goes down. You all are sitting there, 'I've got to eat to stay alive.’ Food is more than just staying alive, bro. Think about it, think about it.

“The different textures of fried chicken. You bite into the chicken and it's crunchy, but then you get into the meat and it's smooth and kind of chewy. And if you cook it just right, especially the breast, if you cook it just right, when you bite into it and feel the crunchiness, and then you feel the smoothness of the pure meat, and then the juices just come off of that meat. And then it goes down and you take a cold swig of that beer. Oh man! You’re like “Whoa.'''

(At this point, Newton got away from Thanksgiving, and on to eating in general): “Or if you're sitting back eating a hot dog. I don't know what you all like to put on a hot dog, but I like to just fill mine up with everything. Then you just try to eat the whole hot dog and stuff your mouth and try to get your throat as dry as you can, then BOOM, you hit it with a fresh soda or Sprite or something. Then the Sprite makes your mouth fizz up, you're like ‘Whoa that feels good going down.’’’

Enjoy your dinner and your day.

As the Carolina Panthers head toward going with a rookie as their opening-day quarterback, it’s worth looking back at the last time this happened.

All indications are No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Newton will be the quarterback when the Panthers open the regular season Sept. 11 at Arizona. It appears all Newton has to do to hold off Jimmy Clausen on Thursday night in Cincinnati is play respectably -- keep turnovers to a minimum and appear to know the offense.

The last time a Carolina quarterback needed the same preseason result to secure a starting job, he ended up flopping so badly that the Panthers had no choice but to hand the starting job to a rookie who had just won a Heisman Trophy.

Yes, Carolina fans, Tuesday marks the 10-year anniversary of Jeff Lewis’ implosion and the sudden ascension of Chris Weinke to the starting role. On Aug. 23, 2001, the Panthers went up to Baltimore for their third preseason game.

Lewis hadn’t shown much in the first two preseason games, but for reasons no one else ever could seem to figure out, coach George Seifert was intent on making him the starting quarterback. Lewis made sure that never happened.

In perhaps the ugliest five-minute span any quarterback ever has experienced, Lewis threw three interceptions.

“Jeff was a nice guy, but when it came down to it he couldn’t play,” former Carolina center Frank Garcia said in this fine retrospective on the Panthers by Steve Reed. “He couldn’t take a snap from center. He would pull out early on the snap because he was so lost in the other things going on around him. He’d get so lost he’d just blow a gasket.”

There was more than just a gasket blown. The season was ruined and this started the end of Seifert’s days as a head coach. The Panthers cut Lewis, who never played in the NFL again. They went with Weinke as their starter and won the opener at Minnesota. But the Panthers ended up losing their next 15 games.

So Newton can go into Cincinnati and win the job. He just has to make sure he doesn’t “Lewis’’ it.

Let's catch up on the headlines around the NFC South.

The Falcons have reached an injury settlement with tight end Justin Peelle. This one’s no surprise. Peelle injured his knee and the Falcons signed veteran Reggie Kelly a few days ago to fill the role as the blocking tight end. Tony Gonzalez remains the starter and will be used mostly as a pass-catcher. Kelly is considered a strong blocker and should get lots of playing time. Michael Palmer has had a nice camp and could be in the mix for some playing time.

The Saints added some cornerback depth by signing Quincy Butler. They’ve had some injury problems at the position throughout camp, with Tracy Porter, Fabian Washington and Johnny Patrick each missing some time.

Joe Henderson puts Tampa Bay’s ugly loss to New England in proper perspective. There were plenty of negatives on both sides of the ball. But, really, preseason games don’t mean very much. I seem to recall the Bucs having some pretty good preseasons under Sam Wyche and the Panthers doing the same under George Seifert and it didn’t come close to translating into regular-season success.

Scott Fowler has an overview of what undoubtedly will be the most important game throughout the NFC South this preseason. It’s Carolina at Miami. Cam Newton and Jimmy Clausen are competing for the right to be the starting quarterback in the regular season. One way or another, this thing is going to sort itself out Friday night.

I really like the fact the Carolina Panthers are trying to be creative with their offense.

They weren’t even close to being creative when John Fox and Jeff Davidson were running the show. I’d say the last time the Panthers showed any creativity on offense was back when Dan Henning was the coordinator, but I know there are plenty of Carolina fans that wouldn’t go along with that. They’d say the last time the Panthers had an interesting offense was in George Seifert’s first two seasons.

