Robby Anderson was turning heads at Panthers practice and has thoughts on new turf field
Absent from the last two practices to deal with a family matter back in South Florida, wide receiver Robby Anderson made a splashy return to Carolina Panthers practice Monday.
His one-handed touchdown catch on a throw from quarterback Sam Darnold was easily the play of the day.
“Sam threw it up and it just got stuck. Simple as that,” Anderson said of the play.
Well, maybe not quite that simple.
The Panthers offense was practicing play-action during 7-on-7 drills, a request made by defensive coordinator Phil Snow to give his group more opportunities that would stretch the defense and show weaknesses. It was also a chance to give Darnold more experience with play-action in this offense.
Defending play-action plays was something that the Panthers defense had been doing well through this point of training camp.
“A lot of different defensive coordinators don’t like to do that, but Phil likes to put stress, so guys understand what the problems are,” coach Matt Rhule said. “We wanted to get Sam a little bit more comfortable with some of the play-actions. We’ve been doing so much drop-back, two-minute, third down, red zone that when we’ve dropped back to throw play-actions, we’ve called a lot of them, but the defense has covered a lot of them.”
Not this time. Anderson tracked the ball that Darnold launched into the air, while running downfield past safety Sean Chandler. The wide receiver stuck his right hand out and came down with the football. He also had a stellar one-handed catch on a pass from Will Grier in the team’s practice at Gibbs Stadium earlier in training camp.
Anderson has not been wearing gloves throughout training camp despite typically wearing them in games and practices. Going barehanded is something that he has not done since high school in Florida, he said, but helps with the heat, which makes players’ hands get wet.
“I feel like if I can catch without gloves, I can catch with them,” Anderson said. He does not yet know if he will continue that into the preseason, but “if I’m doing it now, why not do it then?”
New field at Bank of America Stadium
While he was away during Fan Fest, Anderson did share his thoughts on the new turf field and is the first Panthers player to openly share that he was not a fan of the move.
“Personally, I wish they would have stayed with grass,” Anderson said. “That was one thing I really enjoyed when I came to Carolina (last year), from playing up (with the New York Jets) in MetLife and dealing with the turf, I really did like playing in that grass, but it is what it is. It’s what we got to deal with.”
TAYLOR MOTON AT LEFT TACKLE
The team was down two first-team offensive linemen and one backup for Monday’s practice. Center Matt Paradis had previously been excused for a personal matter, while lineman Dennis Daley was excused for a family matter of his own. Left tackle Cam Erving, who has been taking a majority of the first-team reps, was out of practice due to what Rhule described as a “banged-up shoulder.”
When the team began 11-on-11 drills, it was tackle Taylor Moton taking the first-team reps on the left side. Moton has received snaps on the left side, but not to this extent and not in pads. Tackle Trent Scott took his spot on the right side during the drill.
“I didn’t notice Taylor, which is a good thing,” Rhule said. “ ... Cam Erving was down today with a banged-up shoulder, so we took advantage of it to get Taylor over on the left side. Good work for him, good work to get Trent Scott, Brady Christensen some work. That’s another ... option. Really not much more to it other than that.”
Sam Tecklenburg and Pat Elflein rotated at left guard and center and John Miller played right guard. Elflein is the backup center.
“A lot of guys in our group can play multiple,” Elflein said. “That’s a big advantage for us.”
Greg Little got the second-team snaps at left tackle.
PLAYING TIME FOR QBs SUNDAY
Rhule wouldn’t commit to a quarterback rotation for Sunday’s 1 p.m. preseason opener at Indianapolis, nor would he say how long Darnold would play (assuming he plays at all).
“I’m not going to talk about that too much right now,” Rhule said of Darnold’s potential playing time Sunday, which will be after two joint practices against the Colts on Thursday and Friday. “We’ll get through the joint practices and see where everybody is. I think we have a pretty good plan — but the best-laid plans, right? If I say it, then all of a sudden it won’t happen.”
Rhule said of Darnold that “I think Sam’s getting comfortable back there” but also noted that the quarterbacks haven’t been knocked to the ground even once in training camp.
“We’ll see when we get to Sunday and we’re live,” Rhule said. “That always changes things when there’s a chance of getting hit.”
▪ For the Colts on Sunday, Indianapolis coach (and former Panther quarterback) Frank Reich will start Jacob Eason at quarterback, followed by Sam Ehlinger and Brett Hundley. The Colts’ regular QB1, Carson Wentz, is out until at least September with a foot injury. Reich told reporters Sunday that he would play Eason more than a starting quarterback would usually play because “he’s going to need those reps.”
INJURIES AND ABSENCES
On linebacker Denzel Perryman (soft-tissue injury), Rhule said: “It looks like he’s still a ways away. It’s not coming along quite as quickly as we would have hoped.”
▪ CB A.J. Bouye, WR Keith Kirkwood (concussion), DT Caraun Reid, DB Myles Hartsfield, LB Clay Johnston and LB Julian Stanford all did not participate in practice due to various injuries. Johnston has a walking boot on his right foot.
Despite that all of the missing pieces at linebacker, even with Shaq Thompson’s return, Rhule said he is not worried.
“My goal is to have them ready for Indy. They’ve taken a lot of reps,” Rhule said on the backup linebackers. “Hopefully they can be ready to go this week.”
NOTES FROM PRACTICE
If practice is any indication, wide receiver C.J. Saunders may have a shot at a big play Sunday.
“I don’t think there’s a day that goes by when C.J. Saunders doesn’t make a play,” Rhule said of the 24-year-old undrafted rookie who went to Ohio State and is also working as a returner.
Rhule also said wide receiver Brandon Zylstra “made a bunch of plays today.”
▪ The Panthers had traditionally been practicing at 8:30 a.m. during camp, but Rhule switched the start time to 9:30 a.m. Sunday and then 10 a.m. Monday. Why?
Said Rhule: “You know what? We’re trying to get the field — because it hasn’t been hot — we’re trying to get the field to dry out, that’s really the answer. The field has been just kind of wet because last week was all in the 60s and 70s and 80s. So we’re trying to just get the dew off of it.” A drier field, Rhule said, means less risk of injuries such as groin strains.
▪ As the Panthers walked to practice Monday, the music blaring over the loudspeakers was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird.”
▪ For the Panthers’ vaccinated players — which is more than 90% of them — a team outing to Topgolf in Greenville, S.C., was scheduled for Monday night.
▪ Darnold completed 5 of 6 passes during a two-minute, 11-on-11 drill, including two solid grabs by Zylstra. Rhule brought in the team to discuss how they were playing in between the first- and second-team doing the drill.
TRANSACTIONS
▪ The Panthers activated tight Stephen Sullivan from the reserve/COVID-19 list. He had been making his way back to the field and appeared at the last two practices. In a corresponding move, the team waived wide receiver Marken Michel.
Safety Lano Hill is the only player still on the COVID-19 list. He has been there since training camp began.
PLAY OF THE DAY
Darnold’s only interception of the day came early in practice. During 7-on-7 drills, a pass bounced off the hands of the hands of a player and into the waiting arms of linebacker Jermaine Carter. He then ran it back a few yards before going out of bounds. Carter has received a variety of opportunities with so many injuries at the position.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“(Grass is) natural. Turf is fake.”
— Robby Anderson on playing on turf fields vs. grass.
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
The Panthers will hold the team’s last practice at Wofford before heading to Indianapolis for two joint practices prior to a preseason game against the Colts. Practice is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.