Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507240030
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SPARTANBURG, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
McKyer, the oft-traveled NFL cornerback, arrived in the first Carolina Panthers training camp with some heavy baggage. He has two Super Bowl championship rings, but he's also with his sixth NFL club in only 10 seasons, and his fourth in four years.
His past coaches have labeled McKyer as one of those players who can undermine a team's unity. Whether or not he deserves that tag, he isn't alone with it among the expansion Panthers. McKyer's Pittsburgh teammate of a year ago, running back Barry Foster, and ex-Houston linebacker Lamar Lathon - the Panther with the highest base salary ($2.7 million) this season - also lug around that perception.
So, why are they at camp at Wofford College? It's because Panthers coach Dom Capers knows McKyer and Foster from his years as Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator, and he knows they can play. Lathon likes his new salary and new club.
Asked if he were taking a chance on McKyer's supposed attitude rubbing off on the younger Panthers, Capers wanted to talk football.
``Tim understands me, and I understand him,'' Capers said. ``He knows what I expect. He has matured over the years [since he left San Francisco]. He knows his role and where he fits in.''
Capers also knows that McKyer, 31, has been on playoff teams in eight of his nine previous NFL seasons of a career that began with a first-game interception against Tampa Bay. Pittsburgh left him exposed in the expansion draft, and Carolina chose him 12th overall. Now, McKyer wants to erase the thoughts of the last play he made - or didn't make.
After the AFC championship game at Three Rivers Stadium last January, McKyer was dragged off the field by his Steelers' teammates. He was crying and screaming after San Diego's Tony Martin beat McKyer on a late 43-yard touchdown pass that clinched the AFC title for San Diego.
``It was the dumbest play I ever made,'' McKyer said.
Now, he's part of a Panthers defense that looks respectable on paper, although the club could use help at safety.
``This is my first training camp in three years,'' said McKyer, who wasn't signed for a preseason camp the last two seasons by Detroit (1993) and Pittsburgh. ``It is a different feeling because it's a new team. There are no real quote-unquote vets here. It's a rejuvenating thing. That [playoff] error hurt me, but it's behind me now.''
McKyer said it's strange to be one of the oldtimers on the roster, and he understands that Capers is counting on leadership from the native Texan, whose incentive-laden contract counts only $302,000 against the salary cap this season.
``When I think back to when I first went to camp with the 49ers, everywhere you looked there were these players you had watched play on TV. Here I was playing in the same backfield with Ronnie Lott. `Wow, is Joe Montana really my teammate?' The biggest thing a young player has to do is get over that awe.
``The other point in camp is putting mind over body. That's how you get through it. I'm just glad to be here. I make no excuses for what happened before. I'm here to try and carry on and pass on some things that have been passed on to me by guys like Lott and Jeff Fuller.''
Capers said he heard about McKyer's reputation before the Steelers acquired the cornerback with 29 career interceptions last season. There's also the McKyer from a family of 10 children, the man who helped his mother pay the bills by working on a loading dock and a garbage truck while he attended and played at Texas-Arlington.
``Tim was a valuable member of the Steelers,'' Capers said. ``He did nothing but work hard while he was there. He knows what we're looking for here.''
What Capers is looking for is McKyer in the starting lineup at left corner.
by CNB