Greg Olsen said it best after today’s practice session on the Bank of America Practice – “It’s Day One.”
But this year’s day one, the first day of the Panthers 2018 Phase 3 OTAs had a different feel than last season. For one, they had a healthy Cam Newton, who was a full participant in practice, making throws and giving his usual best effort to bring the energy level up, starting with using his own phone to play music during stretches.
Until the aux cord didn’t work, and Cam does what he always does when he needs help. He looked to Olsen.
“Hey, Greg!” Newton yelled before running onto the field this morning – eventually the cord situation was solved and the usual strains of upbeat hip hop accompanied the team’s stretching period; because it’s day one, there isn’t a whole lot to glean from today’s practice – don’t assume the player taking the most reps at a position will have that role once the season kicks off. But to see a Panthers team that has Super Bowl aspirations (almost) fully healthy, with Cam Newton throwing deep balls to new acquisitions Torrey Smith and DJ Moore or flipping the ball to Christian McCaffrey on a jet sweep is exciting – even if it’s only May.
Some quick observations from today’s practice session:
- Let’s start with the most pertinent question for most Panthers fans: multiple players took reps at the Norwell-sized hole between Ryan and Matt Kalil, but the three that took the lead were Taylor Moton, Amini Silatolu and Tyler Larsen. All three also took reps elsewhere, with Moton and Silatolu bumping outside to tackle on occasion and Larsen spelling Kalil on multiple center reps with the first team; both Kalils looked healthy when he was on the field, with Ryan being the first to the sleds during opening drills, sprinting out ahead of the rest of the offensive linemen. It will be a competition at left guard all summer long.
- The second question on most fans’ minds? The safety situation – aside from Mike Adams, there is a big question mark next to him that is – for now at least – being filled by veteran free agent acquisition Da’Norris Searcy, who took most of the first-team reps next to Adams. Perhaps another surprise in the secondary was Kevon Seymour taking reps opposite James Bradberry – again, it’s May, so don’t read too much into this, but Seymour is not going to give up that spot on the outside to Ross Cockrell or Donte Jackson without a fight.
- Speaking of Searcy, he had a tipped-ball interception of Cam Newton that went off the hands of Devin Funchess – people may underestimate Searcy, but he is likely the leader in the clubhouse to start at safety over rookie Rashaan Gaulden.
- Uniform Updates: Multiple wide receivers wore visors today, including Devin Funchess, who I can’t remember wearing the tinted helmet before; CJ Anderson and Curtis Samuel wore sweats on this mild morning where temperatures reached only the high 70s, but Anderson says he has always worn full sweats to practice and plans to wear them in Spartanburg no matter what the temperature is – we’ll see if he sticks to that mantra once we hit triple digits in August.
- Julius Peppers quietly ran back and forth across the practice field instead of participating in drills today. He’s fine – the team is going to manage his workload all spring and during the weeks to make sure he’s ready for Sundays in the fall.
- Graham Gano, fresh off signing a new contract, was calmly banging through 65 yard field goals – at one point, he backed up to 69 yards, but left it short.
- Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, who spent won two Super Bowls with offensive coordinator Norv Turner in Dallas attended practice today – the former quarterback and current FOX analyst will be with the team all week.
- Garrett Gilbert, who Rivera called the “leader in the clubhouse” to be the backup quarterback, looked sharper than his counterparts Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen, at one point hitting a receiver in stride along the sidelines in tight coverage – I’m still of the mindset that the backup quarterback come September is not currently on the roster, but Gilbert might make a strong showing this spring/summer and make the decision a little harder on Rivera and Marty Hurney.
- During offensive line drills, run game coordinator John Matsko was unhappy with the way some of his undrafted rookies broke the huddle before hitting the sled, calling them back before allowing them to make contact and push the sled up the field – “We’re in the NFL now, that’s not how we break in this league!”
- Austin Duke had a terrific leaping catch along the sidelines during team drills, prompting Cam to run down the sidelines to celebrate with the second-year player who spent parts of 2017 on the practice squad. It will be a tough road for Duke with so many faces in the wide receiver room, but he has looked good in both rookie mini-camp and today’s session.
- Kenjon Barner, Fred Ross and Curtis Samuel all worked on the side of the field with trainers during team drills, with Rivera saying that Barner is working his way into shape after being signed last week; Samuel participated in drills and looked fast and agile, cutting with the rest of the wideouts, and said after practice that he is on track in his rehab. Damiere Byrd was a full participant after two stints on IR last season, saying after practice that he has been a full participant in all activities with no restrictions and the leg feels healthy.
Curtis Samuel wasn’t a full participant today, but he says he’s working his way back. Participated in individuals and then worked on the side during team drills. pic.twitter.com/ZudRSC6bD7
— The Riot Report (@RRiotReport) May 22, 2018
- Cam Newton took the snap, took a three-step drop and hit Christian McCaffrey in the flat before the speedy running back turned upfield and accelerated – you probably saw that pattern and pass at least a dozen times last season. This time, Newton turned around and danced as McCaffrey sped down the sidelines – you could tell he felt good to be back.
