The second week of Carolina Panthers OTAs began Tuesday in a steady downpour, but as Cam Newton jogged onto the field as the team finished up their stretches, the umbrellas were slowly lowered in the media area – and an hour into the spirited session, sunglasses were necessary. One could probably find a metaphor about the gloomy feeling that overshadowed last offseason with Newton unable to participate due to shoulder surgery compared to this season that features a fully healthy Newton to accompany offseason acquisitions DJ Moore, CJ Anderson and Dontari Poe – but let’s look at it a different way. With the sun shining, the slick practice fields may have dried enough to keep everyone healthy as the Panthers slowly install new offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s offense and get used to some new faces on defense – staying healthy during offseason activities, especially those in May, is hands down more important than anything else that might happen on those practice fields.
Here were some things we noticed throughout the practice session:
- Wide receiver Fred Ross, as he did last week, worked on the sidelines with a trainer. Joining him on the sidelines was defensive tackle Vernon Butler, who started the session on the bike and worked on the side after participating last week. Guard Trai Turner wasn’t on the field today, nor was Julius Peppers, but these sessions are completely voluntary, not to mention that vets may be working out separately inside the building.
- As tight ends Greg Olsen and Chris Manhertz worked with the quarterbacks early in the session running routes and catching passes, Alex Armah, Jason Vander Laan and Ian Thomas stayed on the opposite side of the field to work on blocking drills – Thomas remarked when he was drafted that he knew blocking was something he was going to have to work on as he transitioned to the NFL.
- Music was played throughout the entirety of practice, something I’m not sure I remember from other practice sessions – usually it cuts off after stretching. It is probably one of many small changes will see as the team gets used to both a new owner and a new set of assistant coaches; selections for the session included Jay-Z and DMX, along with multiple other songs I was definitely too old to recognize.
- Taylor Moton got the first reps with the first team offensive line at left guard, but he was mirrored on the other side by Amini Silatolu with Turner not practicing – between Moton, Larsen, Silatolu and Jeremiah Sirles, there were a multitude of options at the guard position. This competition is going to last all the way until August – don’t be surprised if the lineman at the top of the depth chart in Spartanburg is different from the one that is starting against Dallas.
- Tyler Larsen, as he did last week, spelled Ryan Kalil for snaps with the first team offensive line. Kalil looked healthy and spry, hitting the blocking sled with vigor and getting out next to his brother on pulling drills. During initial drills, the lineman were split into two groups, the “first” group (for lack of a better term) consisted of Larsen, both Kalils, Sirles, Moton, Silatolu, Daryl Williams and Greg Van Roten; this group worked with John Matsko while the other linemen practiced with other assistants.
We feel your pain. That being said – here’s a video of the Kalil brothers. pic.twitter.com/Xhxfm31TUf
— The Riot Report (@RRiotReport) May 29, 2018
- During team drills, Bryan Cox, Jr. blew by newly signed lineman Quinterrius Eatmon for what would have been a sack had they allowed contact – in a defensive end room that has so much talent, it will be a tough road for Cox to playing time, but he showed last season that he deserves to at least get a shot.
- A beautifully thrown ball resulted in a back of the end zone touchdown catch for Torrey Smith during red zone drills – he knows how to find his way open, especially in zone coverage. Damiere Byrd also had a nice practice and was singled out by Ron Rivera afterwards; he had a particularly nice sideline grab on a well-thrown ball from Taylor Heinicke.
- Rivera said after practice that he feels that the backup quarterback is currently on the roster – neither Heinicke nor Garrett Gilbert or Kyle Allen particularly starred today; none looked sharp enough to take the reins if Cam Newton were to get injured.
- Curtis Samuel’s rehab continue, as he participated in team drills today – he had a nice catch as well.
- The most fun part of practice sessions continues to be watching the special teams unit interact – at one point, Graham Gano was punting the ball to Michael Palardy; at another, they were tossing the ball back and forth only to have one of the passes intercepted by longsnapper JJ Jansen, who flipped the ball behind his head in an ersatz touchdown celebration. In real news, Palardy was absolutely drilling coffin corner punts, punting from the 40 and leaving them inside the five.
- Colin Jones took some first-team reps at safety, but the defensive secondary was rotating consistently throughout team drills; it was hard to tell when the “first team” was on the field – one thing that was clear was third-round pick Rashaan Gaulden taking an interception to the end zone – he was being chased by 6’8 tackle Zach Banner before Banner eventually gave up on the rookie. James Bradberry, Kevon Seymour, DaNorris Searcy and Mike Adams got the starts again this week and Jones took snaps next to both Adams and Searcy at points during practice.
- For all the talk about new weapons, the Newton to Olsen connection looked as smooth as ever.
See you next week!
