Panthers observations: Energy was high, but Teddy Bridgewater and QBs had a mixed day
The Panthers don’t have any preseason games this year, but they’re doing everything they can to replicate that experience, including physical, quick practices and using artificial crowd noise that they will be heard at stadiums across the NFL this year.
After Saturday’s scrimmage at Bank of America Stadium, Carolina’s coaching staff went over tape and personnel for seven-eight hours to assess how they are performing.
Head coach Matt Rhule walked away from that evaluation feeling like he wanted to see more from his team as they enter their second week of training camp. And he thought they delivered Monday after a day off Sunday.
“I thought for a first scrimmage type thing, it was pretty clean. Not a lot of penalties, not a lot of bad football. Probably the biggest thing is us raising our standard of how hard we want to play,” Rhule said of Saturday’s scrimmage. “I think Week 1, they kind of got to one point. Week two, we really have to play a lot harder across the board as we get into better shape. The guys have a better feel for what we’re doing, so playing fast, playing hard. Those things I think I want to see us improve this week, and I definitely thought I saw that today.”
The Panthers spent the majority of practice inside the team’s practice bubble, the Atrium Health Dome, conducting team 11-on-11 drills, playing music and crowd noise through most of the practice.
INJURIES
▪ Undrafted free agent wide receiver Omar Bayless (knee) missed his fifth consecutive day of practice, working to the side in a red injured jersey. Rhule said Saturday that Bayless is having an arthroscopic knee procedure to determine the extent of the damage.
▪ Wide receivers Seth Roberts (concussion protocol) and Keith Kirkwood (broken clavicle) remain out. Kirkwood is out for several weeks after having surgery.
▪ Offensive lineman Tyler Larsen did not participate in practice due to a strained calf.
▪ Linebacker Marquis Haynes left practice slightly early after colliding with a player on a drill. When asked about Haynes, Rhule said, “I don’t know exactly where we’re at” yet with his health.
MOVES
Kicker/punter Kaare Vedvik was officially added to the team’s active roster Sunday after passing all of the COVID-19 protocols. In a corresponding move, the Panthers released running back Jordan Scarlett, their 2019 fifth-round pick. Scarlett mostly played on special teams in his rookie season before ending the year on injured reserve.
TOP PLAY
This might not typically qualify as a top play, but it was one that stood out. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw a pass over the middle of the field during 11-on-11 drills and it just went through the arms of defensive end Brian Burns, who nearly brought it down for an interception after dropping into coverage. Burns was beside himself for a second after missing the grab. Although it was a incompletion, the play felt worthy of a shout-out because Rhule wanted to see more speed and energy from the defense at practice, and Burns was doing just that. Just needs a little work on the hands.
HIGHLIGHTS
▪ Tight end Ian Thomas had a good practice with a couple catches that went for a significant chunk of yards, including a diving catch with rookie cornerback Troy Pride Jr. in coverage. The Panthers need Thomas to develop into a reliable starting tight end in coordinator Joe Bradys’ offense .
▪ Quarterback P.J. Walker hasn’t broken out for many runs, as he became known for doing during his time in the XFL, but he kept the ball for one play and made some impressive moves to gain about 10-plus yards. It’s a good reminder that Walker has a number of skills as the competition for the backup job behind Bridgewater continues.
▪ Speaking of quarterbacks, Will Grier had a touchdown throw to wide receiver Brandon Zylstra, who Rhule has noted as one of the players that has done well thus far in camp, at the end of a long drive downfield. Grier had a mixed day overall.
▪ Tight end Temarrick Hemingway had an impressive one-handed catch from Grier as he made his way down the sideline with safety Quinn Blanding in coverage. The catch came toward the end of the period in the bubble and got quite a reaction from the team.
▪ The energy at practice was up a level with more intensity than previous practices. There was also plenty of hitting throughout.
▪ Linebacker Adarius Taylor (formerly Adarius Glanton when he was with the Panthers in 2014) was more involved Monday.
▪ Defensive back Juston Burris put a quick stop to a play with wide receiver Robby Anderson behind the line of scrimmage. Burris got a big reaction from the defense.
LOWLIGHTS
▪ Doing push-ups has been a common punishment at practice, but this time Bridgewater had to do them by himself. With the offense down in the red zone, the entire offense moved except the quarterback snapping the ball, resulting in a false start, a loss of five yards and Bridgewater doing push-ups. The series ended a play later with an incomplete pass to DJ Moore.
▪ Pride Jr. is in the mix for the starting cornerback job opposite Donte Jackson along with T.J. Green, Eli Apple and Corn Elder, Rhule said. The rookie had a mixed day and seemed to be on the wrong end of a couple big receptions, including a long pass to Anderson toward the end of team drills.
▪ Wide receiver Marken Michel had a pass from Grier go right in his hands, but dropped the ball. You have to catch those.
OTHER NOTES
▪ The artificial crowd noise is still weird and takes adjusting to. It’s smart to use it a lot at practice to get adjusted to. Also, the music was on point. Nothing like starting a practice with Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.”
▪ Recently acquired running back/special teamer Trenton Cannon was talking a bit during practice and saying some things that the defense clearly did not like. It got a little chippy at one point, but quickly died down.
▪ Even in practice, the Panthers have the tradition of celebrating touchdowns, typically with a big spike. Sometimes receivers or backs will hand the ball to an offensive lineman to spike, as Zylstra did after his touchdown.
▪ This has been seen in almost every practice, but the team is practicing a lot of substitutions on defense, especially on the line. The defense has shown a lot of different looks with a variety of players. In addition, a lot of young players are getting in on the action, as was expected.
▪ Running back Christian McCaffrey broke off a couple of dominating runs. Again, he’s good at football.
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
Practice is scheduled for 8:45 a.m.
This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 5:54 PM.
