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Clearly Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson felt like he had something to prove this offseason to his critics.After an offseason of hearing just how cheap he was an NFL owner, Richardson took advantage of his first opportunity in front of the media since his unbelievable free agent spending free to address those criticisms shortly after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell completed a Fan Forum here at Wofford College.Does anybody feel just a little bad about calling me cheap last year? Just a smidgen? Richardson said with a satisfied smile. The facts are we did exactly what we said we were going to do. What really precipitated this is we haven't had back-to-back winning seasons and what we were doing wasn't working. So we wanted to attempt to go young and draft our players. We kept everyone of our key core players, which is remarkable to me. I would have assumed some percent of them would have gone somewhere else.The Panthers were among the top spenders in free agency, mostly re-signing their own marquis players like running back DeAngelo Williams, defensive end Charles Johnson and linebackers Jon Beason, Thomas Davis and James Anderson to multi-million dollar contracts.The team also signed middle linebacker Jon Beason to a contract extension and plan to do the same with center Ryan Kalil in the near future.The team traded a third-round pick for tight end Greg Olsen and then gave him a four-year contract, and signed free agents such as kicker Olindo Mare, defensive tackle Ron Edwards and linebacker Omar Gaither.Richardson also signed No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Newton, who has quickly become one of the most popular players in team history.The message has been sent to second-year wide receivers Brandon LaFell and David Gettis: It's time to step up.Although coach Ron Rivera has praised second-year receiver Armanti Edwards for his work so far in camp, he said Friday one of the reasons the team signed Legenu Naanee from San Diego to a one-year contract is because nobody's really taking control of the No. 2 receiver spot.When asked why the team felt the need to sign Naanee, Rivera said bluntly, Probably the biggest thing is we've had nobody step up other than Steve Smith. We've got to find guys that are going to step up and challenge for the position. This is an opportunity to have a guy that understands the system, knows the system, can help show the young guys how to do the system and what it takes to be a pro. He's been a good pro.LaFell and Gettis have missed several practices due to hamstring injuries.When asked if the move might end any sense of complacency among the young receivers, Rivera said, If there is any, hopefully, they'll understand. And if there is an issue, I'd like for them to come visit with me and we can talk about it. But I think this is a clear cut thing, and they understand that this is all about competing and when you get an opportunity you certainly have to take advantage.Naanee spent all four NFL seasons in San Diego with Rivera, including the last two under offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski.Rivera has a tough time hiding his enthusiasm when it comes to this year's Carolina Panthers. Rivera said when he looks on the field he sees the potential for an exciting, dynamic team.But Rivera also knows there's plenty of work to be done.With the lockout costing the Panthers 24 offseason practices there's still plenty of work to be done and still plenty to install. Rivera said the Panthers need to work on several things including goal line, backed-up-to-goal-line, four-minute drills and short-yardage situations.The team has worked extensively so far on red zone and third down situations.Asked to assess the first week of practice, Rivera said, I'm pleased where we are in terms of understanding what we have to do to get better. Practicing at a specific tempo, understanding what's expected of them.In a bit of a surprise, Corvey Irvin has been running some with the first team at right defensive tackle. The former third-round draft pick in 2009 was cut last year by the Panthers but then re-signed but has bulked up this offseason, adding 15 pounds of muscle weight to get to 302.QUOTE TO NOTE I'm optimistic about who we are and who we can become. Would I like to win them all? Absolutely. Do I think we can win 10? Yes. I think we can win 10. I think we can win 10, 11 ... nine, eight, I'm not sure. To put a number out would be unfair to our guys. But I will say the one thing I want more than anything else is to play hard because I think that gives you chance to win.  Panthers coach Ron Rivera on the 2011 Carolina PanthersCopyright C 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.                                PrintEmail a FriendFacebookTwitterStumble UponGoogleYahooDiggDeliciousShare
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