Every underdog has a story. This is quarterback Dalton Bells. The gunslinger from Canyon, TX, (about 15 miles south of Amarillo) spurned walk on offers from Texas Tech to set records at his hometown school, West Texas A&M. His quarterback coach there was a guy you may have heard ofRyan Leaf. He got calls from NFL teams before the draft back in April. After the draft he got two, one from New Orleans and one from Carolina. His instincts told him to go farther from home this time around. So here he is with the Panthers, getting ready for the biggest football shot of his life when hell see significant playing time in the preseason finale versus Pittsburgh on Thursday. For four months he has been the fourth quarterback in Carolina. In the NFL, they sometimes call his position a camp arm, someone to take just enough reps so that the top three signal callers dont get overworked. The trick is not buying into that, and coming to practice every day convinced that this is the day you will do something special. I never really let that get to me, said Bell of the NFLs roster numbers game. I just try to go out and do my best every day and put it in the hands of the Lord and hopefully something good will happen. If nothing else, he has acquired a nickname from his head coach. John Fox likes to call him Roadhouse, a nod to the character named Dalton in the movie of the same name. As long as hes happy with that, Im fine with it, said Bell. Fox says hes happy with a lot of things Bell brings to the table. He's got a strong arm, said Fox. He's a young player that is still learning the position in this League. He's got a live arm and he seems willing to learn and he's made progress. For those who wonder why the longshots toil under brutal conditions of training camp at Spartanburg knowing that the odds are stacked against them, this is why. Panthers quarterback Brett Basanez hurt his wrist in the fourth quarter versus New England last week. This created a huge opening for Bell to show what he can do this Thursday. I see that I have an opportunity now, he said. Its a big opportunity. I just hope to do the best with it. The kid from western Texas who lived the Friday Night Lights experience in high school, who then threw for 7,779 yards and 62 touchdowns in leading his college team to back-to-back Lone Star Conference championships, who watched on draft day as 11 quarterbacks not named Dalton Bell were selected, who signed with a team in a strange city more than 1,000 miles from home, will finally get his opportunity to show the football world what he is about. Yesterday I was a little nervous, he said on Monday. Today I felt a lot better. Its just football, after all. That it is. But its more than that, too. Its thousands of footballs thrown in the neighborhood pickup games, on the practice field at Canyon High School, in the small college stadiums of the Lone Star Conference, and on the fields of Wofford College. Its hours upon hours studying a playbook for this one chance. It matters not how he got this chance. As his namesake in the movie Roadhouse said when asked how he became a bouncer, Just lucky I guess. Dalton Bell has been given his shot, and thats all that matters now.
I am a Dallas Cowboy fan, but I find this interesting because I inherited Panthers season tickets, about 10 rows back 30 yrd line home side. I am pullin for the guy i'll get to see it up close tomm.
