National Football League

New Panthers FB Fiammetta has big shoes to fill

Published Aug. 3, 2010 5:19 p.m. ET

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When DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart would discuss the NFL rushing duo record they set last season, it wouldn't take them long to praise their fullback.

Brad Hoover was the bruising, tough blocker the Panthers relied on for 10 seasons - until he was the victim of Carolina's offseason purge of veterans.

Now Williams and Stewart - the first set of teammates since the 1970 merger to each rush for over 1,100 yards - must rely on inexperienced second-year pro Tony Fiammetta to duplicate their success this year.

''Still a little bit different in the back because Hoover thought as a tailback because he played tailback in college,'' Williams said. ''He had that mindset and he had the mindset of being a bruiser. He knew what was going on, the ins and outs of the offense.

''Not saying that Tony Fiammetta doesn't know that, it's just that it's kind of hard to teach that.''

Fullback has long been a position in which it takes some time to get comfortable. The Panthers' old-style running game depends on the fullback to not only be the lead blocker on running plays, but serve a key role in pass protection.

''We lean on the running game quite a bit and there are some nuances of the fullback position with the type of running game that we have that takes a pretty instinctive guy to figure out,'' coach John Fox said. ''It is a mental position as well as a physical position.''

Hoover thrived in that role for years. He's third in franchise history with 153 games played and was a fan favorite known as ''Hoooov'' at Bank of America Stadium.

But the pounding seemed to take a toll last season. Hoover missed five games with a lingering back injury, and at 33, was deemed too old in the offseason for Carolina's youth movement.

''It was probably one of the best things that could have happened to me,'' Fiammetta said of playing behind Hoover last season. ''He's just a professional and the mental side, he was all over it. He helped me grow as a football player. I hope he catches on somewhere else because I think he's still got a lot of good football in him.''

But now Fiammetta, a fourth round pick in 2009 out of Syracuse, must take over after a shaky rookie season. He dropped the first pass thrown his way last season, and struggled with pass protection at times, acknowledging it was tough to know the right blocking style to use on speedy and bigger players.

''I think it's a challenge for anybody coming into a new offense to feel completely comfortable from the start,'' Fiammetta said. ''After a year and a half of being in the NFL, I feel great and I feel like I'm ready to do big things out there.''

The biggest obstacle is to think like a running back. He played the position in high school in Maryland, but was strictly a fullback at Syracuse with only 16 carries. Hoover was a tailback in college and at the beginning of his pro career.

''Pretty much on any given running play, both the tailback and the fullback have the same read,'' Fiammetta said. ''Just the fullback is about two and a half yards ahead, so it's very important for the fullback to have good vision and see the hole that's going to be there when the running back gets there. You want to be that lead blocker.''

The 6-foot, 242-pound Fiammetta has a similar build to Hoover and it was inevitable when they spent a draft pick on him that Hoover's days were numbered.

''I knew they brought me in for a reason,'' Fiammetta said. ''My reaction was that it was a great opportunity for me and this is the position I want to be in.''

Williams and Stewart will be depending on him. With Matt Moore set to begin his first season as a full-time starting quarterback, the Panthers are expected to rely even more on their potent ground game.

Stewart rushed for a 1,133 yards and 10 touchdowns last season and Williams had 1,117 yards and seven scores as the Panthers ranked third in the NFL in rushing.

While much of that had to do with Carolina's elite offensive line, the fullback opened a lot of holes, too.

''Just trying to take something that's been so good and try and make it a little bit better,'' Fiammetta said.

Fiammetta hasn't had any major gaffes in training camp, and even filling in for a few snaps at running back because of a rash of injuries. But it will be in the games when the quiet Syracuse product will try to win over fans used to seeing the Thomasville, N.C., native Hoover play an unsung yet important role for the local team.

''He's a lot more comfortable,'' Fox said. ''He sat behind maybe one of the better guys as far as knowing what to do in Brad Hoover. He's gotten to watch him operate for a year and we actually saw him grow last year throughout practices.''