However, there’s one thing I don’t like about what the Panthers are doing. They recently spent 30 minutes of practice letting Armanti Edwards work at quarterback. Yes, Edwards is a former college quarterback, but he was drafted to be a return man and a wide receiver.

The Panthers still think his future is at those two positions, but they’re inserting a Wildcat package in which Edwards will sometimes line up at quarterback. The team talked about shifting quarterback Cam Newton out wide in those situations.

Great, you’ll have an undersized quarterback who hasn’t passed since college throwing to a quarterback, who is not a receiver. Yeah, it might be flashy, but it makes less sense than most of what Fox and Davidson did the last couple of years.

I’m not saying it’s a bad idea for the Panthers to use Edwards in the Wildcat for a couple plays a game, but no more than that, when the regular season rolls around. And I’m also saying it’s a waste of valuable training-camp practice time to give Edwards a lot of work at quarterback.

Newton and Jimmy Clausen need all the work they can get after not having an offseason program to learn a new offense. They need all that work at quarterback, not wide receiver.

And Edwards needs to get his work as a receiver and a return man. Let guys do what they do best.

There’s a theory subscribed to by New Orleans’ Sean Payton and Atlanta’s Mike Smith. It goes something like this: If you have a real quarterback, you don’t resort to gimmicks and take the ball out of his hands.

The Panthers still don’t know for sure what they have in Newton. But they think he can be a franchise quarterback. Let him be the quarterback.

It was very quiet while I was off last week, but there was one story with NFC South roots that deserves some reflection here.

Quarterback Kerry Collins retired from the Tennessee Titans. Collins played for the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints before there even was an NFC South. Collins’ time in New Orleans was short and uneventful.

But his time in Carolina was anything but dull. Carolina’s first draft pick in its expansion season, 1995, Collins quickly became the starter and took the Panthers to the NFC Championship Game in his second season. After the Panthers returned from that trip to Green Bay, Collins stood on the steps of what is now Bank of America Stadium and talked about how Carolina would be a dynasty.

It didn’t work out anywhere close to that. Collins began having problems soon after that and was gone before the midway point of the 1998 season. Collins repeatedly has admitted he had a drinking problem in his Carolina days and that issue isolated him from some of his teammates.

Collins deserves lots of credit for straightening out his life when he joined the New York Giants and he took that franchise to a Super Bowl. He also spent time with the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans and ended his career with more than 40,000 passing yards, which ranks him No. 11 in history. The numbers could have been better if Collins didn’t spend part of his career as a backup.

You can’t call Collins’ career a flop or a disappointment, but those terms can be used to describe his stint in Carolina. Or you can just call it what it was -- a disaster that set the franchise back for years. I arrived in Charlotte and began covering the Panthers a little less than a year after Collins left. The wounds were still fresh and stories were still making the rounds about Collins’ wild nights on the town and wilder parties at his house.

Collins had to go because he had some major problems and was in denial as the Panthers tried to get him help. But you can’t help but wonder what might have happened for Collins and the Panthers if he had gotten help earlier or avoided his problems in the first place.

The guy was an amazing talent -- big and strong with one of the best throwing arms of his generation. I’ve been a life-long Penn State fan and Collins was so talented he convinced Joe Paterno to scrap his conservative offense. In 1994, Penn State had one of the nation’s best offenses with Collins, Ki-Jana Carter, Bobby Engram and Kyle Brady. The Lions went undefeated, but got robbed of a national championship.

Collins went straight to the NFL and started living like a rock star. If he hadn’t, he could have been what Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman probably will be -- a franchise quarterback who will spend his entire career with one team.

Imagine what Collins could have been if he spent his entire career in Carolina and lived his life the way he did in later years? I’m not sure the Panthers would have been the dynasty Collins talked about. That expansion team was built around veterans and it got old right after the NFC Championship Game. There still might have been some ups and downs, but Collins had stayed on the straight and narrow, the valleys the Panthers hit wouldn’t have been nearly as deep. He was young, talented, should have continued to get better and the Panthers could have had a franchise quarterback for a generation.

If Collins didn’t implode, Dom Capers wouldn’t have been fired after the 1998 season and George Seifert never would have been hired. It took years for the Panthers to recover and, for years, they stayed away from drafting quarterbacks early or signing big-name free agents at that position.

Seifert got a couple good years from Steve Beuerlein and then put him on the scrap heap for no apparent reason. Chris Weinke was next and he never really had a chance. He played on Seifert’s last team, which went 1-15.

