The Panthers made an obvious effort to improve their pass rush during the offseason, adding Brian Burns, Bruce Irvin and Gerald McCoy – while a huge part of the pass rush is getting sacks, forcing fumbles, stopping the run and other direct effects of rushing the passer, there’s an indirect aspect of getting to the quarterback quickly. If you can force the quarterback to make mistakes, your chances of forcing interceptions goes up exponentially – but the secondary has to catch it first.
That’s one of the reasons why Ron Rivera and the Panthers have been trying out Ross Cockrell at free safety and one of the reasons why James Bradberry – as he’s admittedly been saying for the past couple of seasons – says his goal for the season is to improve his turnover production. And thus far in camp, those turnovers have been few and far between, with the only interception of consequence during team drills coming from Shaq Thompson on a Mario Addison batted pass in the backfield.
Until today.
Rashaan Gaulden picked off a pass in the end zone and James Bradberry jumped a Curtis Samuel route in the red zone to pick off Cam Newton – much to the quarterback’s chagrin – to highlight a good day for the Panthers secondary; the secondary has been the source of question this offseason, with the nickel cornerback and free safety slot still up for debate. While those pieces may soon be falling into place, it will likely take the entirety of the preseason before a starter is crowned at either spot – and even then, they may not be the final answer.
For now, here are some storylines we noticed from the Panthers training camp session on Wednesday morning:
- While most will talk about Luke Kuechly exiting practice – and rightly so – this will probably be a storyline that lingers for a while. Ron Rivera was noncommittal when it came to his status for future practices and the team is under no obligation to announce whether Kuechly has a head injury or a pulled quad or back tightness or was simply held out to be ‘overly cautious’ as Rivera said, until the first injury report comes out Week 1. The thought that they held him out because it was expected to be ‘overly hot’ seems a little dubious, but the team would be foolish to be anything but incredibly cautious with their five-time All-Pro linebacker that has had (at least) three concussions in his career. Expect to see more of second-year ‘backer Jermaine Carter, Jr.
- The Gaulden interception was of particular note because it didn’t just involve Gaulden – Kevon Seymour, who Rivera said has ‘caught their attention’ and is in the mix to be one of the top three or four corners on the roster, tipped a Kyle Allen deep ball directly into Gaulden’s hands. Gaulden, who has been trading off reps with Ross Cockrell at the free safety position, got his first-team reps at the ‘big nickel’ position today while Cockrell took the majority of the free safety reps with the first team. Gaulden played the nickel in college at Tennessee, so it makes sense that they’d want to give him a shot there. Rivera said after practice that they were experimenting with their rotation in the secondary and that will continue. So – again – don’t expect the competition to be closed anytime soon.
- Gaulden had his best day – at least from my perspective – and I’m not sure whether it was working with the second team at safety or his reps at the nickel spot, but whenever I watched him in coverage, he looked smooth and decisive. Excited to see more from him as the Panthers prepare for their first preseason game next week.
- Speaking of the secondary, James Bradberry not only had an interception, he also had some great tight coverage on DJ Moore during team drills early in practice. Bradberry was, unfortunately, the victim of a Samuel – likely the offensive MVP of the first week of camp – route that was absolutely picture perfect. Not much Bradberry could have done about that.
Remember when Norv Turner credit Curtis Samuel for his improved route running the other day? Not much James Bradberry could do about this. pic.twitter.com/Aztajr76Y6
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) July 31, 2019
- With the Spartanburg weather keeping some of their depth offensive linemen off the field, the team worked out four offensive linemen during the tail end of their practice session today. They also had a kicker on hand taking some reps – it wouldn’t be shocking to see them sign one with Graham Gano finishing the season on injured reserve. I’m not sure a kicker would pose a threat to Gano; a signing would not only drive some competition, but would potentially save some miles on Gano’s legs as the team runs through special teams drills.
- Cam Newton was throwing again today – I’m not sure when this will stop being news – and he had a beauty of a throw to Greg Olsen up the seam, who pulled it in with one hand over Donte Jackson. Certainly the offensive play of the day – although offensive line guys would probably cast their vote for Greg Van Roten pancaking Jared Norris on a goalline drill.
- It was a tough day for Aldrick Robinson, who is trying to make the roster and has gotten some run as a deep threat with the first team, but he had a Kyle Allen deep ball that dropped into his hands from 40 yards away slip through his fingers after he beat Lorenzo Doss and promptly dropped another ball over the middle. Doss, to his credit, had a good series with a PBU and a breakup of a screen pass as he attempts to make his presence felt in the secondary.
- Sixth-round pick Dennis Daley has been moved all over the line – he’s gotten reps at both guard spots and took some left tackle snaps today. We know they like offensive linemen with position flexibility and he certainly has it. Also at left tackle, Greg Little started the day with the first team there during rushing drills, but Daryl Williams continued to take the majority of the snaps at the all-important spot.
