Panthers notebook: Why Matt Rhule wasn’t pleased with Friday afternoon’s scrimmage
Panthers coach Matt Rhule made it clear Friday that he was not pleased with the way his starters played in Friday’s practice, nine days before the team’s season opener.
The Panthers held a scrimmage at Bank of America Stadium on a hot Friday afternoon, in front of an empty stadium.
“We did not play like a team that was excited to be out there,” Rhule said. “It was not the energy level needed to play at a high level. That’s something we’ll have to learn from.” He added that the second- and third-string units looked “crisp and clean at times,” and played well.
The Panthers host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 13 at Bank of America Stadium. There will be ambient crowd noise, but no real fans in the seats. Generating excitement may be a challenge.
The Panthers are already at a disadvantage entering the 2020 season. Most of their defense and projected starters are young — some rookies — who did not have the benefit of a full offseason. And Rhule is entering his first season as the head coach, trying to implement his philosophy in an offseason cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.
Playing with energy will be necessary for the Panthers to have a chance.
Rhule said he wasn’t sure why there was a lack of energy, but he let his players know about it at halftime and after practice.
“And I thought as they got into it, they got better,” Rhule said. “But we just don’t want to be a team that picks and chooses when we play.
“When you see us play, you don’t want it to be, ‘Hey, they’re winning or losing by a lot just by watching them.’ You want it to be like, ‘you can’t tell if they’re winning or losing by 20 when you see us play... We just want to go out there and be the same guy every day.”
Panthers wide receiver Curtis Samuel said the starters agreed with Rhule that they didn’t have enough energy in the scrimmage.
“We can’t just be out there running around, just going through the motions,” Samuel said. “Coach Rhule was right...We’ve got to find that energy within ourselves. Feed off each other, listen to music, whatever we got to do to get ourselves, get our minds right for the game.”
Other notes
▪ Defensive end Stephen Weatherly missed his second consecutive practice with a hamstring injury. He wore a red jersey in Friday’s practice and did not participate. Rhule said he expected Weatherly to return to practice on Monday. However, he said he could not guarantee that.
▪ Tight end Ian Thomas (toe), linebacker Shaq Thompson (groin), cornerback Eli Apple (hamstring) and wide receiver Keith Kirkwood (shoulder) were also wearing red jerseys and did not participate.
▪ Panthers rookie Chris Orr, who played for Wisconsin in college, will soon figure out whether he’ll make the Panthers roster.
He is one of a number of undrafted rookies trying to make the team. By Saturday at 4 p.m., all 32 NFL rosters have to be down to 53 players. The Panthers had 79 players as of Friday afternoon. That number will be cut by 26.
Orr, a 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker, has played well in training camp.
The offseason has been difficult for undrafted rookies, who did not have the benefit of a preseason to show what they could do in a game setting.
“I told myself just do what you do, make sure you’re on your assignments, your alignments and make one splash play a day,” Orr said. “I felt confident that if I could do that, people would know that I’m a pretty good player.”
Orr said he regularly asks for former middle linebacker Luke Kuechly to evaluate his game.
Orr is the son of former NFL player Terry Orr, who played for Washington’s NFL team from 1986-93, where he won two Super Bowl titles. His brother, Zach Orr, played for the Ravens from 2014-16. He’s currently a coaching analyst for the Ravens.
When asked what he thought about his chances to make the Panthers’ roster, Orr said he’s confident that the Panthers at least like him.
“But we’ll see,” he said. “Come tomorrow, we’ll see.”
