“You know what you do when you’re down?”
“You come back.”
Those were the words David Tepper said to a group of Panthers players gathered on the bench during a December practice, five games into the seven game losing streak that would define their 2018 season.
In the midst of that losing streak, the best tight end and quarterback in franchise history – apologies to Wesley Walls and Jake Delhomme – would be shut down after injuries that they’d battled the entire season became too much for them to fight through.
In the midst of that losing streak, the coach who is two wins from becoming the winningest coach in Panthers history had his job security questioned in a small, dingy room in the bowels of Raymond James Stadium.
In the midst of that losing streak, two Panthers legends watched the final season of their careers turn into a forgettable year that fans hope to forget. After the season, another legend was sent away to land on another coast.
Heroes turned to goats. Young players were exposed by veterans. People lost their jobs. Fans lost their minds.
But what did the Panthers do when that losing streak – and with it, the season – was over?
They came back.
A regular season filled with promise that then turned to dust was followed by an offseason that energized the fanbase- offensive line depth was an issue, so Marty Hurney went and signed the best available center. Pass rushers couldn’t reach the quarterback so the Panthers signed two and drafted another as Ron Rivera changed the way his defense operated. After spending years adding weapons on the outside, the Panthers turned to the men closest to the ball to improve their roster in 2019.
After seven months of the bad taste of a lost season, the comeback began tonight at Gibbs Stadium.
“Everybody was looking for a fresh start,” said second-year corner Donte Jackson, who began the season with four interceptions in the first eight games and had none the rest of the way. “When we came back in OTA’s, that was the message – just put that year behind us and start moving towards this year and the only thing we’re trying to do this year is win games.”
Some rookies, like Brian Burns and Greg Little, will have to ease their way in and earn their spots. While both are expected to contribute – Little seems to have the inside track to start at left tackle in Week 1 – neither was practicing with the first team when practice opened Thursday night.
For some players, it’s about developing new skills – whether it’s Mario Addison getting used to dropping back in a 3-4, Shaq Thompson transitioning into a veteran leader or Daryl Williams taking reps at guard in addition to tackle – but for others, it’s not necessarily about what happens on the field, it’s simply staying on it.
“If I can stay healthy, specifically if my foot continues to be as good as it has been the last couple of months,” said Greg Olsen, who hasn’t been restricted during the offseason after missing 16 games over the past two years, suffering the same broken bone on two different occasions. “I know what I’m able to do, I know what I’m capable of doing. That’s really the only thing that’s prevented me from being productive or having a good season. Sometimes those things are just out of your control, so you just play and do everything you can to prevent those things.”
“But I’ve yet to find anything that prevents broken bones.”
The first pass of team drills went from Newton to Olsen for a solid gain in the flats.
It’s the same story for Curtis Samuel, who spent move-in day this week talking about how important it is to stay healthy after scoring seven touchdowns in limited time last season.
“The main thing with me is just staying healthy. As long as I stay out there, I’m going to be a producer,” said Samuel, looking positively giddy about the possibility of a full training camp and season.
Samuel caught a 40-yard deep shot for a long score.
Ditto for Daryl Williams, who signed a one-year ‘prove it’ deal after suffering a catastrophic knee injury during the first half of Week 1 in 2018 and opened practice at left tackle with the first team.
But the most important health status revolves around Cam Newton, whose shoulder soreness devolved to the point where he didn’t trust the body that had won him the MVP in 2015, the Heisman Trophy and all the accolades he’s earned since picking up a football.
“I think he was seeing everything well and then it got to the point where he could see it but he physically couldn’t do it,” quarterbacks coach Scott Turner said about Newton in 2018. “I don’t think that had ever happened to him in his life before.”
Tonight’s fresh start was especially encouraging for Newton, who entered practice without his usual aplomb, walking quietly down the hill and onto the practice field before becoming the Cam-At-Practice we’ve come to know and love over the course of his career in Carolina – talking trash, interacting with the crowd – and, most importantly, throwing accurate deep balls.
Because it doesn’t matter what happened last year. It doesn’t matter that the Panthers lost seven straight. It doesn’t matter that they missed the playoffs.
Every year is a fresh start.
“It’s how you get back up when you lose,” Tepper said to Cam Newton, Mike Adams, Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, Captain Munnerlyn and Eric Reid on that cold December day – only half of whom are still on the team. “That’s what matters.”
“That’s the truth.”
Page Two: More Observations From Training Camp Kickoff
