Carolina Panthers: What Ginn brings to the table

Ted Ginn Jr. was one of the first of the Carolina Panther’s free-agent signings this offseason. The eight-year veteran signed a two-year contract worth $4.2 million that sees him return to the team where he had his most prolific season in the NFL.

By Sean McGarrity

April 14, 2015

Ginn will add depth to Carolina’s receiving core, and with the signing of Jarrett Boykin, there looks to be a healthy competition brewing for the no. 3 wide-out role. Special teams, specifically punt returning is where Ginn is likely to have his biggest impact however. He’s finished as one of the top five punt returners in the NFC in the past five seasons, something he will look to continue in 2015.

“To be able to come back here is amazing,” Ginn said. “It’s a blessing to have a family like this that is willing to give me another opportunity to be on their ball club.”

It came as no surprise that the 30-year old found his way back to Charlotte after a year-long hiatus in Arizona. The 2013 season was the last time Ginn wore the black and blue of Carolina, and it was also the most productive season he’s had in the league since 2008. The wide-out flourished under Panthers’ receiving coach Ricky Proehl. He finished the season with 36 receptions for 556 yards and five touchdowns, averaging a career-high 15.4 yards a catch.

“When I got here two years ago, Ricky welcomed me with open arms,” Ginn said. “He didn’t take my talent for granted. He enhanced it. That’s where family and coming back means a lot.”

2013 also saw Ginn set a Panthers’ season record with a 12.2-yard punt return average. It is in this facet of the game that Ginn will look to make the biggest impact. Both Brenton Bersin and Philly Brown struggled with return duties in 2014, particularly holding on to the ball with five fumbles between them. Kickoff returns were even worse. Last season the Panthers finished ranked 24th in yards per return with 21.8.
Ginn’s addition should make for a vast improvement in both these categories.

“We are very pleased to have Ted back,” General Manager Dave Gettleman said. “He gives us big-play ability as a punt returner and a wide receiver. He still has his speed. He can still fly.”

Gettleman and head coach Ron Rivera will be hopeful Ginn can rediscover his form from 2013. Brought in primarily to fill the role of punt and kick returner, any kind of success Ginn can have at receiver will be an added bonus. If Ginn can produce anywhere near the kind of numbers he did in 2013 expect him to play a major part of Carolina’s offense.

“Everybody didn’t say what the Panthers said. Other teams were like, ‘We might need you to do this. Or we could have you do this,'” Ginn said. “I’m not saying that it’s etched in stone what I’m going to do here. But the weight of what they said is greater here than other teams. But I know I have to come in and work.”

Ginn’s familiarity with the players and coaching staff was an added incentive in his return to Carolina. The Panthers’ family like atmosphere coupled with Ginn’s dedication and work ethic has brought out the best in the no. 19 in the past. Panthers’ fans will be anxious to see if that hard work pays off. With any luck plays like this could become a regular Sunday occurrence at the Bank of American Stadium in 2015.

Weisman's long road will go full circle

By Bill Huber

April 9, 2015


Mark Weisman, who will be moving back to fullback after becoming a star running back at Iowa, boasts eye-popping athleticism and a John Kuhn-like collegiate resume. (Reese Strickland/USA TODAY)

Mark Weisman is a lot of things.

An egomaniac is not among them.

Weisman wasn’t invited to the Scouting Combine, so he took full advantage of Iowa’s March 23 pro day. With scouts from all 32 teams in attendance, the Hawkeyes’ rushing leader ran his 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds. Of the 31 running backs who ran the 40 at the Combine, only 12 were faster than Weisman. Moreover ...

— Of the 25 backs to run the three-cone drill at the Combine, only four were faster than Weisman’s 6.88.
— Of the 32 backs who did the broad jump, only four jumped further than Weisman’s 10 feet, 3 inches.
— Of the 26 backs who performed the short shuttle, only nine were faster than Weisman’s 4.17.
— Of the 29 backs who did the vertical jump, only eight jumped higher than Weisman’s 36 inches.

All of that from a 6-foot, 242-pound prospect who will line up at fullback in the NFL.

“I hit my standards for pretty much every drill,” Weisman said in understated fashion.

“I just tried to show my athleticism, that I’m capable of being on special teams, like a kickoff team or a punt team.”

After an all-state senior season at Stevenson High School near his hometown of Buffalo Grove, Ill., Weisman accepted his only offer, to Air Force, which is one of the few college programs in the nation that make extensive use of a fullback.

“I wasn’t going to be a pilot,” Weisman noted.

One humorous anecdote from his time at Air Force was how he passed the rigorous bed inspections.

