Steve Smith will open training camp on the sidelines after breaking his arm in a flag football game. (Photo by John Clark)

   SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Matt Moore certainly has an enormous task ahead of him as he readies to take over as the Carolina Panthers starting quarterback. The transition won’t be made any easier with his star receiver out.
   Steve Smith is expected to miss most of the preseason while recovering from a broken arm he sustained playing in a flag football game last month.
   On Wednesday, as players converged on Wofford College for the start of camp, Moore did his best to downplay the significance of missing the opportunity to develop some chemistry with Smith in practice.
   “As long as he is ready to go come Week 1 that is the most important thing,” Moore said. “That’s what we need to focus on. Are we going to miss some time to work? Absolutely. That’s nothing to worry about, though. Steve has been here for a long time. He is a playmaker and one of the best in the league so he’ll make an easy comeback. He and I have had a really good relationship and I’ll think well be ready to go for the season.”

   Smith clearly didn’t want to talk about the injury, twice deferring to jokes to get around doing so.
   “Just with the significance of the injury, I’m just lucky to be able to scratch my side and brush my teeth and stuff,” Smith said with a grin at one point. “So I’m just fortunate to be able to be walking.”
   Coach John Fox said Smith will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.
   Smith, who didn’t wear a cast or a sling, offered no definitive date either on when he’ll return to practice. However, he's expected to be ready for the Sept. 12 regular season opener against the New York Giants.

INJURY UPDATE:  The Panthers announced tonight they've placed six players on the active-physically unable to perform (PUP) list, all of whom won't practice with the team tomorrow when camp opens.
    Included on that list is RB Jonathan Stewart (ankle) and RT Jeff Otah (knee). Both had been expected to practice right away. There was another surprise as well as OG Duke Robinson was added after he failed the conditioning test. DT Louis Leonard (knee), WR Steve Smith (arm) and LB Thomas Davis (knee) are also on the list.
    It is a formality for the most part as players can come off the PUP list at any time.

WORTH NOTING:  Now a seasoned veteran, Smith said he thinks training camp is simply too long.
   “I’m biased. If camp was four days I think it would be too long,” Smith said. “There’s a greater risk of injury. If you go back and look there is a higher percentage of injuries the first week. If you get out of the first week you are doing pretty good. The first week is when the most injuries happen. You push your body so far, so fast, so quick that there is not enough recovery time.”
  
BY THE NUMBERS: 80 – The number of players on the Panthers roster after the team waived LB Brett Warren and officially announced the signing of QB Jimmy Clausen.

ON THE RISE: A lot of folks here are excited about the progress of rookie DE Greg Hardy, who impressed during the team’s OTAs.
   The thinking here is if Hardy can stay healthy (he had injury problems at Ole Miss) and can remain motivated the Panthers may have found themselves a true diamond in the rough. It’s early, however, and we’ll learn more about Hardy when players put on the pads for the first time Thursday morning and begin hitting.

WHAT WE LEARNED: One thing we’ve learned about Fox through the years is he’s a creature of habit. Although there has been talk that this might be a more physical or more grueling training camp than previous years, Fox said the Panthers won’t vary much from the practice routine they've used the last eight years.
   “I’ve been doing this for quite some time and we’ll attack camp just like we always do,” Fox said. “You tweak things every year. We are young, but we’re energetic. I like the ability of guys that I saw work in the offseason stuff. Every year your team has a new personality whether it’s laced with veterans or not. It’s always an exciting time of the year.”

PLAY OF THE DAY: How about the Panthers giving Clausen an escalator clause (he could earn up to $2.8 million) in the fourth year of his contract? That doesn’t happen very often and shows just how much faith they have in him to develop into a player.
   “That’s huge,” said Moore. “That’s the way we want it, it’s huge.  It’s good for him to be here and to get in all the meetings. It’ll be good for him to not miss anything.”

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: DeAngelo Williams is back to camp and so is his scooter. The Pro Bowl RB regularly rides the scooter around the Wofford College campus as a way of keeping his leg fresh for practice.

THEY SAID IT: Smith joked about being unable to lift weights since re-breaking his left arm: “I’ve lost some muscle mass. I’m disappointed. I was looking pretty good on the beach over in Europe. It went quick, though. I’m disappointed, really.”

DEPTH CHART WATCH: We’ll be watching Thursday to see who lines up as the starting weak side linebacker. In his blog, MLB Jon Beason said he’s not sure if he’ll continue to work outside in Thomas Davis’ absence or not.
   ”Here we are, the day before we report to training camp, and I’m not certain what position I’m going to be playing,” Beason wrote. “It doesn’t bother me, because either way there will be pressure on me, and where there is pressure, there is an opportunity to do great things.”

YOU SHOULD KNOW: Speaking of Davis, the Panthers are still hopeful he'll make it back on the field at some point this season, which would be a big boost if they’re still in the playoff hunt.
   “There is definitely that hope,” said Hurney of Davis’ possible return. “That’s why we’re going to put him on PUP rather than injured reserve.”
   According to Hurney, Davis will open training camp on the PUP list and move to the Reserve-PUP list when cuts come. That means he won’t take up a roster spot. Davis will automatically miss the first six games of the season. After six weeks the Panthers will have a six-week window in which to determine whether or not to bring him back on the 53-man roster or put him on injured reserve.
   Basically, they have to make a decision by the 12th week of the season — the week of Nov. 28.
   Davis injured the knee on June 9, so that would put him about five-and-a-half months out from surgery. In his first rehab from a torn ACL, Davis was back running sprints just five months out of surgery so there’s definitely a chance he could return. Just how effective he would be remains to be seen, but there’s certainly some hope.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE: The Panthers officially open training camp Thursday with practices at 9:10 a.m. and 6:40 p.m. All practices are free and open to the public.