CHARLOTTE — Today's a day off from practice, so Panthers linebacker Josey Jewell's got that going for him.

And of course, it's Christmas, so seeing his two kids open Christmas presents this morning will always be nice.

And then maybe, at some point, someone will remember that it's his birthday too.

Jewell kind of shrugs when asked about the perils of sharing a birthday with Jesus, knowing that complaining would be in poor taste.

"It was OK," he said diplomatically when asked if he got the short end of the stick on birthday presents growing up. "No complaints."

Of course, anything he didn't gain in material possessions, his family made up for in other ways. Besides, Jewell's quick to acknowledge how fortunate he is, both now and then.

Growing up in the northeastern Iowa town of Decorah (population 7,500 or so), holidays were a chance to congregate as a family.

When the Jewell clan got together, there might be 20 family members around, but his mom's side (the Pilgrims) ran a little deeper, so there might be 35 people showing up for the holidays.

So, in a sense, Jewell can say he had the biggest birthday party in town.

"It was cool," Jewell said with a laugh. "Everybody was around for the holidays and stuff like that so they can celebrate your birthday, right? So that was the good thing about it; maybe somebody else will give you a birthday present that wouldn't give you a birthday present otherwise."

Of course, now that he's turned 30, he has a more mature perspective on all of this, not lost in the commercialism of the season that can creep in when you least expect it, like the Grinch.

"Like a perfect birthday, it would be like July," he mused. "Then every six months you can enjoy a birthday or Christmas and get some presents. Unfortunately I did not have that, but it was always good."

Besides, if his birthday was July 25, he'd probably be in the middle of training camp. And then, he wouldn't have the day off.