The dinner is going to take place on July 16, 2009 (Thursday) from 7-10pm at the Byron’s South End in Charlotte. The tickets are limited to the first two hundred people and it cost $50 per person.

In the evening, Muhsin Muhammads will be sharing their journey adopting the 2 children from Ethiopia. Before considering for adoption, Muhsin and Christa Muhammad already had four biological children. They started the adoption in 2006. They are adopting from Ethiopia because of the culture and family structure. After that, soon they found the adoption agency, All God’s Children.

The two adopted was an 8 year-old little girl, Journey, and her 5 year-old brother, Maddon.

Yes, the loss of Carter has drained the Panther’s wide receiving corps, but we’re talking about a guy who could have not even made the final roster. Although Ryne Robinson doesn’t look like he’ll be ready to go by opening day, I expect D. J. Hackett to be back. Yeah, he was supposed to return Monday, and it seems he’s never been healthy in his life, but two more weeks should give Hackett enough of a chance to heal that toe up, and even if he’s not 100% he will still be a valuable asset without Smith.

The fact that Hackett hasn’t been able to work with Delhomme much isn’t much of a concern either because Hackett is a veteran player and should be able to perform even without practicing much of camp. He could just be pulling a T.O., not practicing during training camp because of an “injury”, and then magically being ready to go by opening kickoff.

With the way Daunte Rosario played Saturday, he may end up being a viable deep threat for Carolina in Smitty’s absence, averaging 18 yards on 6 receptions last season. With all of the weapons Carolina has added, the offense should be productive during the first two games, especially with the way the offensive line has been opening up holes for Williams and Stewart. Even if the Panthers go 1-1 they’re still in good shape to make a run at the division title.

It will be interesting to see who returns kicks, with Ryne Robinson out for the first week at least. Ricardo Colclough did get some reps in during the last three games, so his play this Saturday will most likely determine if he get’s the job. There is Chris Gamble, who’s returned punts before, but I refuse to trust Gamble with any kind of return after that horrible pass play he tried on a punt return two years ago against the Vikings that cost Carolina the game. Jonathan Stewart could also return some punts as well, but I don’t think it’s a great idea to have your number one draft choice returning kicks because of the injury risk.

We’ll see how things look next week, but I don’t think it’s panic time just yet, once we know the injury situation it will be easier to see what needs to happen at the positon.

Number on the Roster: 11

Probable Starters: Steve Smith (No.1), D. J. Hackett (No.2), Muhsin Muhammad (No.3)

Ever since the Panthers let go Moose back in 2004, they have constantly been looking for a replacement for him, a decent number two receiver who can take some of the double team of Steve Smith. One of Head Coach John Fox and General Manager Marty Hurney’s main goals of the offseason was to get Steve Smith that extra help, and it looks as if they succeeded in doing so.

The first move the Panthers made was releasing Keary Colbert, a chronic under achiever after a promising rookie season, while letting the number two receiver from last season, Drew Carter test the free agent waters. With this move the Panthers showed that they were going to revamp the wide receiving corps. After letting Colbert and Carter go, the Panthers went out and resigned Muhsin Muhammad. For me, this is huge because when Moose is on the field he is a great second option that Delhomme trusts, and can pickup a needed third down easily with his size, not to mention the fact that he is a great run blocker as welll. Even though Moose is 35, he is a better option than either Colbert or Carter, and adds some needed experience to the position.

The second, and probably the biggest addition of the offseason, was the pickup of D. J. Hackett from the Seahawks. Though Hackett has had some durability issues which has hindered his play in the past, his size and speed put him in line to the second starter behind Smitty this season. Hackett is a good contrast to Smith, who is a little smaller and quicker, and will definitely draw some of the double coverage off Smith, which means bigger plays from the Panthers best player.

I don’t think much needs to be said about Smith, who still managed to get ever 1,000 receiving yards last season with Vinny Testeverde and David Carr throwing to him. With the addition of Moose and Hackett, Smith will be able to do some serious damage to opposing defenses. I don’t think he’s going to win the triple crown this season (leading the league in receptions, yards, and touchdowns) because the offense should be much more balance this season, and Tom Brady and Randy Moss are crazy good, but I would expect him to be around 1,800 yards by the end of the season.

So, after taking a look at the probable starters, lets look at some guys who could see some action. I really think Dwayne Jarrett is going to have a breakout year this year, and is a definite sleeper. Jarrett struggled last season, but appears to have made strides this offseason, both on the field at summer school, and off the field with his DUI charge. Jarrett has received a lot of praise from both coaches and players, and has the potential to pass Moose on the depth chart. Even if Jarrett is behind Moose, he will add good depth to the position, something the Panthers have lacked since their Superbowl season with Smtih, Moose, and Ricky Prohel. Ryne Robinson also looks like he could be in position to get some action at wideout. Robinson was drafted in the fourth round of last year’s draft to return punts (which is also what Steve Smith did his rookie season). With Jonathan Stewart taking over kick returns this season, Robinson should get more work at reveiver and could be another supprise.

Looking at the position I think it is one of the most solid positions on the team along with linebacker. There’s the big play potential with Steve Smtih, the reliable 10 yard grabs with Moose, and the number two Hackett taking off double teams with this combination, the Panthers look to have one of the top ten receiving corps in the league. Speaking of which I was surprised that ESPN’s rankings of teams wide receivers put the Panthers at number 14, they should at least be number 10, but hey, it keeps them under the radar, which is what they like.

