"Pretty much his whole life he's always been there when his number's called," said Vince Fiammetta, Tony's father, "and here we are."

Here we are: On "Monday Night Football." At the brand new, billion-dollar Cowboys Stadium. In the starting lineup at fullback for the visiting Carolina Panthers.

Tony Fiammetta was on the field with Carolina's first-team offense as the Panthers visited Dallas on Monday. Vince Fiammetta was in attendance, gazing from the stands as his son made another key stride in his career.

"I'm just real proud of him," Vince said on his cell phone hours before kickoff from an already loud stadium. "He's pretty calm and I know that he's anxious just like the rest of us."

In the Panthers' 21-7 loss, Fiammetta saw significant action, trying to clear paths for running backs or get open on pass patterns out of the backfield. The local product was the target of one Jake Delhomme pass in the first quarter, but it was broken up by a Cowboys defender. He finished with no carries and no catches in his team's third straight loss to start the season.

Fiammetta, a rookie fourth-round draft pick out of Syracuse University, is normally the Panthers' backup fullback in addition to his role on four special teams units. However, veteran starting fullback Brad Hoover left last week's game against Atlanta due to back spasms and missed practice time this week. He did not practice at all on Friday and was officially ruled out an hour or so before Monday's game time.

That opened the door for Fiammetta, who tried to help get the Panthers' offense on track in the nationally televised contest. The Panthers entered Monday's game after successive losses to the Eagles and Falcons that were each punctuated by Carolina turnovers -- eight in all. The offense continued to have trouble against Dallas.

"There's a part of me that wants to ask questions about that," Vince said. "I don't ask him; I'll let him tell me if he brings it up. I don't really get into big discussions (with him) about how things are going. It's his job and he doesn't ever criticize anyone but himself."

Vince said Tony had an idea on Sunday that he would get the starting nod. The development was the next step in a rapid progression for the first-year player. Fiammetta was inactive for the season opener, but dressed for the game against Atlanta, playing on special teams. Monday night, he was a starter, albeit because of injury.

No matter the outcome of Monday night's game or even the team's final record this season, Vince Fiammetta has been impressed by the Carolina organization. Late in training camp, he got a chance to interact with some of the Panthers coaches and personnel, and came away with a great feeling.

"I talked to Coach (John) Fox, and got to know the people who are around my son," he said, "and I left there feeling really good about the situation. ...

"I left there feeling like he was part of a family."

On Monday, his role in that family got a little more important.

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