“What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.”
-Dean Inge, English Author
With apologies to Uproxx’s Brandon Stroud – who I’ve stolen this format from directly – let’s try to take a macro view of Carolina Panthers training camp, which ended with a whimper today as Cam Newton had perhaps his worst practice session of the entire summer. While Cam may have played poorly today – in fact, he seemed sour the entire session, even as he walked down the hill instead of his traditional ‘yelling jog’ that he does to enter the fields – that doesn’t mean that his camp wasn’t successful; a full camp in which Newton was able to bond with his new wide receivers and offensive coordinator in addition to throwing everyday is a good thing. The amount of work that Newton did with DJ Moore, Greg Olsen and Jarius Wright is going to show up immediately when the Panthers enter the regular season.
See, we’ve already started and you didn’t even notice – without further adieu, the Best and Worst of Panthers Training Camp in 2018.
Best: The Year of 54
LB David Mayo was a fan of Shaq’s interception on July 18th
Shaq Thompson was downright spectacular for most of training camp, and as he enters his fourth year in the league, he’s going to have to continue that play into the regular season – with Thomas Davis suspended for the first four games (and apparently attending them as a fan, according to a recent interview) – Thompson is expected to play 100% of the snaps, as he did last year when Davis missed games. Thompson was all over the field in Spartanburg, racking up interceptions, “tackles” (there’s no tackling in camp), and forced fumbles almost daily. At one point, he drew a comparison to former Bears linebacker Wilber Marshall from Ron Rivera – that energy translated from the practice fields to the stadium, as he secured the Panthers’ lone turnover Thursday night in Buffalo.
Best: Get Your Popcorn Ready
Yeah, it’s silly. But we all stood up and paid attention when Kelvin Benjamin’s comments regarding Cam Newton surfaced the weekend before they would meet for the first time as opponents on the gridiron. And their confrontation, all captured on glorious silent video so everyone could become a body language expert for a day, was everything the Panthers’ fans wanted. The actual action on the field may have granted the advantage to Benjamin when he had four catches for 59 yards on the first drive and scored a touchdown – while Newton would clap back by leading a touchdown drive of his own, the former Panther was almost certainly very happy with the outcome. A silly preseason story that we won’t think about once the regular season starts, but it was fun while it lasted.
Worst: Come On, Not Again
DB Ross Cockrell suffered a leg injury on the last play of practice – July 30.
Between Daryl Williams screaming in pain as he dislocated his patella and tore his MCL and cornerback Ross Cockrell breaking two bones in his leg – the last one came with an audible snap and Cockrell shouting “My leg is broke!” – the Panthers lost two key contributors in the span of 72 hours to injuries. Although Williams may return for the second half of the season, he is expected to begin the year on injured reserve – Taylor Moton has taken Williams’ place at right tackle and he has played well as he adjusts to the speed of the NFL and taking every snap. Moton was expected to vie for the left guard spot, but that position has been in flux since the spring as the team has taken a look at Tyler Larsen, Greg Van Roten and even undrafted free agent Brendan Mahon at the crucial interior lineman position. While Van Roten is currently in the lead, this competition isn’t done – the man starting today may not get the nod against Dallas in Week 1 and the starter in Week 1 may not be the guy starting in Week 6.
Best/Worst: “Whew Doggie, It’s A Toaster Out Here”
While the Spartanburg heat wasn’t as oppressive as it can be for some of the days, there were some days that had the players running to the tent and treelines for the slightest hint of shade. Ron Rivera praised the training staff – even giving them his coveted “Camp MVP” award – for keeping the players hydrated and able to play through temperatures that rose above 90 and humidity levels that felt about the same; even with the trainers’ constant efforts, players cramped up as they sweated profusely. Also, Greg Olsen said “Whew Doggie, it’s a toaster!” to Luke Kuechly on one of the most brutal days of camp and I wanted to ensure that phrase lives on forever.
Best: The Wright Stuff
Everyone expected Torrey Smith and DJ Moore to have a huge impact on the wide receiver room, but now that training camp is over, it’s clear that the seven-year vet from Arkansas that spent time with Norv Turner in Minnesota is going to be seeing the ball a fair amount as well. Wright lined up all over the field and caught passes everywhere from the backfield to up the seam to in the end zone down the sidelines. It’s not just third down where Wright will make an impact – his 28-yard catch-and-run on Thursday night in Buffalo in which he showed just how elusive he can be as he breaks tackles – was on second down.
Up Next: Rookies, Fun Memories, and CJ Anderson
