raleigh-panther

Well. At least they know what they have to work on that didn’t get worked in. You know for ‘competition ‘ baker has made chicken salad out if chicken poo Ar least be happy about that

Great to see a legit NFL QB don’t care if it’s seconds at Buffalo the OL is paying for lack of continuity and reps give them time won’t know what the OL is until game 6 Efflein in there doesn’t help

The Panthers’ brain trust drafted a guy who, while in college, had soft tissue injury issues . why are they surprised this continues in the nfl? lot of quality prospects passed over for this guy ‘can’t make the club in the tub’

Three things the rams don’t care about 1. Preseason 2 salary cap, 3. Number 1 draft picks in other words, flying in the face of conventional wisdom in the nfl doesn’t seem to hurt them any

Oh for Christ sake. he is a rookie playing with the 4th string if you want to stay with that narrative, just do it

No way can you judge that now …from exhibition games I know you are a Howell fan but the two teams and philosophies and approaches could not be more different

Brown is slow. You can be big in the Nfl but you can’t be slow laterally He also seems slow to recognize and respond to what is in front of him I had hopes but I suspect he will be cut corral has shown good things and bad things and IMHO he also shows lack of quality reps He does have pocket moxie and that can’t be taught either have it or don’t Too, We all know it’s hard to know what coaches were focusing on this game. what I do know with all certainty is PJ Walker should not be taking a roster spot

No injuries a little work nothing else matters

Are we now going to act like Rhule, who was very heavily involved in personnel, and coach hiring, didn’t create his own issues? the reason people are so pissed at this clown is that 100% of the issues are self inflicted …because after all, he is the smartest guy in the room. Just ask him …he thought he could get just anyone and ‘coach ‘em up’ in the Nfl 3 years later … here we are My hope is for these players whose careers are so so short and for the fans who pay hard earned money to attend, is that the nfl assistant level coaches are good enough to save the year or at least have this team look like it belongs in the NFL

Yep sean mcvay would be the model to be followed particularly with this long season in a brutal sport he doesn’t take it seriously https://sports.yahoo.com/sean-mc-vay-is-changing-the-preseason-by-sitting-players-and-hes-fine-with-it-161300908.html#origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&cap=swipe,education&webview=1&dialog=1&viewport=natural&visibilityState=prerender&prerenderSize=1&viewerUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Famp%2Fs%2Fsports-yahoo-com.cdn.ampproject.org%2Fc%2Fs%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Famphtml%2Fsean-mc-vay-is-changing-the-preseason-by-sitting-players-and-hes-fine-with-it-161300908.html

Patriots talking about class is….. rich

I think we are all a little on edge because of him That said, many reasons to be optimistic and less touchy. I’ll try and do better. You are a good poster. Sorry for being snippy

Lol

You know Howell loved that

That’s real life right there for you and @CRA my prayers for healing to you both Life breaks us many times I just try and remember that they loved me and would want me to press on with as much joy as possible, carry forward the things I loved most about them in myself, make the most of my times, and maybe, see them again I think that’s why I love the NFL. it means nothing It’s a distraction

It had been a good day that image….

efflein was the center That is all you need to know there

I care about wins on Sunday His being a nice guy, what does it matter? he isn’t being paid to be a nice guy. he is being paid mightily to be a NFL level coach. is he? No can he be? Anything is possible Probability Odds aren’t in his favor no offense meant to you in at all, and the reason for the disdain from many on this board, is at some point, he becomes a time waste to fans who spend money to see this team and to players with performance based contracts his new coaching staff should help. Campen is the real deal on that Oline but seeing Rhule looking clueless on the sidelines on Sundays won’t change. His ego won’t let it just like thinking he could ‘coach up Darnold’ and his other pablum

Great point It isn’t just sports applies to many things sadly

And yet, the waste of reps continues

It would help if they could catch i was very high on Tommy coming out if ND but he has got to start catching the ball

