On what seemed like the hottest day of Carolina Panthers training camp so far, a weekend crowd was treated to both the good and the bad of training camp, seeing multiple turnovers and mistakes throughout a day that was highlighted by excellent play from the secondary. As we’re doing with every practice, we’ll be examining the biggest storylines of the day. Training camp ebbs and flows; there will be good days and bad days for almost all players, so it’s important to remember not to overreact to these daily recaps. A good day yesterday does not ensure a Pro Bowl selection, and a bad day doesn’t mean that the season is over. If the story remains the same, then the storylines of the day slowly become the storylines of the week, which slowly become the storylines of the preseason. The key is not to overreact to individual plays or practices. With that being said:
A Bad Day For Cam
Coming off of offseason shoulder surgery, the team’s franchise quarterback has been held in check by the coaching staff, on a “pitch count” for certain practices, and not being allowed to throw as deep as he might like in others. During the first part of practice, Newton certainly looked rusty, throwing consecutive interceptions in team drills as well as a pass intended for Russell Shepard that was picked off by Dean Marlowe during one-on-one drills. He also seemed to make a poor decision on a particular play where Damiere Byrd was open across the middle and Newton chose to go deep to Russell Shepard in double coverage “He started a little bit slow which we saw,” said head coach Ron Rivera, “but we’ll see that; and then as he starts rolling and starts getting going again, he seems to finish strong.” The last session of team drills saw Newton roll out and hit Greg Olsen for a nice gain before making what may have been his best throw of training camp, a completion downfield to Devin Funchess which went into an extremely tight window between safety Mike Adams, cornerback Daryl Worley, and just over the outstretched fingertips of safety Kurt Coleman. Newton finished up his day with a touchdown up the seam to backup tight end Ed Dickson.
A Good Day For The Secondary
When the quarterback has a bad day, that usually means the secondary had a good one, and Saturday’s practice was no exception. The team had five interceptions on the day, including four in team drills by Mike Adams, Daryl Worley, Cole Luke and Colin Jones, and another during one-on-ones. It’s extremely difficult for the defense to “win” the one-on-ones, as they are on an island against a wide receiver who has the entire field and endless moves to work with, but safety Dean Marlowe jumped a Russell Shepard route for the interception and undrafted free agent Cole Luke was able to reach in and break up a pass intended for Austin Duke. Luke, who may have passed Zack Sanchez on the depth chart, impressed for most of the day, taking snaps with the first, second, and third team defenses at the nickel cornerback position. With rookie Corn Elder on the shelf for at least a month, and expected starter Captain Munnerlyn targeting a Tuesday return to practice, Luke is making quite an impression on the coaching staff, playing well in the past two practices, including an interception this morning. “He’s taking advantage, he had a real good day of practice today, he’s a young guy that we see growing in that role,” Ron Rivera said, hinting that Luke’s experience playing inside corner in college may have helped him. “When you watch him, he anticipates nicely, you watch him get himself into position, and anytime you get yourself into position, you have a chance to make a play.”
Nagging Injuries
There were no cramps today as the team took plenty of water breaks to combat the Spartanburg humidity, but left tackle Dan France and defensive tackle Kyle Love both were held out of practice as precautions. Charles Johnson also was held out of practice, but it was reported by Bill Voth that it may have been a veteran’s rest day. Continuing to be held out of practice, both with nagging hamstring injuries, were cornerback Captain Munnerlyn and rookie wide receiver Curtis Samuel. Munnerlyn is targeting a Tuesday return, but Samuel’s injury may be indicative of a larger issue, as he has been dealing with hamstring issues since at least his 2015 campaign at Ohio State, when he barely played for three games in the middle of the season, only touching the ball three times during that stretch. Rookies need as many reps as possible, and Samuel has barely practiced, missing most of OTAs with the hamstring issue and only practicing once during training camp. Rookie cornerback Corn Elder is expected to miss at least 4-6 weeks with a patella stress fracture, but the team is not putting a timeline on his return, as a patella stress fracture is an injury with a wide range. The injury could easily require surgical fixation and a long time to heal; he could be out for 6 weeks or the entire season, depending on multiple factors.
Another Day, Two Wide Receivers
While the past few days of practice have alternated nice performances by wide receivers fighting for the fifth wide receiver spot, today featured performances by Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess that will continue to cement their positions at the top of the depth chart. Aside from spending some time with wide receivers coach Lance Taylor during practice, Benjamin and Funchess both made tremendous catches during one-on-one drills with the Panthers’ starting cornerbacks defending them, highlighted by Funchess making a great catch in which he shielded Daryl Worley from the ball with his body, going up high and securing the ball at it’s highest point.
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