Panthers Training Camp Report

Let me start by saying that this year’s coverage of the Panthers training camp by Panthers.com and Charlotte.com are much better than last year. The updates are timely and fairly comprehensive so some of the things I’m going to report have already been mentioned elsewhere.  

I drove the three hours from my home to see the Monday afternoon session and returned that night. As expected it was hot and humid and the gnats were in full force. The 6:40pm start time also resulted in a pretty big crowd of fans. I was immediately disappointed that the players were not in full pads, donning shorts instead which means there won’t be any real hitting. I was even more bummed to see that Jonathan Stewart, DJ Hackett and Steve Smith were not dressed though it gave more chances for other players to get reps. The final kicker is that though Jake was dressed he never threw the ball during drills, instead playing safety against the offense on certain drills.

Executive Summary:

·         As reported this morning, Keydrick Vincent rejoined the 1^st team at RG and Toniu Fonoti returned to the 2^nd team. Here’s what Fox had to say about it:

Right guard Keydrick Vincent, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, practiced with the first team. Toniu Fonoti, another free agent, had been with the first team when training camp opened. Coach John Fox said not to read anything into it and no decision has been made. They're just getting Vincent a look with the other starters.

I guess Fox is going to rotate them to see who provides the best combination with Otah and Kalil. Also, it looks like Milford Brown is in line to back-up Travelle Wharton at LG. 

·         As expected the defense is way ahead of the offense. In a 3^rd down drill the offense struggled to hit the quick outs before the rush got to the QB. It was nice to see the various blitzes from all angles and that they looked quick and fairly effective.

·         I thought DE Tyler Brayton had a good practice. He was very spirited and was bringing it to RT Jeff Otah at every opportunity. He also made a nice play in a later drill shutting down a screen pass to DeAngelo Williams. I saw nothing to make me think anyone else was going to beat him out.

·         WR Dwayne Jarrett appeared a lot looser and displayed confidence in his route running. Last year he appeared very tight in camp which we later learned why. He made some nice catches but did have a bomb down the left sideline from QB Lester Ricard go off his finger tips.

·         I no longer see Richard Marshall supplanting either Chris Gamble or Ken Lucas at CB. It’s not that Marshall did anything wrong, though I thought Chris Gamble had a nice practice. Marshall has a key role on special teams as both a gunner on coverage and a gunner blocker on punts. I think Fox will let him focus on being the nickel corner and special team star one more season in order to not overload him mentally. Both Lucas and Gamble are good CB’s so I see no incentive to change

·         I would not have expected Na’il Diggs to compete at strong side LB but it appears that is exactly what’s coming to fruition. Since Landon Johnson is still in learning mode Diggs just may hold onto the starting spot for a while right into game one. Adam Seward is doing a nice job backing up Jon Beason so I’m not sure where that leaves Dan Conner. I don’t think the Panthers will need him this season so he may just ride the pine for a while.

·         DT Maake Kemoeatu is lining up on the right side with Peppers whereas he was on the left last season. That may have already been reported so maybe I missed it

·         Jeff King had a nice practice, catching everything thrown his way and looking good in the blocking drills. I left not worried about whether either Dante Rosario or Barnidge will contribute this season as King can get it done

·         With Smitty sitting out Travis Taylor got a lot of reps and he looked pretty good. Moose of course looked like a young guy instead of his 35 years of age. The guy stays in great shape.

·         Last season the Panthers did not defend the middle of the field very well on 3^rd down. I bet that improves dramatically this season with a more experienced Jon Beason. This guy is all over the field and will certainly improve on his INT stats this season. He’s making better reads on the ball and his quick hands are disrupting passes

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Here some details of the practice drill-by-drill. You’ll notice I focused more on the offense than the defense.

First out of the locker room was Matt Moore, Brett Basanez, Jeff King and Brad Hoover.

Drill #1: Each coach worked with their respective units on walkthroughs. For example, I watched the LB’s work on covering the RB out of the backfield and the short crossing routes. On a comical note, Na’il Diggs in a black bandana reminds me of Damon Wayans in the movie The Last Boy Scout. After the horn the team then went into stretching (pictured below)

Drill #2: Offense/Defense/Special team breakouts – In these drills the 1^st team offense skill positions line up against a collection of the 2^nd and 3^rd team and run sets of plays, rotating out the QB’s.  The defense does the same on the other field. These are at ¾ speed so it’s more about the timing and route running. Jeff King made a nice over-the-shoulder catch on a downfield route. All the while this was going on I could hear the offensive line pounding the sled and making quite a racket.

