Observations from last night's Panthers practice/scrimmage

[Captroop]

2 hours ago, Jeremy Igo said:

— Later in the drill, Grier had two consecutive deep passes go for touchdowns on go routes. The first went to wide receiver Pharoh Cooper on the left side. The next went to Samuel on the right.

— Grier continued his string of solid passes in the next period during 7-on-7 drills. He connected with Anderson on a deep pass down the left sideline. Anderson was left wide open and would have scored a touchdown.

This I think is the one reason I'm most bummed we didn't get a preseason; I really wanted to see how Grier evolved. He looked, well frankly, historically bad last year. And that was just so incongruous with the great game tape he put together in his college career. I don't know if it was first year jitters, the catastrophe of an offensive line he was behind in his limited action, or if he was just the latest in the long list of guys who just didn't translate to the pro game. And I really wanted to get some more data from the preseason action. And these camp reports are very encouraging. But unless something shocking happens, I doubt I'll see him in real games at all this year. So I guess the mystery will endure.

[TheSpecialJuan]

1 hour ago, hepcat said:

Sounds like the offensive line sucks

yay

[Khyber53]

1 hour ago, MasterAwesome said:

 

That'll do! I'd forgotten about that one. 

[MasterAwesome]

9 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

That'll do! I'd forgotten about that one. 

Understandable, that was a pretty forgettable season lol.  Most of us have probably blocked it from our memory.  I think that play may have been the lone highlight.

[Waldo]

Manherts gets open when the D forgets he is on the field as a receiver. It's more a complete lack of respect than blown coverage I suspect. 

It's such a weird year. All we get without preseason games is the practice hype. That makes me think we are likely to be blindsided by the reality of the situation in game one. The practice hype has been wrong more than right from what I can remember in years past. Only a couple more weeks until we all find out. 

[MrBubba]

Rookies make any sort of impression?

[Tbe]

2 hours ago, Waldo said:

Manherts gets open when the D forgets he is on the field as a receiver. It's more a complete lack of respect than blown coverage I suspect. 

It's such a weird year. All we get without preseason games is the practice hype. That makes me think we are likely to be blindsided by the reality of the situation in game one. The practice hype has been wrong more than right from what I can remember in years past. Only a couple more weeks until we all find out. 

The practice hype this year has been really low though. Makes me think things are pretty rough. 
 

The starting offense did not look great last night. Reminded me of last years preseason games. 

[Waldo]

12 minutes ago, Tbe said:

The practice hype this year has been really low though. Makes me think things are pretty rough. 
 

The starting offense did not look great last night. Reminded me of last years preseason games. 

It's so hard to gauge practice hype anyways but with a new HC I can't tell what is genuine and what is coach speak fluff.

It's like what you said or could just be lack of information making it outside to us with the level of control in place for health reasons. No idea based on what has trickled down to us here. 

[Moo Daeng]

15 minutes ago, Tbe said:

The practice hype this year has been really low though. Makes me think things are pretty rough. 
 

The starting offense did not look great last night. Reminded me of last years preseason games. 

Obviously it's because the practices are almost completely closed and when they aren't the media are limited in what they can report. We are only getting what the team puts out.

[Madwolf]

6 hours ago, shaqattaq said:

At least Manhertz is putting in the effort, staying after. Rhule will love that. After 5 years in the league though, I'm pretty sure he'll never be a pass-catcher.

Just a story I'm so used to hearing about Teddy.

When he was in his final year here at UofL we had some freshman offensive linemen in practice not understand a play. They blew it dead, and Teddy explained to each one of them where they were supposed to be, and their assignments and movement on a run play. He would stay after and help the young guys, and veterans a like with their game. Even stuff he doesn't "have to know" as a QB, he would know.

There have been so few players I've ever watched that are such a benefit to everyone around them. Not just as a motivator, but as some actually improving how they play the game, and the practice they get.

Even if Teddy doesn't work out in Carolina, his presence is going to have a very positive impact on this team.

[Madwolf]

Just now, bull123 said:

That’s an understatement 

How's that different than any other year? 

[jerrya]

1 hour ago, Tbe said:

The practice hype this year has been really low though. Makes me think things are pretty rough. 
 

The starting offense did not look great last night. Reminded me of last years preseason games. 

I don't know how much offence/defence they wanted to show last night.  Maybe the practice was more to work on the logistics for a real game...ie. using head sets to get plays in and out on both Off and Def,  getting familiar with stadium, substitutions patterns, etc.

