Before practice officially began, the offensive line was doing some footwork drills – “key protection” drills, coach John Matsko called them.
The gist of the drill was for either the left side of the line or the right side of the line to get into their stance and then simply make contact with the ‘defender’ – who was actually just another offensive lineman – in front of them. It was more of a way to get loose and for Matsko to ensure that each lineman was using the correct footwork to end up in the spot that the coaches wanted them to if everything broke correctly than a test of skill.
The right side went first, Taylor Moton, Trai Turner and Matt Paradis lining up and popping into a blocking stance; then it was the left side’s turn for Paradis, Greg Van Roten and Daryl Williams – the players taking most of the first team reps the first two days of camp – to pop into blocking stance and take a couple steps into the backfield.
On the other side of the ball, mirroring Williams’ movements and keeping his eyes pasted on the veteran’s feet, was rookie tackle Greg Little, who was expected to start at left tackle but thus far has taken reps with the second team and the starters only near the end of the first two sessions. Little was clearly trying to soak up exactly what Williams was doing and emulate it.
Because training camp is for learning – and that’s what Little aims to do.
Here are some other observations I took away from today’s practice session:
- First to practice Award went to tight end Marcus Baugh. I know you missed these and I forgot to let you know that yesterday’s winner was Kitt O’Brien.
- With Torrey Smith, Jermaine Carter and Brandon Chubb still on PUP list, the only other Panther to not participate in practice was defensive tackle Destiny Vaeao, who worked on the side. Guard Dorian Johnson was also carted off near the end of the session.
- Cam Newton threw again – Ron Rivera said after practice that he hasn’t reached his ‘pitch count’ in either session thus far – and uncorked two deep balls, but neither was complete. He underthrew DJ Moore on a shot to the left sideline and floated one to the right sideline that was eventually broken up by Rashaan Gaulden – either way, good to see Newton continuing to throw without limitations or setbacks. It will be interesting to see if he throws tomorrow during the team’s first padded practice – an AM practice following a PM practice seems like a good day for rest.
- During individual drills, new running back coach Jake Peetz broke out a new contraption called ‘The Mama’ that forced the running backs to get low into their stance and then explode upwards into a block. An interesting way to teach good technique for pass protection to be sure. Not surprisingly, the player that performed the best was – of course – Christian McCaffrey.
- Speaking of McCaffrey, he was one of four pass catchers who worked on the side with Newton – the others were DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel and Jarius Wright – during a special teams section of practice. It has been interesting to see how they’ve tried to keep Newton loose – he’s been throwing lightly consistently throughout practice; even after uncorking a deep ball, he turned around and threw a couple of short passes while the team huddled up.
- Sixth-round pick Dennis Daley, who played a lot of left tackle at South Carolina, has been taking some reps at guard – specifically, I saw him at right guard – this coaching staff truly values position flexibility and if Daley can show value at both guard and tackle, then that will increase his chances of making the roster.
- Brian Burns is FAST. He has been piling up the ‘sacks’ the past couple of days, zipping around tackles to get to the quarterback and showing the elite get-off and bend that made him the Panthers’ first-round pick. Burns absolutely whipped Greg Little for the second day in a row as he motored around the edge; I’m interested to see how that battle looks in pads. It’s a lot easier for a defender to win against an offensive lineman – especially a quick, light defender like Burns – when the players are in shells. But Panthers fans have every right to like what they see thus far from Burns.
- While we’re talking about getting to the quarterback for a sack, you know that highlight you’re seeing of Jarius Wright making a diving grab on the sidelines? That wouldn’t have counted – it would have been a Bruce Irvin sack, you can see him fly by behind Newton as he dipped under and around Daryl Williams and yelled ‘SACK SACK SACK SACK’ after the play was over. Still a great catch by Wright, who has been Mr. Reliable this camp – and for much of last season as well.
What. A. Catch. 😱 pic.twitter.com/ipm2D6me8B
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) July 26, 2019
- After Cam Newton drew the defense offsides, Ron Rivera stepped in and had some words for his defense – who he’s been spending a lot more time with as he’ll be calling the plays in 2019. I’m not trying to get an explicit warning on this column, so let’s just say he encouraged his players to remove a certain body part from a certain other body part and he hoped they did it tout suite. Apparently the coaches told them to watch out for the cadence, and they didn’t – I can share this quote: “Think about what your coach told you!” And then he used another expression that was – well – colorful.
- Some reps/lineups update: Offensive line remained the same as did the starting defense. Corn Elder continues to get the nickel reps with the first team and Terry Godwin got the first punt/kickoff return reps, although there was a host of players for punts (DJ Moore, Jaydon Mickens, Damon Jeanpierre, Chris Hogan, Rashad Ross) and kickoffs (Ross, Mickens, Jeanpierre, and CAP) as well.
