Kevin Avery

#1. Today was the annual Fan Fest event at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. Rain and storms dominated the afternoon but gradually eased up shortly after the 7:00 pm start time for practice.  It was announced that all 62,500 tickets allocated were sold.  A nice sized crowd showed up in spite of the weather.

#2. Vet day off for RG Trai Turner and DT McCoy. CB Kevon Seymour was held out due to concern over his tight hamstring. DB Rashaan Gaulden also sat out with back soreness and tightness. LB Luke Kuechly and CB Donte Jackson were limited to doing just the individual drills and were held out of team drills. RB Elijah Holyfield gave up his #33 jersey to S Tre Boston and switched to #21 jersey. First team defensive reps were played by DB Ross Cockrell at S, DB Cole Luke at nickel CB and LB Jermaine Carter Jr. at MLB. First team offensive reps were played by OL Dennis Daley at RG. S Tre Boston got second team reps on defense.

#3. Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper made himself accessible to the fans as usual. He was seen in the 200 and 300 concourse areas talking with fans and also taking pictures. You can never tell this man is worth $11 billion dollars by the way he interacts with the fans. He really carries himself like the friendly next door neighbor.

#4. Carolina Panthers running backs coach, Jake Peetz, called out due to his wife going into labor. That allowed female coaching intern Jennifer King to coach the RBs for tonight. This marked the first time in Carolina Panthers franchise history that a woman has coached at this level.

#5. Here are some highlights and standout plays from the 11 on 11 team drills: QB Cam Newton hit WR DJ Moore in the middle of the field for a TD pass. Then, Newton did his traditional “Sunday Giveaway” routine of giving the football to a fan in the front row.  Later on, Newton went deep and connected to a wide open WR Curtis Samuel down the middle of the defense.  RB Holyfield took a run and bounced it to the outside that lead to a TD as he out ran several defenders. FB Alex Armah displayed his power running abilities with a few decent runs that had him dragging a couple of defenders. RB Christian McCaffrey had a very nice one hand grab from a pass by Newton. The defense’s best play was during goal line drills when S Eric Reid stuffed RB Cameron Artis-Payne for a loss on the play.

#6. The practice ended right at 9:00 pm. Players stayed around to sign autographs to fans who were able to make it to the front rows of the different sections. Once that ended the fireworks display began, which is always exciting to watch.

#1. Several players did not practice today, most of which were given a “Vet Day”. QB Cam Newton was scheduled to have this day off. RB Christian McCaffrey, LB Luke Kuechly, TE Greg Olsen, C Matt Paradis, OT Daryl Williams and DT Kawann Short all sat out.  DB Rashaan Gaulden is dealing with some tightness in his back.

#2. G Dorian Johnson and LB Brandon Chubb were waived today due to injuries. The Panthers signed rookie G Rishard Cook, who played at UAB, and K Joey Slye, who played at Virginia Tech but has spent time with the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

#3. S Tre Boston was here today. He spoke with Hurney and Rivera first. Then he spoke with the players on the sidelines,however, he spent the most time with the fans and signing autographs.

#4. QB Kyle Allen and LT Greg Little got all of the 1st team reps on offense today. CB Corn Elder got 1st team reps at nickel CB, too.

#5. During 1 on 1 DL vs. OL drills, several reserve offensive linemen got heavy reps against 1st team defenders. C Tyler Larsen, G Brandon Hearn and OL Dennis Daley actually held their ground fairly well going against NT Dontari Poe, DT Kyle Love and DE/OLB Mario Addison. I was honestly shocked by their results on some reps.

#6. During 1 on 1 WR vs. DB drills, the two standout players today were WRs Aldrick Robinson and Terry Godwin. They simply were winning at the line of scrimmage and catching the ball in stride. Robinson seems to get open with ease and Godwin just catches the ball with a smoothness that is rare for a rookie 7th rounder.

