QB coach sizes up his 'eager' young squad

Published May 3, 2010 at 4:21 a.m.
Carolina Panthers quarterbacks coach Rip Scherer chuckled as he considered the youth movement his position group has undergone since last season.

In place of veterans Jake Delhomme, Josh McCown and A.J. Feeley, the Panthers' depth chart is led by fourth-year player Matt Moore (eight career starts), second-year apprentice Hunter Cantwell, and rookie draft picks Jimmy Clausen and Tony Pike.

"It's like Romper Room," said Scherer. "You don't need chairs; you need high chairs."

But Scherer said he doesn't look at the situation as a negative. He's been through this before in 2007 when he was Cleveland's quarterbacks coach and the Browns had a trio of young quarterbacks in then-rookie Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson and Charlie Frye.

Though Anderson had one good season for the Browns, none of those players are still in Cleveland, so Scherer is hoping the Panthers' quartet has better success.

"I think the advantage of youth is they're opening to everything," said Scherer. "They're eager - not that (the) older guys weren't.

"I'll tell you, Jake and those guys really tried to learn and change, but these guys come in with kind of a clean slate, an open mind, not ingrained in anything and have been anxious to learn."

Scherer just got his first look at the four quarterbacks together during the three-day minicamp that concluded Sunday. Here are his comments on each of them:

JIMMY CLAUSEN

"He's a solid, hard worker (who's) very knowledgeable (and) really understands the game. He has obviously been well-coached (at Notre Dame by Charlie Weis) and was well-prepared in his previous experience.

"Yet, like any young guy, he has a long way to go and a lot to learn even though the offense is similar. Just because we run the same play doesn't mean we look at it the same way, read it the same way, or the protection is the same. Even though on paper, it may be diagramed the same way, there are a lot of different ways that play can come out.

"There are a lot of things different for him, but he's an eager learner. He's easy to work with in terms of he wants to learn, wants to be good and understands he has a long way to go. The worst mistake a guy can make coming into this league is to think he can get it licked in a short period of time because it's not going to happen.

"You want a guy who's a positive realist. You want a guy who's positive about what they're going to do, believes in themselves, has confidence, but is realistic about what it takes to get there. You want them to have a high level of expectation, but at the same time, this is a marathon, not a sprint. It's not going to happen overnight."

TONY PIKE

"Obviously, (he has) a long frame, which in itself you can't coach that. I can coach a guy to do a lot of things, but I can't coach a guy to be 6-51/2, which gives him different sight lines and a different vision.

"The positive thing about Tony is for a big, tall guy, he's athletic, he moves his feet, he negotiates and navigates the pocket really well. A lot of times you see those big, tall guys, but they can't get out of their own way. He has really good feet, good nimbleness, can make plays off rhythm (and) create plays. I think that's a really positive blend."

"He just needs to get stronger and that'll come with time in the weight room and maturity."

MATT MOORE

"I think Matt came in here last year as the third (quarterback behind Delhomme and McCown) wanting to be the first. He was working to be the starter, but he knew there was a starter in place.

"Now, when you're the starter, there's a responsibility involved there. You're one of the faces of this football team. You're a guy in the locker room people are looking to.

"His focus is much keener. His work ethic has always been good. I don't know where it came from that he didn't work. Since I've been here, he's had as good a work ethic as any guy can have, and he's even intensified that. He's amped things up. Obviously, there is more of a sense of urgency.

"I see a guy playing with a lot of confidence. Matt has the right demeanor to be a quarterback in this league. You have to have a little bit of a Teflon mentality and let things roll off of you. Not that it's a nonchalance - it burns at him inside - but if you let it eat you up from inside out, you're going to be hurting."

HUNTER CANTWELL

"Hunter has changed himself physically. Jerry (Simmons, the team's strength coach) has done a great job with Hunter in the weight room. Hunter has responded. He's gotten quicker.

"He's a really student of the game. He's a gym rat. Every time I turn around and look in the quarterback room, there's Hunter looking at tape of somebody. He may be studying Drew Brees, Tom Brady, or Philip Rivers, but he's always looking at somebody, trying to improve.

"He's got good arm strength. He's a big, strong guy but he understands the game. He has certainly not arrived, but he's improved. It's still an evaluation process with him, but all arrows are pointing up."

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