“They have certain expectations that they have that you know the day before the inspection,” Weisman said. “I’d make the bed perfectly and I’d sleep on the floor that night so I wouldn’t have to remake the bed in the morning.”

Weisman didn’t play at Air Force and, after one semester there, transferred to Iowa, where he redshirted in 2011 as a walk-on. Iowa City was closer to home, a brother attended the school and coach Kirk Ferentz also liked to use a fullback. It seemed like a good fit.

And it was.

Weisman started the first three games of the 2012 season at fullback. But in the third game of the season, fate intervened. Injuries obliterated the tailback position, so Ferentz turned to Weisman, who averaged merely 10.8 yards per rush in his final season at Stevenson.

Weisman took the opportunity and literally ran with it. He became the sixth running back in school history to lead the team in rushing three consecutive seasons and the third to rush for 800-plus yards three consecutive times. He finished his Iowa career with 599 carries for 2,602 yards and 32 rushing touchdowns, figures that rank fourth, sixth and third, respectively, in school history. As a senior, he rushed for 16 touchdowns — third-best in school history.

“I thought about it a little bit after the regular season. It was still kind of surreal at that point,” Weisman said of what had transpired in his career. “It was a great ride. Iowa, Iowa City, the Hawkeye community supported myself and the team tremendously.”

He was pretty good off the field, too. He was a second-team Academic All-American, one of three finalists for the Burlsworth Trophy (best senior to start his career as a walk-on) and was nominated for the prestigious Allstate Good Works Team.

His intelligence should continue to serve him well, especially at a position in which his blocking assignment oftentimes doesn’t play out like it does with the markerboard X’s and O’s.

“You have to be a smart guy, especially at fullback, because everything happens faster because you’re right behind the quarterback,” Weisman said. “You have to make your reads quickly. There are a lot of things at fullback that aren’t perfectly clear. Sometimes, a guy will flash through and you have to block the guy that got through the offensive linemen. You have to be able to think on the fly.”

It’s an easy comparison to see a bit of John Kuhn in Weisman. At Shippensburg, Kuhn rushed for 4,685 yards and 53 touchdowns and was a two-time Academic All-American. Kuhn, of course, moved to fullback in the NFL, and that’s what would Weisman would do, as well.

For Weisman, he’ll have to show he can block — something he hasn’t been asked to do since early in 2012.

“I’ve had questions about it but I played a true fullback before I was moved to running back,” Weisman said. “Yeah, it’s something that teams want to see that I wasn’t able to do later in my career because it wasn’t part of what the coaches wanted me to do at Iowa. In the NFL, I definitely know that’s what I’m going to be doing if I’m lucky enough to make it.”

Weisman will certainly get his shot. If a team is looking for a versatile player in the mold of Pro Bowler Kuhn, Weisman might be No. 1 on their fullback board. Reaching the NFL will cap a remarkable story and bring his winding road full circle — from walk-on fullback to star running back to late-round or undrafted fullback.

“I try not to think about it,” Weisman said. “I just try to live day by day. When that day finally comes, yeah, it’s going to be exciting. Whether it’s being drafted or a free-agent call, it’s exciting just to be given the opportunity to make a team and go to camp and see where everything goes.”

Why I think Mike Vrabel should go into the Patriots Hall of Fame

April 2, 2015

By Fred Kirsch

The Patriots Hall of Fame Selection Committee met today and for the first time in my recollection, and opinion, there was no slam dunk nominee. There were arguments made for 10 players and one coach. Mine was for Mike Vrabel.

I focused on the more recent players eligible. While there was much support for players like Raymond Clayborn and Leon Gray, I’m not qualified to judge them. When they were playing I wasn’t paying attention to the Patriots with the critical eye I do now. I just can’t compare them to the more recent players. That left me with four possible candidates: Willie McGinest, Lawyer Milloy, Rodney Harrison and Vrabel.

My knee jerk pick was McGinest. He had longevity, popularity and yes, production. To be fair to the process, though, I decided to not stop there. I dug up the stats on each player’s Patriots career and did my best to put those numbers in context. To my mild surprise, the clear choice wound up being Vrabel. Durability, reliability, versatility and the type of playmaking production that directly contributed to the Patriots winning three Super Bowls. His numbers would have been even more impressive had he not had the versatility to move to inside linebacker when the need arose. Check out Vrabel’s stats for yourself and you’ll be reminded of the impact he had on the team. Oh, and don’t forget to check the column under TDs … he had eight.

Vrabel may not have been the most popular player during his tenure but I can’t think of an eligible player for the Hall who was a better football player during that time. Harrison and McGinest will get their day, I’m sure, but Vrabel should go first.