[PandaMan]

9 hours ago, Jeremy Igo said:

From Panthers.com

— Wide receivers Darrell Stewart Jr. (No. 9) and Cam Phillips (No. 81), who were added to the roster Wednesday afternoon, were on the field early to warm up. Phillips caught passes from his former XFL teammate, quarterback P.J. Walker.

— As players continued to make their way out to the field, quarterback Will Grier and wide receiver Brandon Zylstra worked on routes to the back of the end zone.

— The Panthers again had the ambient crowd noise playing. It was going simultaneously as the music, which can certainly cause a higher level of distraction. Rhule said Wednesday's fake crowd was louder than it was during Saturday's stadium practice.

— There was a lot of energy and a lot of dancing going on before the start of practice. You could see it from multiple position groups — from linebackers with Shaq Thompson to the wide receivers and returners with Curtis Samuel.

— Players started with a ball security circuit on offense and a takeaway circuit on defense, stressing the importance of the turnover margin. Offensive skill players had to keep hold of the ball while traveling through blocking shields. On defense, players had to force a fumble or pick one up off the ground.

— Practice started with a team "compete" drill, pitting the first-team offense against the first-team defense. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater completed passes to running back Christian McCaffrey and Samuel to move the chains. The drive stalled after another McCaffrey run and reception. A Bridgewater pass to Samuel over the middle hit the ground for an incompletion on third down, but kicker Joey Slye hit a 38-yard field goal to cap the drive.

— The second-team offense and defense had a similar result on their compete drill. While quarterback Will Grier had a nifty run to move the chains into the red zone, he ultimately was "sacked" by defensive end Stephen Weatherly to end the threat. Slye hit another field goal, this time from 48 yards.

— After individual drills, the team had three separate one-on-one drills happening at the same time. The offensive line and defensive line worked on pass rushing. Running backs and linebackers also worked on pass rushing/pass blocking. Quarterbacks, wide receivers, and defensive backs worked on running and defending routes.

— Early in that period, cornerback Donte Jackson broke up a short pass to wide receiver Robby Andersonon the defense's right. Jackson got a hand between the ball and where Anderson could catch it.

— Later in the drill, Grier had two consecutive deep passes go for touchdowns on go routes. The first went to wide receiver Pharoh Cooper on the left side. The next went to Samuel on the right.

— Grier continued his string of solid passes in the next period during 7-on-7 drills. He connected with Anderson on a deep pass down the left sideline. Anderson was left wide open and would have scored a touchdown.

— Defensive back Cole Luke intercepted Bridgewater on a pass intended for McCaffrey. The ball went off McCaffrey's hands and popped into the air. Luke came down with it in the middle of the field and ran the other way, celebrating the pick with teammates like Thompson.

— Following a 9-on-7 inside run drill, the Panthers went back to 11-on-11. Bridgewater immediately hit Anderson with a deep pass down the right sideline with cornerback Troy Pride Jr. the closest in coverage. Both Bridgewater and offensive coordinator Joe Brady were fired up about it, signaling for a first down from their respective spots in the backfield and on the sideline.

— Walker fired consecutive completed deep passes. The first went to wide receiver Ishmael Hyman on a post route down the middle. The next went to wideout Marken Michel near the left sideline.

— Weatherly put a nice spin move on left tackle Greg Little to get in the backfield and tag Walker for what would have been a sack.

— Both Joseph Charlton and Kaare Vedvik punted during a special teams drill that also featured gunners trying to get to the return man and blockers trying to stop them.

— The starting defense won a red zone 11-on-11 drill after stuffing running back Mike Davis up the middle on fourth down. Earlier in the segment, tight end Chris Manhertzcouldn't corral what would have been a touchdown pass from Bridgewater. The two later stayed after practice to work on routes and were the last players off the field.

— The Panthers finished the sessions with a two-minute drill between the starters. The defense did well to prevent chunk plays, but on a fourth-and-5 in defensive territory, lineman Brian Burns jumped offsides to give the offense a free first down. From there, Bridgwater connected with Moore on the right side, Rhule called timeout, and Slye sent a chip shot through the uprights to give the offense a win.

Was Matt Rhule wearing sunglasses?  We need answers!

[LinvilleGorge]

1 hour ago, bull123 said:

Start at center...paradis is barely college level

Paradis was a huge mistake in hindsight. Elway was right. He's shot.