Beason back at practice

Jokes were aplenty in the Panthers locker room Wednesday. Stewart, their No. 2 back, had returned from a left Achilles' tendon injury on the same day middle linebacker and defensive leader Jon Beason practiced for the first time since spraining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee Aug. 22.

"It was an opportunity to prove everybody wrong, even the docs," Beason said. "I felt good about it."

Suddenly a dreary, winless preseason had given way to optimism four days before Carolina opens against Philadelphia. Minus safety Chris Harris, who was limited with a leg injury, the Panthers had all their key players practicing together for the first time in a month.

"They both looked really good," coach John Fox said of Beason and Stewart. "They were good to finally have back. That was the plan, and I thought they had a good day's work."

Beason, who was injured in the second exhibition game against Miami, said he spent countless hours rehabbing. It included about 10 hours a day hooked up to a new-age stim machine, which helped increase blood flow to the knee and strengthen muscles around it.

"It finds what muscle along the lines of the injury is not firing," Beason said. "Then it forces all the other muscles to work harder so that that muscle has less strain on it."

Without Beason and fellow starting linebackers Thomas Davis and Na'il Diggs, who also missed time with injuries, the Panthers struggled to tackle and stop the run in the preseason.

"When you don't have your leader on the defense, which is your mike linebacker, then you have Diggsy banged up and Thomas Davis banged up, that's the second level of your defense," defensive tackle Damione Lewis said.

"Those guys are your do-alls, they cover you up when you mess up in the run gaps and they also help the secondary with underneath stuff. That's the meat and potatoes on your defense, the linebacking corps."



(cbssports.com)