#7. Here were the following highlights during 11 on 11 team drills: WR Torrey Smith had the catch of the day with an amazing 1 hand grab from QB Kyle Allen, as he was being covered by CB Javien Elliott. WR Chris Hogan made a very difficult catch over CB Corn Elder. Today was WR DJ Moore’s time to abuse whatever CB was trying to guard him. First it was CB Donte Jackson that he just snatched the ball over. Next up was CB Josh Thorton, who gave up a few sideline grabs. One of my favorite “Wow” moments was when RB Jordan Scarlett and LB Andre Smith met at the goal line at the same time, jumped up and both came down with the ball. Credit was given to Scarlett for the score, but it honestly could’ve been an interception too. RB Elijah Holyfield finally displayed his abilities today, both running and catching the ball. I do not care about his time in the 40 yard dash. He has quickness and speed that allowed him to make at least 5 plays that resulted in 8 yards or more. It was pretty cool to see LT Greg Little and RT Taylor Moton show some aggression finishing off blocks in the running game. Words of praise kept coming from offensive line coach John Matsko during these drills. LB Christian Miller made about 3 nice plays today. He is effective dropping into coverage more than I initially thought.

#8. My overall impression on today’s practice was, there is some nice talent on the depth chart behind the 1st team players. I truly believe that some players just need to be given enough reps to impact the game. I noticed that there is a lot of communication going on between units on both sides of the ball. Players are really holding themselves accountable and are willing to teach each other techniques that can help make them better. RB Jordan Scarlett had his 1st dropped pass of training camp and you can tell it bothered him. He stayed on the JUGGS machine for 20 consecutive minutes after practice. After 7 practices, I can say that this has been a competitive training camp so far and you can see the foundation for success slowly being built. Still a ton of work left, but I feel confident enough to say that we are trending in the right direction.

#1. WR Chris Hogan is back after missing Monday’s practice with tightness in his back. NFL referees were here today to make calls during team drills. Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper is here as well speaking to media and to the fans.

#2. LB Luke Kuechly walked off the field after a solid collision during 9 vs. 7 drills.  He spent several minutes on the sidelines speaking with head trainer Ryan Vermillion but he never went in the tent to be examined. Vermillion then went to speak with head coach Ron Rivera and LB coach Steve Russ. Kuechly remained on the sidelines the rest of the practice but seemed just fine.

#3. CB Ross Cockrell got all 1st team reps at safety beside S Eric Reid. S Rashaan Gaulden got all 1st team reps at nickel CB. LB Jermaine Carter Jr. got all 1st team reps at MLB in place of Kuechly. CB Kevon Seymour got most of the 1st team reps at outside CB opposite of CB James Bradberry.

#4. WRs DJ Moore, Jaydon Mickens, Chris Hogan and Terry Godwin were sharing all of the punt return reps.

#5. During 1 on 1 DL vs. OL drills, it was an impressive sight watching DT Gerald McCoy and LB/DE Bruce Irvin going against RG Trai Turner and RT Taylor Moton. So many combinations of moves and countermoves were on full display. If this was a best of five basketball series in the playoffs, then McCoy and Irvin won the reps 3 to 2. I felt like I saw the best of all 4 players during this exchange. Also, LB/DE Marquis Haynes, DE Efe Obada, DT Dontari Poe and DT Vernon Butler Jr. were also winning a majority of reps during these drills as well.

#6. During 1 on 1 WR vs. DB drills, Curtis Samuel, once again, shined the brightest among other bright receivers. He did a “shake & bake” move on CB James Bradberry on a slant route that was just sick and so disrespectful. There was literally nothing Bradberry could do but chase Samuel after the catch. WR Torrey Smith got CB Donte Jackson on what looked like a “SLUGO” route aka Slant N Go and beat him deep for a TD score.  Also, WRs Jarius Wright, Chris Hogan, Aldrick Robinson and Terry Godwin looked nice beating coverage to get open as well.

#7. During 11 on 11 team drills, there were plenty of highlights and “Wow” plays made. Let’s start with CB Bradberry picking off a QB Cam Newton pass to WR Curtis Samuel.  I could hear Newton cursing at himself afterwards for making that throw. TE Greg Olsen made a great diving catch on a pass from QB Newton as he was being tightly covered by CB Jackson. S Rashaan Gaulden picked off a deep pass thrown by QB Kyle Allen intended for WR Smith. But next time up QB Allen threw a TD pass to TE Ian Thomas. WR DJ Moore split the double team by CB Seymour and CB Bradberry for a deep TD catch from QB Newton. CB Seymour almost had an interception while covering WR Wright on a QB Will Grier pass. CB Lorenzo Doss made an amazing pass deflection on an intermediate pass to WR Robinson on a QB Grier pass.  S Gaulden had 5 pass deflections rotating back and forth from nickel and safety. S Eric Reid gave a solid hit on TE Olsen to dislodge the ball as he ended up falling on his back. They shook hands afterwards. One of my favorite moments was some pancake blocks by LG Greg Van Roten on LB Jared Norris that lead to a big run by RB Cameron Artis-Payne. OL Dennis Daley also got himself a huge pancake block on DT Kawann Short that got everyone on offense excited, as it sprung RB Christian McCaffrey free for a nice run on the right side of the line.

