Panthers camp observations: Defense dominated almost everyone — except Robby Anderson
The Carolina Panthers weren’t tackling much in the second day of padded practices, but the crack of pads crunching against each other could still be heard.
Alex Armah blocked someone so hard, the sound echoed more than 50 yards away.
While Monday’s practice consisted of individual and positional drills, Tuesday’s practice was more game-like.
Head coach Matt Rhule said they ran nearly 90 plays in 11-on-11 drills. He said with a lack of a preseason, he felt it was important to see how his team would react.
One side of the football reacted well. The other? Not so much.
Here are some observations from training camp:
Injuries
WR Keith Kirkwood (shoulder) is out several weeks, TE Temarrick Hemingway (concussion) is day-to-day. WR Omar Bayless (knee). LB Jordan Kunaszyk (ankle).
Rhule said Bayless’ knee began to swell Monday night after practice.
Bayless, who has impressed his teammates in camp. and Hemingway and Kunaszyk wore red No. 1 jerseys to signify those players were injured. They road bikes during the half-hour portion of practice inside the bubble.
Moves
The Panthers claimed former Dallas Cowboy defensive end Jalen Jelks off waivers Monday. Jelks, a 2019 seventh-round pick, spent his rookie season on the injured reserve. The 6-foot-5, 256-pound former Oregon Duck and was first-team All-Pac-12 in 2018.
The Panthers won’t make any corresponding moves until Jelks clears COVID-19 protocols, which includes having three negative tests before entering the facility.
Top play
In 11-on-11 drills, the defense forced running back Christian McCaffrey to fumble on a rush attempt. Then they recovered the fumble.
It was not clear who forced the fumble with so many players around the ball. But rookie defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos celebrated as if he caused it. The defense ran off the field and celebrated. It was the loudest they had been all camp.
Highlights
▪ The Panthers’ defense forced three fumbles against the offense.
▪ Robby Anderson had a good day Tuesday. The 6-3, 190-pound receiver is as fast as advertised and has often got good separation against opposing cornerbacks. One of the biggest reasons the wide receiver room is noted for their speed is because of the addition of Anderson, who previously played for the Jets.
Bridgewater, who joked on Monday, that he was one of the fastest players the Panthers have, put Anderson in his top four fastest players on the team.
Anderson has had a few nice touchdown catches including one he caught from Bridgewater in the back of the end zone Tuesday.
▪ Jeremy Chinn was also impressive. During 11-on-11 drills, the 6-3, 221-pound positionless rookie, got into the backfield to tackle McCaffrey for a loss. His teammates Shaq Thompson and Tahir Whitehead were pleased. He also chased down Reggie Bonnfon on a rushing attempt for a short gain.
Lowlights
▪ The offense’s three fumbles. And this was after they worked on ball security inside the bubble.
“... which is great for our defense, but on offense it’s not good enough,” Rhule said of the fumbles.
▪ The offense also had the ball at the goal line twice with Teddy Bridgwater at quarterback and failed to convert. Whitehead broke up one of the passes.
Other notes
▪ Bridgewater showed off the relay speed he claimed he had. He scrambled outside the pocket and rushed for a first down before the defense touched him.
▪ Russell Okung practiced longer than he had in the past few days. Okung has been dealing with tightness in his back. Rhule said Okung wanted to get in some extra reps.
▪ P.J. Walker threw a nice back-shoulder touchdown pass to Seth Roberts in situational drills. He had been a little erratic with his throws throughout camp. But the touchdown seemed to settle him down.
▪ Will Grier, who has been solid throughout camp, made some nice throws Tuesday, including one with him rolling out of the pocket.
▪ Rookie Troy Pride nearly intercepted a Walker pass. The ball went right through his hands.
▪ The defensive backs have continued to look much better than they did on Sunday.
▪ On a third down play in team drills, Bridgewater missed Anderson high. It’s unlikely Anderson would have made the catch because he was blanketed by Eli Apple, who wagged his finger like Dikembe Mutombo after a block.
Wednesday’s schedule
The players are off on Wednesday before returning on Thursday.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Panthers camp observations: Defense dominated almost everyone — except Robby Anderson."
