Smith was suspended for the first two regular-season games after breaking Lucas' nose.

"I'm not going to get into who's right, who's wrong. I'm completely wrong," Smith said. "It was an asinine decision. And I'll move forward better than I probably have ever had to. It's the first time in my life that I really haven't forgiven myself."

Although Smith won't play against San Diego or Chicago come September, he will be allowed to practice at training camp and participate in the team's four preseason games.

When asked if he thinks Smith will be accepted by his teammates, quarterback Jake Delhomme replied, "Without a doubt. I think there will be some people upset and rightfully so. And I promise you, Steve knows that. But he will be accepted.

"I have a couple of kids and sometimes you get mad at them and can't understand why they do something, but you don't love them any less. That is how we feel about Steve. Had it been another player we would feel the same way. But he's ours and I'm glad he's ours."

--Julius Peppers has millions of reasons to want to bounce back from a rough season in 2007.

He'll become an unrestricted free agent after the season, which means he's going to make some eye-popping money next year, either in Carolina or elsewhere.

The Panthers have an open dialogue with Peppers' agent Carl Carey.

Peppers said both sides have agreed to keep the negotiations out of the media, but added that he's "pleased" with the progress of the contract talks.

However, he balked when asked if he thinks he'll be back in Carolina next year.

"What I have learned over the last six years is that year to year it's unpredictable what happens with players and contracts," Peppers said. "Right now, I'm worried about football. I'm not looking forward to next season or what is going to happen after that. We have to get focused on making it happen right now."

Later, when asked to clarify his stance on remaining in Carolina, Peppers simply said, "It's nothing to clarify. Right now I'm focused on playing football this season.

"I have a contract to play football right now. After this season, it's a different story. But my focus as a player, I have to control what I can control. It might come to a point where I don't have any control over the contract. My focus is on playing football and making us a better team in '08."

--Cornerback Chris Gamble is determined to elevate his game this season.

"My goal is to make the Pro Bowl," he said. "Now I've got to start every day in practice, making plays and grinding it out. I think each and every day in practice I try to make plays and just stay consistent. I try to be a leader out there and do my job every day I'm out there."

Gamble has started 56 games for the Panthers in four seasons, but he has never come close to making the Pro Bowl, even though he had a combined 13 interceptions in his first two seasons in the league.

When asked why he hasn't been able to take that next step, Gamble said, "Just inconsistency. I've just got to stay consistent, make more plays and go out there and have fun."

Gamble also knows a big season would translate into a big pay day.

--You don't jump off-sides at Panthers practice. Not anymore. Offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson instituted a new rule Wednesday designed to cut down on the number of false start penalties this year.

Tackle Frank Omiyale was the first to screw up and was sent on the Lap of Shame, immediately yanked from team drills and forced to run a lap around the football field.

"See ya, Frank," coaches screamed sarcastically as he began to run.

"I was the first one to do it and I had to pay the penalty," Omiyale said. "It's not like you do it on purpose. But it's a reminder to keep your head together."

--Jake Delhomme really is a blast to listen to at practice.

Take this example from one practice last week.

On a third-and-1 play running back Decori Birmingham busted loose outside for a 12-yard gain before safety Nate Salley knocked him out of bounds. If it were a real game Salley probably would have been flagged for a late hit. Delhomme reminded Salley of that by shouting, "That's undisciplined, Nate! That's how you lose!"

Earlier in the day, Delhomme threw over the middle for a receiver, but cornerback Richard Marshall got there a little early to break up the play. Delhomme thought Marshall interfered on the play and said, "Thanks, Rich. We'll take that all day, baby!"

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think it was the right thing to do. You look at (Steve Smith's) suspension. He had one game in 2002, and last year Jeremy Bridges gets suspended for two games. We doubled the suspension from '02. It was equal to the suspension for Jeremy Bridges. There's no exact science to this thing. You have to determine what's fair. Because if you go beyond what's fair, then you don't know what holds up. The intention here is to be fair and do what's right for the team. And we felt like that number was two." -- GM Marty Hurney on why the team decided to suspend Steve Smith for two games and not more (or less).