#8. My overall assessment is that, based on this practice, this team is looking to make each other better. You saw veteran defensive players giving tips and pointing out things that can help offensive players. I’d say, at least 20 players are putting in work after practice is over. The feeling seems to be that they believe the pieces are in place to build a special team. Team chemistry is always strong but it seems to get stronger. I would give today’s “win” to the defense overall. But the offense is also connecting on playmaking “haymakers” as well, to challenge them back. I enjoyed watching this practice a lot.

 

 

#1. QB Cam Newton was a full go today in all drills. OT Daryl Williams and C Matt Paradis did not do any 1 on 1 drills but did all the team drills. Vet day off for DT Gerald McCoy. DT Kyle Love missed practice with a leg injury suffered in Saturday’s practice.

#2. DB Cole Luke got to start at nickel CB with the 1st team defense. CB Ross Cockrell got heavy reps playing at both safety spots. The punt returners today were RB Christian McCaffrey, WR DJ Moore, WR Rashad Ross and WR Terry Godwin.

** Just a fan friendly reminder about 1 on 1 battles during training camp. On every rep one player gets the W and one player gets the L. The player that gets W’s consistently is not a 1st team All Pro. The player that gets L’s consistently is not a bum. DL vs. OL drills favor the defender. WR vs. DB drills favor the receiver. **

#3. During 1 on 1 DL vs. OL drills LB/DE Marquis Haynes continues to show big improvement. I counted him using 4 different moves against 4 different blockers to get free quickly. LB/DE Bruce Irvin showed that he can win with power or speed or elusiveness. I feel like several Panthers fans are sleeping on his abilities because of his age but he can get almost as low as rookie LB/DE Brian Burns. DTs Kawann Short and Vernon Butler Jr. both were successful in taking on double team blocks and splitting them. DL coach Sam Mills III was very hyped in giving them their praises.

#4. During 1 on 1 WR vs. DB drills WR Curtis Samuel is once again displaying a level of speed and quickness that is hard not to be super excited about. He is blowing past any defender and catching every ball thrown his way. Him and CB Donte Jackson are easily the most entertaining battle at camp. Every time Samuel beats Jackson, Jackson comes right back the next time and makes a play on the ball. So in other words…..”Iron Sharpening Iron”. WR DJ Moore vs. CB James Bradberry has also been very competitive as well. Moore’s route running has gotten noticeably better. Bradberry’s footwork has improved to the point that he is making timely plays on the ball. WR Torrey Smith came back strong by catching several contested passes on both intermediate and deep routes. CB Kevon Seymour is quietly making plays playing both outside CB and nickel CB. His ability to jam receivers at the LOS was heavily praised by DB coach Perry Fewell. In pass protection drills, LB Jared Norris actually blew up RB Christian McCaffrey. That drew several responses by teammates.

#5. During team drills, there were several big plays made by both the offense and the defense. Newton threw a perfect pass down the seam to TE Greg Olsen but S Eric Reid timed it just right and deflected the ball into Donte Jackson’s hands for an interception. Newton hit WR DJ Moore on a slant route that he made a great catch behind his back and took off down field. S Corrion Ballard made a big hard hit on rookie RB Jordan Scarlett that jarred the ball loose as soon as it hit his hands. However Scarlett came back with a pair of deep catches over 20 yards each. WR DJ Moore ran a deep route but another perfectly timed jump by CB Jackson knocked the ball down. Newton threw a nice touch pass to WR Jarius Wright over the leaping DB Cole Luke. CB Lorenzo Doss picked off a pass by QB Taylor Heinicke as well. DE/LB Mario Addison did a sick spin move on OT Daryl Williams that drew “Oooohs and Ahhhhhs” from the crowd.

#6. RB Cameron Artis-Payne and WR Aldrick Robinson got several reps with the 1st team offense. Robinson ability to get open and get down the field quickly is a sight to see honestly. He was drawing double teams for the rest of practice after getting 1 on 1 coverage his first two plays in. Artis-Payne seems to have worked on his agility because his stop & start moves on defenders has broken several ankles of would-be tacklers. It would not surprise me if our RB depth will be McCaffrey, Artis-Payne and Scarlett come Week 1.

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