Delete Rhule too for being a dumb poo

Great job. Thank you

most pertinent comment pulled forward Quote. After practice, Rhule said he does not anticipate naming starters at “any position” or forming a depth chart until after the team’s second preseason game at the earliest. Baker Mayfield vs. Sam Darnold, Day 9: When will Panthers coach Matt Rhule name a starter? BY ELLIS L. WILLIAMS [email protected] 1 hour ago Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule is in no rush to name a starting quarterback. Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold are in an open competition at Panthers training camp, which continued on Saturday in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at Wofford College. Day 9 of camp featured a two-hour scrimmage, where Mayfield and Darnold alternated working with both the first- and second-team offenses. Through two weeks of camp, Mayfield has outplayed Darnold by generating more explosive plays through the air. His 40-plus yard touchdowns to Robbie Anderson and Rashard Higgins are camp highlights. But Darnold is keeping things close by quickly distributing the ball to tight ends and running backs while occasionally hitting some intermediate throws. After practice, Rhule said he does not anticipate naming starters at “any position” or forming a depth chart until after the team’s second preseason game at the earliest. Carolina travels to New England for joint practices with the Patriots on Aug. 16 in advance of their Saturday night (Aug. 19) preseason game. “The Patriots week is like a true litmus test for us. That’ll really show us where guys are. So we’ll continue to split the reps. And then we’ll make some evaluations off of today’s tape. We’ll make some evaluations after training camp in Wofford ends on Wednesday. And then probably after the game and the Patriots,” Rhule said. “Quarterback to me, as we’ve said all along, it’s when we know, we know, and we’re not going to rush it.” Carolina is off Sunday then back in Spartanburg on Monday until camp breaks on Wednesday. Fan Fest is Thursday at Bank of America Stadium. Mayfield and Darnold both had efficient practices on Saturday. The team made practice as game-like as possible by starting drives with a kick-off return and allowing the offense to drive down the field against the defense. The chain gang and referees had a busy morning. Mayfield and Higgins made the play of practice. During Mayfield’s third series, he connected with “Hollywood” Higgins on a 45-yard touchdown. Higgins altered his path when a Panthers cornerback sat on his route. Rather than occupy covered space, Higgins broke his route deep. Mayfield noticed and let a bomb fly that hit Higgins in stride for a walk-in touchdown. Higgins extended the ball across the goal line and then debuted his signature red-carpet celebration while teammates celebrated around him. Mayfield ran into the end zone to snap pictures of his former Browns teammate with his imaginary camera. However, the fun was short-lived. Rhule immediately stopped practice and chewed out his players about a premature celebration. After his 50-second address, He made the offense run a sideline-to-sideline sprint. “We’re not a team that reaches the ball across the goal line. I told the guys, ‘Hey, after you score a touchdown, celebrate and have fun today.’ I just wanted to make sure they all understood that we won’t win if we don’t protect the football,” Rhule said. “I wanted the defense to understand we can’t give up explosives and offense to understand we don’t celebrate till after the play’s over.” Mayfield made the play of the practice but was it enough for him to win the day? Let’s dive deeper into their performances. Baker Mayfield Stats (unofficial): 15 for 22, TD, INT The real winners of Saturday’s scrimmage were the Panthers’ offensive line and running backs Christian McCaffrey, D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard. Carolina’s offense ran effectively on the defense by utilizing a variety of gap runs and power schemes. All three running backs scored a least one touchdown. Hubbard scored twice, once on a Mayfield drive and the other with Sam Darnold. On Hubbard’s first score, rookie tackle Ikem Ekwonu made a key led block as Hubbard housed a power outside run off left tackle. Mayfield completed 1-of-2 passes on the touchdown drive. Carolina started near mid-field and scored on the seven-play drive that included five runs and a screen pass. Mayfield came alive later in practice. On his third drive he completed five straight passes, capped with his deep touchdown to Higgins. On the previous drive, Mayfield threw an interception to Myles Hartsfield on a deep-in route intended for DJ Moore. The pass may have been slightly behind Moore but it reached both his hands. Hartsfield simply outmuscled Moore, ripping the ball away from him to complete the interception. Best throw: Mayfield-to-Higgins keeps gaining momentum as the duo is building off their Cleveland chemistry. Ten of Higgins’ 12 career touchdown receptions are from Mayfield. Only tight end David Njoku (11) and Jarvis Landry (14) have caught more Mayfield touchdowns. Any Browns fan could detail the duos’ innate on-field connection. In 2019 during a regular-season game against Buffalo, Higgins caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Mayfield as time expired. It was one of the few snaps — and only target — Higgins earned all game. Notable mistake: Mayfield threw another interception as detailed above. He’s had more days with a turnover than not. Sam Darnold Stats (unofficial): 19 for 28, TD, INT Darnold opened practice on fire. After Mayfield started with the first team and took seven plays to score, Darnold threw a touchdown on his first throw. From the 25-yard line, Darnold threw a play-action touchdown to fullback Giovanni Ricci. Ricci started near the line of scrimmage, faked an upfield block and took off for the corner pylon. Darnold dropped a pass right into his outstretched arms for a quick six points. On the next drive, he connected with Higgins twice and slot receiver Shi Smith. The drive ended with a short Zane Gonzalez field goal. But Darnold threw an unnecessary interception the drive following Mayfield’s turnover. The interception came while Darnold was rolling right to escape pressure and extended the play. Darnold tried squeezing a sideline throw to undrafted free agent Ra’Shaun Henry, but newly signed cornerback Tay Hayes stepped in front of the pass and picked it off. Best throw: Darnold started practice with a touchdown dime throw to Ricci but did not build off that momentum. Notable mistake: Darnold threw another avoidable interception. It was his most egregious turnover of camp yet. Who won the day? Mayfield won the practice but once again it was close. Eventually, either Mayfield or Darnold could create serious separation by stringing together a couple of turnover-free practices. “The disappointing thing is that we had two interceptions. Each guy had an interception. We’ve got to protect the football,” Rhule said. “But I did see some good things. Both guys had explosive plays. So we’ll really dig into the tape and see who’s truly mastering the offense and who’s not. There’s a lot of work to be done on the next few days by us coaches.

