Something's different about Philly Brown.
Unlike last spring, it has nothing to do with his first name, even though "Corey’s a nice, young man."
And it's not necessarily his new look.
The Panthers' third-year receiver is noticeably bigger, now hitting 200 pounds on the scale. That's 20 more than he when he first came to Carolina and 15 more than his listed weight last year.
"I gained a lot of baby weight," Brown says with a laugh after Tuesday's OTA session.
Besides the added bulk — which Brown has time to shed ahead of training camp — the biggest difference in the 24-year-old is his role in the world. He's not just a football player. He's a dad.
"It's changed me a lot," Brown says. "It's different than taking care of your mother or taking care of siblings. This is yours forever. It matures you quick. I've definitely changed, I can tell."
Two weeks after the birth of Chandler August Brown, his dad remains one of the most playful Panthers at practice. So the difference isn't readily apparent.
“He's not mature. There's nothing mature about Philly,” jokes coach Ron Rivera.
But it's there.
"When you watch him," Rivera continues, "You see him focusing on the things that he needs to do in his way. It's really kind of cool. He just winds up and communicates."
Blessing!!! ???????? Chandler August brown #youngking#keepthatlefthandtuckedchamp #uncletolberttaughtmethat pic.twitter.com/mo5qPmS5aa
— corey brown (@phillybrown10) May 17, 2016
Shortened Super Bowl
The last time Panthers fans saw Brown, he made what could have been the biggest catch in his short career.
With Denver leading the Super Bowl 16-7 midway through the third quarter, Brown came off a post pattern and made a leaping, 42-yard snag in front of two Broncos. But when he came down on his back, his head slammed into the turf.
"I don't really remember much after that," Brown admits. "I remember going to the hospital."
He also remembers "about 30 doctors" giving him 4th-quarter updates while they evaluated his concussion.
"They told me it was 16-10 and we had the ball. We'd been in situations like that all year. It's nothing new with Cam [Newton], Greg [Olsen], Ted [Ginn]. I'm thinking we're going to come through," Brown says.
"So that hurt. Obviously, it hurt for everybody else, but especially for me not to be able to be out there with them, it hurt a little bit more."
Brown finished his first Super Bowl with four receptions for a team-high 80 yards. Four plays after his leaping grab, a Newton bullet to Ginn was intercepted by Denver safety T.J. Ward.
Talking with Talib
Ward was one of the Broncos covering Brown on his 42-yard reception. The other was cornerback Aqib Talib.
Coming off his third straight Pro Bowl season, Talib wasn't impressed by Brown from the start. Talib was yapping so much, it took him just 10 minutes to be flagged for taunting.
"He's a Pro Bowler; he's this and that, going up an undrafted guy," Brown recalls. "I guess he thinks he can bully, but that ain't happening. Nobody's going to bully me."
But Talib kept trying.
With the Panthers driving early in the second quarter, he grabbed Brown's face mask and launched him to the ground after a 9-yard reception.
"My teammates knew what it was," Talib said after the game. "He was on the 3-yard line. [With] a personal foul, he was on the 1 1/2-yard line, so it is what it is.
"I just had to show him. It’s probably going to be a fine, but hey, we’re world champs."
Talib was fined $26,044, but he avoided a one-game suspension many thought he deserved. Brown wasn't among that crowd. Two days after the Super Bowl, he tweeted:
I don't think talib should be suspended. I hope he plays when we travel to denver next yr. He was frustrated that's what immature pros do‼️
— corey brown (@phillybrown10) February 9, 2016
Three and a half months later, with the Panthers set to open the new season in Denver, Brown's opinion hasn't changed.
"I think he should be out there," he says. "I would be glad to see him play Week 1. I would love to play against him."
"This is Boring"
After suffering a couple of injuries to his left shoulder, including one that cost him two games last season, Brown had surgery shortly after the Super Bowl. That put him on the same schedule as linebacker Luke Kuechly. Individual drills are OK right now, but any team work has to wait for Spartanburg.
"This is boring. I've been ready for training camp," Brown says.
Because of the camp competition expected at receiver, Brown isn't a surefire lock to make the final roster. But the Panthers still covet his ability to stretch the field, and his production did increase last year.
Including the postseason, he caught 41 passes for 662 yards and five touchdowns in 17 games. Compare that to his rookie season, when he had 26 receptions for 357 yards and just two scores in 15 games.
Combine that growth with his newfound maturity off the field, and you get a different man than the kid who left Columbus two years ago.
"When you watch him do the individual stuff, you can see him looking at his steps before he does it,” Rivera says. "Now, he does it in his manner, but you can really see his eyes focusing on what he needs to do. So I'm happy with him, happy for him, too.
"He is a little bit more mature. Kind of, sort of."
I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with the assumption that he’s not a sure lock for a WR spot. It seems to me very clear he is. KB, Funch, Ginn, Philly seem like locks. That leaves 1-2 spots open for battle (we have so many WR’s that I think we’ll likely go with 2 guys here). So most likely candidates are Hill, Byrd, Garrett, Norwood, Bersin. Preseason battles for the spots. Byrd and Bersin weren’t poached off of last year’s practice squad and I’ll guess they won’t be this year either. So Garrett, Hill, Norwood… I’d favor Garrett and Hill.
Of course this is all immensely early speculation, but I still feel Philly is a lock. Heck Byrd could beat out Hill for that other spot, too.
Yeah, Philly”s a lock. I like D. Byrd, too.The big decision will be between Garret and Hill.
We need to keep in mind the numbers game. They are probably only going to keep 5 WRs because that other roster spot is needed elsewhere (we will probably only activate 4 WRs per game barring special circumstances). They’ll be able to get away with just five spots because of precisely what you said. Bersin is still practice squad eligible believe it or not. I didn’t think he was, but Panthers.com says he is. He knows the offense and can play well in it and won’t be signed off the PS, so he’s a practice squad stash in case someone gets hurt. It’s easy. Also, Webb will be listed as QB3 but he plays special teams well and can be a backup WR in a pinch, so because you have these two guys in these situations, it helps the numbers game and allows you to skate with 5 WRs on the 53-man roster.
With that said, I agree with pretty much everything else you stated. WR5 is going to probably either be Garrett or Hill. I favor Garrett for no particularly good reason, I just think that Hill seems so far to be more of a fast guy playing football than an actual football player. Garrett I think can be molded into a productive player. Hill and Norwood will get looks elsewhere and may even catch on to another squad. I think Tampa likes the kind of WR that Hill is and they need more WR depth. Byrd still isn’t ready for the NFL yet; he’s also a safe PS stash as he’s raw speed, he was nothing incredible as an overall receiver at South Carolina.
Whomever is saying that is just not well informed as a football fan. He was the best receiver on the team during the playoffs and he is a lock. Only injury could prevent him from making the 53. Nobody is in a position to replace him. David you speak correctly as all the rest are simply long shots and totally untested in game situations. This team and Cam Newton are not going to drop the ones they have won with the take on the unknown just because of fan appeal for the unknown new guys. Even Stephen Hill has a leg up on the others. Bersin and Norwood too. This team doesn’t make rash decisions on the players!