Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera is ready to go, and it appears he’s not alone as the team started preparation for the 2012 season with its seven draft picks signed and participating in last week’s team workouts.

“It’s really neat going to be able to have these guys in from day one,” said Rivera, the Panthers’ second-year coach who, along with linebacker Jon Beason and other team representatives, visited Camp Lejeune on Tuesday in an event organized by the USO of North Carolina.  

“We started last week with our rookie mini-camp, and to have them all there and competing for us and developing as football players is really great.”

One reason it was easier than most years for the Panthers to sign all their rookies was the new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association that ended the lockout last summer.

Under the new CBA, rookies are paid less than veterans until they have established themselves, where before rookies could sign lucrative contracts before ever playing a down in the NFL.

“It’s a sign of the times now with the new collective bargaining agreement that’s there’s really no reason for anybody to hold out because everybody is slotted as far as their salaries are concerned,” Rivera said.

“I think it’s going to be good for football and good for us because we are a young football team and we need to get these guys in the fold as soon as possible.”

One of those rookies is Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly, who was picked in the first round in April’s draft as the ninth overall choice. Kuechly is expected to compete for a starting job in Carolina’s deep linebacker unit, which includes Beason and Thomas Davis.

Both Beason (Achilles’ tendon) and Davis (left ACL) were out last year with injuries.

“Part of bringing Luke in was really to elevate more depth and a little more security (at linebacker). Last year we lost a couple of guys that play a big part in what we do … and it (injuries) was really hard on our football team, especially on our defense,” Rivera said.

“We feel very confident in that group of guys, and getting Jon Beason back and Thomas Davis back, I think it’s going to be outstanding that we are going to do a lot of things with that group and we expect them to make an impact for us.”

Beason likes Kuechly being a Panther.

“When you’re drafted high, there’s a lot of expectations and he knows that,” he said. “He’s got big (expectations) and I’m sure he’s going to come in and compete. Competition is always good.”

But the Panthers don’t just want to compete in 2012. They want to take the next step in becoming a legitimate contender in an already tough NFC South division. Carolina went 6-10 last year with six losses by eight points or less. The Panthers also lost several fourth-quarter leads.

“The biggest thing is learning how to finish football games. You go back and look at it, we led in 14 of 16 games,” Rivera said. “I think in 10 of those 16 games we were actually able to have the lead in the fourth quarter. One of the best things that happened to us was the way we played against the Houston Texas, a playoff-caliber football team.”

Rivera was referring to the Panthers’ 28-13 victory at Houston in December.

“We came into the fourth quarter with the lead and we put it away,” he said. “We’ve taken some big steps, but the biggest thing is to continue to grow as a football team.”

Beason came just short of saying that not much separated the Panthers from the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, which ended the regular season at 9-7.

“First off, you look at the team that won the Super Bowl, and a lot of times it has to do with luck. When you say luck it means in terms of guys staying healthy,” Beason said. “We got hit with injuries fairly early in the season, and having to transition to a new coach and new schemes, we had a lot of stuff stacked up against us. But for the most part, I’m proud of what the guys who did step up and play for us did.”

Given that, Beason thinks this season can be a special one in Charlotte. The Panthers open the season Sept. 9 at Tampa Bay.

“Everytime someone puts a (microphone) in my face I tell them we are going to win the Super Bowl,” he said. “Part of that has to do with adding pressure, not just to my team, but on my shoulders. I think anytime you do that and folks think that way, you have to step up and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Quarterback Cam Newton is a big reason the Panthers were interesting to watch last year after going 2-14 the previous year. Newton won The Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award after setting an NFL record for touchdowns rushing in a season by a quarterback with 14 and became the first player in league history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 500.

“We do expect more from him,” Rivera said. “We are tied to him as a football organization and as he grows and gets better, we should grow and get better as a football organization.”

Comment Below!.

Written by Roni Robbins

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Remote sites for potential wind farms are not exactly the types of fields you picture a retired NFL linebacker scouting. But Sean Tufts is not your typical retired football player. Nor is he your classic promoter of wind energy as the nation’s primary source of renewable energy.

It’s what sets the 30-year-old Colorado native apart from others in both arenas.

“I’m able to use football to tell my story to customers and sell myself as unique,” says Tufts, who played on the Carolina Panthers from 2004 to 2006.

What’s he selling? As development manager of RES Americas, he helps pitch utilities on the potential of harnessing the wind’s energy to provide electricity to consumers, he says. “It helps with sales. It’s a way to be remembered.”

Before joining RES Americas two years ago, he co-owned a company that convinced landowners to allow wind farms on their land.

While capitalizing on the skills he learned as a football player — traits that include tenacity, drive and teambuilding — he’s keen to the skepticism others have when dealing with former professional athletes.

“I get asked a lot if I’m an engineer,” Tufts says. He went on to say that he believes the energy field covers “two defenses,” the land field and the science field. He’s set his sights on the former.

“I am working with a team. They are the experts in perfecting wind farms.” Tufts serves as project manager for the company’s wind farms in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. He organizes and oversees a small team who handle engineering, permitting, financing and transmission issues.

It’s a position of respect he’s earned from having returned to his old alma mater, the University of Colorado, for his MBA in renewable energy and finance.

When knee injuries forced him from the Carolina Panthers and into the workforce in 2006, he quickly realized he was being sized up by potential employers, Tufts recalls. He understands the stereotype of former NFLers who use their football career as a crutch instead of a lever, he says.

That’s all the news for today.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

Thanks for reading! .

What are your opinions.