I pulled this last statement from today’s write up to the top as it seems pertinent quote. Saturday’s practice is expected to feature a lot of scrimmaging. It’ll be the most important practice of the week for both quarterbacks. Baker Mayfield vs. Sam Darnold, Day 8: Tracking Panthers quarterbacks at training camp BY ELLIS L. WILLIAMS [email protected] 2 hours ago The quarterback competition between Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield continued on Day 8 of Panthers training camp. Carolina went through a lower-intensity practice following their walk-thru on Thursday. Darnold and Mayfield are still evenly splitting first-team reps. Darnold made the most of his opportunities by throwing two touchdowns and just one incompletion on 14 throws. Some of Darnold’s completions came when it appeared the secondary was easing up its coverage, allowing multiple deep-in-breaking routes to DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson. But during a competitive 11-on-11 red-zone session, Darnold went 3-for-3 and threw two touchdowns. Mayfield was not as sharp as he’s been but still had a decent practice. Even his average days produce more explosive plays than a typical Darnold check-down routine. But on Friday, Darnold discarded his check-down habits and had his best camp practice yet. Let’s dive deeper into their performances. Baker Mayfield Stats (unofficial): 7 for 13, TD Coming off three of his best practices, Mayfield had a steady day throwing to a mix of first- and second-team targets. He completed passes to four different receivers, including a red-zone touchdown to receiver Brandon Zylstra on a delayed deep post. Shi Smith and Tommy Tremble each dropped passes from Mayfield that would’ve gone for big gains. Mayfield probably put too much heat on the short pass intended for Smith. Tremble’s drop came via a deep seam route, which Mayfield placed perfectly. The team did not practice with much tempo. There were no two-minute drills or no-huddle situations. So far during camp, Mayfield has played noticeably better when the reps reflect game situations. Best throw: After Tremble dropped a seam route, Mayfield went back to the same play, but this time targeted tight end Colin Thompson down the left hash. Thompson was not open. Yet somehow Mayfield threaded a ball through a defender’s earhole and into Thompson’s chest plate as he strolled into the red zone. The pass elicited a collective gasp from onlooking Panthers fans. Notable mistake: Mayfield took a costly sack during a seven-on-seven session early in practice. He held the ball for more than three seconds, escaped right and chucked a ball that fell incomplete. Through the play was not whistled dead, Mayfield likely would’ve been sacked in a game for holding the ball too long. Sam Darnold Stats (unofficial): 13 for 14, 2 TD Sam Darold threw just one incompletion during competitive seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 team sessions. Darnold played mistake-free football on Friday. Of his 14 pass attempts, two went for touchdowns as he demonstrated a more expansive command of the offense. His most sharp moments came in the red zone where he went 3-for-3 with two touchdowns. He opened practice completing seven of his first eight throws, including gains of 12 yards or more to Moore, Anderson and Rashard Higgins. Darnold practiced with urgency and did not settle for his usual check-down throws. Best throw: During a red-zone session, Darnold threw a touchdown to slot receiver C.J. Saunders, who opened up late as the No. 2 option. Initially, Darnold looked for Anderson, who ran a fade-comeback against lengthy cornerback Chris Westry. Darnold locked onto Anderson for about one second before his eyes jumped to his second read Saunders streaked across the back line of the end zone from left to right. Darnold delivered a dart high and into Saunders’s diving left shoulder. He held on for the score, celebrated with Darnold and let out an emphatic roar toward the fans. Notable mistake: Like Mayfield, Darnold also took a poor sack during a seven-on-seven rep. He held the ball when no targets opened. Darnold tried escaping upfield, but edge rusher Franki Luvu immediately met him in the backfield. Who won the day? Darnold did more with his red-zone opportunities than Mayfield did. On his first touchdown, he took advantage of a clean pocket to deliver a strike to a deep crossing Zylstra. Though both quarterbacks have each won three days of practice, Mayfield has collectively outperformed Darnold through eight practices. Even when Mayfield has an average practice, he still makes a notable play or two. Meanwhile, there have been multiple practices where it’s difficult to recall a completed Darnold pass. Saturday’s practice is expected to feature a lot of scrimmaging. It’ll be the most important practice of the week for both quarterbacks.