‘Vet days’ are a part of life during the Carolina training camp where the temperatures in Spartanburg can reach triple digits and the sun can force players running for shade or, if they’re unlucky, onto a cart into the building to get treated for dehydration.

So over the course of Ron Rivera’s tenure with the Panthers, he and the rest of the staff have been careful to give players – especially veterans, plenty of rest as they go through training camp. Last season, it seemed as if Julius Peppers had more rest days than practice reps – same went for Ryan Kalil in what turns out to be the final NFL run for both players.

Saturday, the first padded practice of camp, was no different – veterans wearing bucket hats instead of helmets included Greg Olsen, Matt Paradis and Daryl Williams. But while all vets take ‘mental reps’ during their off days, Mario Addison spent the majority of his doing something a little bit different – teaching.

“It speaks to guys stepping up and taking a leadership mantel, that’s what you want,” Ron Rivera said about vets using their off-time wisely. “You want the voice of experience for these young guys, the Brian Burns’ and the Christian [Millers] to hear those things that they can learn from the things they’ve been through.”

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Addison stood next to the line of edge rushers as they did individual drills with coach Sam Mills III, staring at the feet of rookies Brian Burns and Christian Miller as they practiced their get off. He then switched positions so he could correct the angles of Marquis Haynes and, along with Bruce Irvin, who also had the day off, lauded Brian Burns on a particularly good rep.

I asked the always gregarious Addison after practice if coaching was in his future and he slyly shook his head.

“I don’t have the patience for it.”

He proved to be a pretty good coach Saturday, taking time to slow down an arm counter and explain exactly where Brian Burns should put his hands – his left hand underneath with his right arm coming over the top – when he’s attacking an offensive lineman and notices them leaning in the wrong direction.

It’s a move he’s used many times before, with great success, as he’s led or tied for the team lead in sacks the past three season. And then, later in practice, this happened.

“That’s the purpose of doing the drills – anywhere you go, you’ll hear them say that we’re not going to drills that aren’t going to help you with your job. Anytime you get to do it in the team period and you’re successful at it, it does feel good that you worked on it in the drill earlier in the day,” said rookie Christian Miller, who also benefited from Addison’s tutelage. “If you’re not trying to bring those skills along to the team period, you’re wasting your time.”

“The more you do it, the better you’ll be at it [and] the less you’ll have to think about it – that’s the ultimate goal. You want to be able to go out there and perform fast without having to think so much.”

A particular pass rush move translating step-by-step from individuals to one-on-ones to team drills to practice to games on Sunday is exactly what you want for rookies – and, for that matter, veterans – to get out of training camp; that’s why you do the extra work.

Even when you have the day off.

Josh Klein on Twitter
Josh Klein
Editor-In-Chief at The Riot Report
Josh Klein is Editor-In-Chief of The Riot Report. His favorite Panther of all time is Chad Cota and he once AIM chatted with Kevin Greene. Follow Josh on Twitter @joshkleinrules.