Comments from Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox following the team's summer school practice.
On canceling the last day of summer school practice this week and next: We've never gone the full 14 (days of organized training activities) and we won't again this year. We've kind of extended it a little bit longer because we've got a longer break until we start training camp August 2. I gave them tomorrow off and Wednesday of next week off, so we'll end up completing 12 of the 14 OTA's.
On the week of practice: We've had great participation. We've got high-character guys as I've said for quite some time. I think we've (had) a lot of positive work. New guys have got to learn our system, both free agents as well as the young college guys. They are all good, and I've liked what I've seen.
On the progress of the new players on the roster: I think excellent. We are trying to lay a good foundation so that when we get to camp we are not starting from square one. That's what the OTA's are designed for. Whether it's minicamp or OTA's, those are all situations where we can get guys prepared. We're in a 32-team race and everybody is 0-0, so every single day is important.
On rookie cornerback Sherrod Martin: Excellent. He's a good, young talent that still has a lot to learn and he's in that process now but he's made a lot of good progress.
On if the new defensive system is easier for a rookie to learn than it was in the past: I don't think anything about this game is easy. It is set up to be very, very competitive and have parity. I really don't think there is anything much easy about this profession.
On the hardest part of changing positions for a player like Martin, who is moving from safety to cornerback: In both cases they (Charles Godfrey, who moved from cornerback to safety as a rookie last year, and Martin, who is moving from safety to cornerback as a rookie this year) both played the position before, so it's not totally foreign. It's not like he is going from defensive back to offensive tackle. It's not quite that kind of a carryover. But they've done it in college, and it's competitive in college, too. Really, the biggest hurdle is just learning our system, our language. It's just like learning a new language. It's not physical as much as it is mental.