Final Position Grade: A-

For the first time in his NFL career Jeff Otah hit the practice fields in Charlotte today. Otah, the Panthers second first round pick of April’s draft, ended the rehabilitation of a nagging ankle injury he had since last fall while playing for Pittsburgh. Otah missed the entire post-draft minicamp earlier in the month, as well as practices last week, but has been working with the Panther’s trainers and has gotten back to 100%.

“It felt good to finally get out there,” Otah said. “You know what you’re doing, but you’ve got to get it in your head a little faster so you can react.”

The time that Otah has had off has allowed him to really get to know the Panther’s play book and be able to step right in at right tackle and begin practicing. Otah is expected to be the starter at the right tackle position next season, and the time he spends practicing and learning now, means everything come September.

“Most of its mental assignments” said Panthers Head Coach John Fox on Otah’s summer school activities “he’s digesting all the protections, the run schemes, the calls. This is the first time physically where he has had to come and and execute that.”

Otah still has much to learn before training camp starts in late July, but all indications say he will be ready to step up and justify the decision to trade away next year’s number one pick to get him.

In other news, John Fox has also said that last year’s second round draft pick, Dewayne Jarrett, has looked “impressive” in recent OTA’s, and that he is showing signs that he could see a lot more action come the regular season. Many people, including myself, thought that Jarrett’s performance last season was very disappointing, collecting only 73 yards on six receptions. But we have to remember that the learning curve for wide receivers in the NFL is much steeper than most positions outside of quaterback. Maybe Jarrett will even be able to compete with free agent pickups Mushin Muhammad and D. J. Hackett for a starting role.

Also I just want to say that ESPN’s John Clayton needs to try knowing the stuff he is reporting on. Clayton wrote some article last week that mentioned Carolina’s quarterback situation, and the only thing he felt he needed to mention about Matt Moore, was that he was an undrafted rookie picked up by the Cowboy’s, not the fact that he went 2-1 in starting the last three games for Carolina. Then today Clayton was trying to say that Steve Smith is going to be 30 this fall. Really, I mean come on, how hard is it to look up a guy’s age!

The Panthers picked up one of their former wide receivers Muhsin Muhammad. Carolina lost him due to salary cap issues in 2004. Along with Muhammad Carolina also acquired D.J. Hackett from Seattle. Hackett has been in the NFL for four years, but is also known to be injury prone. If D.J. can stay healthy in 2008 he will be a huge asset to the Panthers offense. As it is clear to see, the Panthers depth chart is greatly equipped with wide recievers.

Another Plus to having Mushin Muhammad back on Carolina’s team, is the fact that he and Quarterback Jake Delhomme have had experience working together.With all of the threats that these new coming players pose, it should prove to work at taking the double team off of Steve Smith. Many people believe that the Panthers lack depth in the wide reciever position, but as the above statements show, the Panthers have very experienced players, and also some younger developing players in that position that should deliver this coming season. The players performance in training camp and the other summer training events will determine who exactly is placed where on the Carolina depth chart.

Hackett’s leg has been bothering him since last offseason. In the first game of last season, Hackett suffered a high ankle sprain, which put him out of action for ten weeks. People have begun to call Hackett “injury-prone”, which was one of the reasons why Hackett did not have many suitors in the offseason. If Hackett can stay on the field and keep his momentum from last season going, the Panthers will have a scary receiving trio.

The Guy: Steve Smith

Obviously, Steve Smith is the starter at the receiver position, and rightfully so. Over the past three years, he has been one of the most electric and exciting receivers to watch. He has also been very productive. Last year, despite numerous QB changes and blatant disregard to the fact that Steve Smith was on the field, he still was able to catch 87 balls for 1,002 yards and 7 touchdowns. Smith got a lot of that in the first two games. Through those first two games, Smith had almost 300 yards and had already scored 4 touchdowns. Remember, however, that Delhomme was playing those first two games. If Delhomme is able to stay on the field, Smith should be able to have a similar year, statistics-wise, to 2006.

The Old Friend: Muhsin Muhammad

Muhsin Muhammad was the guy before Steve Smith took over the reigns. When Steve Smith broke his leg a few years ago, Muhammad was the number one target, the number two target, and the number three target on almost every play for Delhomme. That year, he had 93 catches for 1,405 yards and 16 touchdowns. Coming back the Panthers, Muhsin should bring some much needed spark to a static receiving corps of last year, however the only knock on Muhsin is his age. He is currently 35, meaning that this could be his last season in the league.

The Free Agent: D.J. Hackett

One of the better pickups the Panthers had in free agency, D.J. Hackett should be able to come in and immediately contribute to the team. He was very consistent playing for Seattle, but he did go through many injuries last year. Last year was supposed to be his breakthrough year, and it was looking like it could have been, until he was injured. Through six games that he started, he had 32 catches for 384 yards and 3 touchdowns. Hopefully, D.J. saved his breakthrough year for the Panthers.

The Second Round Pick: Dwayne Jarrett

Well, Dwayne Jarrett didn’t exactly blow anyone away with his performance last year. To be fair, he played in only 7 games and did not start any of them, however he only managed to pull in 6 balls all year. Is he a second round bust? No one really knows yet, considering he has only played a year of professional football. Maybe with three solid receivers in front of him, Jarrett will be able to learn from them and become a more productive player.

The Other Guys: Travis Taylor, Ryne Robinson, Josh Davis

All of these guys listed above will be fighting for the fifth receiver slot. It is unlikely that anyone of them will be spectacular, but one of them could surprise coaches and possibly move above Dwayne Jarrett in the depth chart.