I saw the tail end of the QB accuracy drill where each QB drops back to the 17 and tries to ring a cylinder placed in the left corner and back center of the end zone. See the FanShot in the right side bar for a detailed account. I’ll be posting more pictures as the week goes on so check back though I must warn, I need a better camera (any stringers out there who want to contribute their pictures?)

Drill #3: Offense vs. Defense – Starting out 11 on 11, the focus was more on the short routes with a few deep balls mixed in

-          With Matt Moore (MM) at QB – Gamble hit Thompson early on a crossing pattern, breaking it up. MM then hit Taylor on a crossing pattern and Moose got loose on the right side line, taking a curl up field.

-          With Brett Basanez (BB) at QB – The plays in order: Nate Salley almost got an INT on a crossing pattern to Robinson though he still made the catch; Outlet to D-Will; dump off to Carter. I thought BB did a nice job with his drop back and check-offs though his throws were not always on the money

-          With Lester Ricard (LR) at QB - nice diving catch by King in the flat; just missed Jarrett long; missed Robinson on a deep cross though he broke open; completed slants to Robinson and then King

-          They then switched to 7 on 7 while the offensive and defensive lines faced off on short yardage running plays. This provided the biggest hits of the evening with both sides of the ball winning their share of plays. Amongst the mayhem it appeared Vincent and Otah got a nice push on the right side on several plays. D-Will and Toefield got the majority of the carries with Toefield looking pretty good. He has good wiggle for a guy his size and I can see him contributing significantly this season

Drill #4: 11 on 11 with downs being incremented; the defense again blitzed about every play with offense showing pass

-          MM at QB - Brayton shut down a flare to D-will; on 3^rd and long Toefield dropped a well set up screen pass

-          BB ran a QB sneak that worked; hit Taylor on the left side short; DT Nick Hayden ran over G Mackenzy Bernadeau on a pass to Taylor short right, with Mackenzy smacking the ground in frustration

Drill #5: Punting Unit – It appeared the focus was on blocking a punt and blocking the opposing gunners. CB’s Richard Marshall and Dante Wesley played 1^st team gunners and gunner blocking. They also practiced double teaming the opposing gunners. One thing that confused me was the focus on blocking a punt where WR’s Dwayne Jarrett and Chris Hannon were rushing from the edge for the block. I can’t imagine they are the 1^st team options for this assignment but who knows. Maybe someone else can help explain that.

Drill #6: 11 on 11 with downs being incremented; the nickel defense was blitzing and the offense ran the quick hitters

-          MM at QB – Short out to King; another to Toefield that was almost an INT for Beason; Taylor makes a nice snag on a deep out pattern getting both feet down;  short pass to Cater and then Robinson

-          BB at QB – over the middle to Toe; left flat to Troy Fleming; threw behind Thompson

-          LR at QB – Left flat to Birmingham after making his reads; drop by Barnidge; Taylor makes a nice grab over the middle in traffic; nice timing pattern to the left to Carter with a smooth catch;

-          MM at QB – SS Harris blitz beat the throw; bad pass to Moose; Gamble defends a short out pattern; Screen to D-Will left side, crashed by Brayton

-          BB at QB – Hard count gets two players to jump; missed a deep cross to Robinson as the blitz by Johnson would’ve worked (he pulled up of course); quick out to Toe

Drill #7: Punt Returns – the focus was on blocking the opposing gunner s and setting up the return; Robinson and Birmingham fielded the punts; gunners were again Marshall and Wesley; others on the punt blocking team were Jarrett, Seward, Charles Johnson, James Anderson, Birmingham and Holt.

Rookies honoring the tradition of slepping the veterans gear after practice: Hayden, Godfrey, JStew and Otah.  I wonder which rookie is going to be taped to the goalpost when camp breaks? Could there be a correlation? Hmmm…

Bubble Watch – In my book anybody drafted after the 4^th round and all UDFA’s are automatically on the Bubble Watch list..ie in danger of getting cut. After seeing him get bull–rushed by fellow rookie Nick Hayden I have moved 7^th round pick G Mackenzy Bernadeau to the top (or bottom, whichever is worse in your book) of the list. Let us hope Mac picks it up because no one likes to cut a draft pick.

END OF REPORT