Lucas returns to practice

Lucas returns to practice
Cornerback had been out since suffering broken nose from punch by Steve Smith.
By David Scott
dscott@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008


Ken Lucas returned to Carolina Panthers practice Saturday. Steve Smith did, too.

So, from appearances at least, all's normal with the Panthers after Smith's now-famous punch to Lucas's face Aug.1 threw training camp in Spartanburg into temporary chaos. The blow broke Lucas's nose and landed Smith with a two-game suspension to begin the regular season. And although Smith apologized and received Lucas's forgiveness, the two hadn't been on the practice field at the same time since the fight.

That changed Saturday, when the Panthers worked out on their practice fields adjacent to Bank Of America Stadium.

“That's well passed,” said coach John Fox of the fight. “It's good to have them both back.”

Lucas, a starting cornerback, has had surgery to mend his nose. Although he returned to training camp, he only worked out lightly with other injured teammates for a few days last week.

Smith suffered a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet blow while catching a pass in the Panthers' exhibition opener Aug.9 against the Indianapolis Colts, sidelining him for all of last week and Thursday's loss at Philadelphia.

Fox said he didn't know if either would play Aug.23 against the Washington Redskins. But Lucas participated in pads and helmet on Saturday.

“He fully practiced,” said Fox. “He's had a setback, but he did just fine.”

Smith might already be taking steps to make sure he's in his teammates' good graces. Cornerback Richard Marshall said Smith spent time working with him and other defensive backs Saturday, offering tips and advice.

“Since Steve's been back, he's been helping out,” said Marshall. “He's letting us know, like, ‘You're playing a little too far off,' or ‘You should play it this way.'

“He's letting us know, from a receiver's standpoint, what to look for and what we can disguise.”

And Marshall was happy to have Lucas' stabilizing presence back.

“It was real nice to see him,” Marshall said. “Even in Spartanburg, I was getting him to watch my technique because it gets bad sometimes. He's real experienced and knows a lot more than a lot of our (cornerbacks) know. We can always go to Luke on stuff that we don't know.”




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