When John Fox took over in 2002, he needed to get wins quickly and didn’t want to let Weinke develop on the field, so he went out and got Rodney Peete, who I think might have been offensive coordinator Dan Henning’s college roommate. A year later, the Panthers went out and signed career backup Jake Delhomme and made him the starter. Delhomme had a nice run and even took the Panthers to a Super Bowl. He was the best quarterback in franchise history, but wasn’t a franchise quarterback. He was a nice game manager.

The Panthers drafted Jimmy Clausen last year and Cam Newton this year and there’s hope that one of those guys can become the first true franchise quarterback in Carolina history. Collins could -- and should -- have been that guy. If Collins had done things the right way in Carolina, the dark days at the end of the Capers era and the entire Seifert era never would have happened.

If Collins had still been there when Fox arrived, he would have fit nicely in the system and the Panthers might not have been quite so conservative. Heck, if things had gone differently, Collins could have spent his entire career in Carolina and Fox still might be coaching there.

Collins could have been the most popular athlete ever in Charlotte and, had he stayed, he might still be playing. He could have even spent this year as a mentor to Newton and Clausen. Instead, they’ll be trying to become what Collins never was able to become for the Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers are the only team in the NFL that has not signed a single free agent in 2009 and 2010.

That’s according to ESPN Stats & Information and it backs up a common belief that Carolina owner Jerry Richardson has been preparing for a lockout since owners opted out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. It was at that point that Richardson told coach John Fox not to expect a contract extension anytime soon (Fox’s contract ran out at the end of last season) and that his assistants would be given only very short contracts (that led to several assistants leaving the Panthers after the 2008 season).

In the history of free agency, several teams have gone back-to-back offseasons without making a signing. But the Panthers have a chance to make history if they don’t add a free agent this year (and tight end Jeremy Shockey, who was signed before the lockout doesn’t count because he was cut by New Orleans and therefore is not considered a true unrestricted free agent). The Buffalo Bills, from 1999 through 2001 are the only team ever to go three straight seasons without signing a free agent. No team has gone more than three straight seasons without adding a free agent.

It remains to be seen if Richardson will give his team the green light to start signing free agents again once a labor agreement is reached. But, historically, the Panthers were pretty aggressive in free agency before the last two years.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Panthers have signed 89 free agents in their history, which only goes back to 1995. That number only includes true free agents and not undrafted rookie free agents or players added during the season.

That ties the Panthers with the Falcons for the all-time division lead in that category. But Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay each had a two-year head start on the Panthers because free agency began in 1993. The Panthers set the record for any NFC South team by signing 19 free agents in 1995 and also added 12 in 1999, George Seifert’s first year as coach. Atlanta’s biggest year for signings was 1995, when the Falcons brought in nine free agents.

Denver leads the league in all-time free-agent signings with 106. Historically, the Saints and Buccaneers also have been fairly active. The Saints have signed 83 free agents, highlighted by 10 additions in 2002. The Bucs have signed 76 free agents with their high (14) coming in 2004, when former coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen were at the height of their wheeling and dealing.

When it comes to free-agent defections (free agents who have signed with other teams), the Bucs lead NFC South teams with 78 and the Saints are just behind them with 74. The Falcons have had 64 free-agent defections and the Panthers have had 56. The Rams are the all-time league leader in this category with 89.

I also broke down the numbers on NFC South teams since the division came into existence in 2002. In that time span, the Bucs have been the most active of the four teams with 47 free-agent additions. The Saints are next with 45, followed by the Falcons (43) and Panthers (31).

Since 2002, the Bucs lead the division with 44 free-agent departures. The Panthers have had 34, followed by the Saints (33) and Falcons (27).

Here’s an update to the previous post we had about new Carolina quarterback Cam Newton working out with former Carolina quarterback Chris Weinke.

This one has some great detail about what they worked on in what Weinke described “four-day minicamp’’ at IMG Academy, where Weinke is now the director of the football program. Perhaps most important of all, the story clarifies the question everyone is asking – does Newton have a Carolina playbook?

Yes, he does. According to Weinke, Newton (who apparently got the playbook during the brief window when the lockout was lifted in April) brought it with him to Florida recently. Weinke said the daily sessions included 90 minutes of going over plays and defenses, followed by 90 minutes of work on the field. After lunch, they went back to the classroom for a 90-minute study session. Newton also had the option of hitting the field for a second throwing session each afternoon.

