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After missing 24 practices due to the lockout, the Carolina Panthers are frantically attempting to install as much as possible in training camp before the start of the regular season.Some of the emphasis for offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski has been finding ways to best use his star players like Cam Newton, Steve Smith, DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and Greg Olsen.Chudzinski has already put in plays designed for all four.Chudzinski, who coached under Norv Turner in San Diego and is using many aspects of the Chargers offense in Carolina, even installed some zone-read-option plays, something Newton excelled at last year at Auburn.That means a lot to me personally, Newton said.  ... He's always willing to put in things that make everybody excited. Not only me, but everybody. He's willing to capitalize on my strong points of the game.Smith, in particular, is thrilled with the new scheme after two seasons where his statistics dropped off dramatically under conservative offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson and coach John Fox.Run blocking is not my forte, Smith said. And it's nice to have layers and have multiple sets and not be standing in one spot for 70 plays during a game. I get to line up at different spots and it's refreshing. I like that. It's not coaches saying, hey, we're going to move you around and then never do it. Here they are actually saying it and it's happening.Smith said both quarterbacks stand a better chance of succeeding in this year's West Coast offense as opposed to the run-oriented system the Panthers ran last year.The quarterbacks are doing what has not been done around here in a long time, Smith said. The philosophy has been in years past is not to screw it up and now it's put your foot down on the gas pedal and go hard.Smith called Newton a superior athlete.He's on his back foot throwing 50-yard passes. I mean, c'mon, Smith said with a hint of admiration in his voice. I'm not going to sit here every week and say how good Cam is. He didn't win the Heisman Trophy because there was bad counting on the ballot. He won because he's good.Coach Ron Rivera isn't saying who'll start the regular season opener on Sept. 11 against Arizona, but it's pretty easy to tell who the fans' choice is. On Saturday they booed Clausen when he threw incomplete passes and cheered when Newton did just about anything.The Panthers plan to use Williams and Stewart in many different ways as well, including sometimes with both on the field at the same time and certainly more often as targets coming out of the backfield. Williams also said there are plays being installed where he'll be throwing the ball for the first time in his career. That's something that LaDainian Tomlinson excelled at in San Diego, throwing seven career touchdowns on 12 career attempts.And, if there's one thing that is obvious from watching Panthers training camp it's that the tight ends are going to be a huge part of the offense just as Antonio Gates has been in San Diego. Olsen and Jeremy Shockey figure to play a big role in the offense. Tight ends haven't been a big factor in Carolina's offense in more than a decade.Defensively, the Panthers plan to blitz twice as much as last season, according to linebacker Jon Beason.Copyright C 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.                                PrintEmail a FriendFacebookTwitterStumble UponGoogleYahooDiggDeliciousShare
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