"We're spending about 3 to 3 1/2 hours a day in the classroom installing his offense and watching video," Weinke said. "We film everything, we video it, we analyze it. We come back in the afternoon and do some more installation and review some video. It's really similar to what they would face if they went to a minicamp following the draft."

Carolina’s new offense is much different than the ones Weinke worked in under George Seifert and John Fox. But Weinke is a smart guy who can pick up just about any playbook quickly. Weinke had been out of football since 2008 and only recently took this job after “playing a lot of golf’’.

Weinke is cut out perfectly for a role like this. Although his NFL career never blossomed, he was always known as a guy who studied hard and had good mechanics. Weinke also has worked with Minnesota quarterback Joe Webb last week and Christian Ponder is scheduled to join him this week.

What key event significantly changed the fortunes of the Panthers -- for better or worse? Give us your take and we’ll give you our definitive moment on May 25.

The Carolina Panthers are the newest team in the NFC South, coming into the league as an expansion team in 1995. But this team already has seen just about as many highs and lows as any team in the division.

You could even make a case that no team has gone lower. The Panthers were 2-14 last season, 1-15 under George Seifert in 2001 and they went through some tragic circumstances early on with first-round draft picks Rae Carruth and Kerry Collins.

But the high points have been there too. Just two seasons removed from the 1-15 disaster, coach John Fox had the Panthers in the Super Bowl. Quick turnarounds were nothing new to Carolina. The expansion Panthers struggled a bit early in their first season, started showing improvement and were in the NFC Championship Game in only their second year in the league.

Success never has lasted long for the Panthers, though. But there’s room for that to change with new coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton coming to town.

If you vote Other, give us your suggestion in the comments area below.

Time for a trip through the NFC South headlines.

Atlanta linebacker Coy Wire is doing something a little different than most players during the NFL lockout. Sure, he’s working out, just like everyone else. But he’s working to make life better for homeless people back in his home state, Pennsylvania.

Jeff Duncan writes that the New Orleans Saints, who hold the No. 24 overall pick, might be wise to trade down. Duncan’s basing that on the strong possibility the top defensive ends and linebackers will be gone at this point, even though I’m hearing the Saints aren’t giving serious consideration to taking a linebacker in the first round, unless Von Miller makes an epic fall out of the top five. Makes sense to trade down because New Orleans is light on picks later in the draft.

Here’s a mock draft that has the Falcons taking Maryland receiver Torrey Smith at No. 27. I think this is a stronger possibility than most people realize. I’m not sure the Falcons will be able to find a pass-rusher they like enough at this pick. More and more I’m hearing they could be serious about going with a receiver in the first round. Smith and Pittsburgh’s Jonathan Baldwin are the two guys who could be targets.

Tom Sorensen writes Carolina’s best draft was 10 years ago, the Class of 2001. That’s when the Panthers got Dan Morgan, Kris Jenkins, Steve Smith and Chris Weinke with their top four picks. Weinke didn’t exactly work out as George Seifert threw him to the wolves in a disastrous 2001 season. But that class was perhaps the only thing Seifert contributed in his Carolina days. Smith has been perhaps the best player in franchise history. Morgan could have held that title if he had just been able to stay healthy. Even Jenkins could have held that title, if he had stayed in shape, stayed healthy and found a way to be happy in Charlotte over the long term.

Scouts Inc.’s Gary Horton takes a look at needs for all the NFC South teams in this Insider piece .

In this Insider piece , Horton takes a big-picture look at each NFC South team.

The Carolina Panthers have added another name to their search for a head coach. The team reportedly has asked for permission to interview Cleveland defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.

Add him to a list that includes Ron Rivera, Perry Fewell and Greg Manusky and it sure sounds like the Panthers are going with another defensive coach to follow in the footsteps of John Fox, George Seifert and Dom Capers. I still think there’s a chance the Panthers could interview an offensive-minded coach or two.

But, let’s say they do go with a defensive coordinator. Whoever that guy is will have to convince owner Jerry Richardson, general manager Marty Hurney and team president Danny Morrison that he’s open minded about offense and it probably wouldn’t hurt a candidate to say he plans to bring along a very strong offensive coordinator.

Richardson, Hurney and Morrison have realized from painful experience that the days of winning with dominant defense are over. You have to at least have a competent offense and whoever the new coach is better be prepared to deliver that.