Panthers Training Camp Notes and Photos - Day 5

[Jeremy Igo]

Tempers flared, plays were made, fun was had. All in all an exciting day at Panthers training camp. 

During warmups, I notice the audio guys were playing Bon Jovi. How would the team react? Well...

Panthers rocking out to Bon Jovi. No, seriously. #Panthers https://t.co/KVqQHNrBG6

— Jeremy Igo (@CarolinaHuddle)

August 5, 2015

 

Once stretching was over, individual drills began. 

Charles Johnson was practicing his hand placements and warding off offensive tackles. Johnson spends every single morning working on his hands. Younger defensive ends should take note. 

Panthers fullback Lee Ward was sporting a new bandage on his chin from Tuesday's scuffle.

One drill that was on the itinerary this morning was forcing fumbles. Players would be directed to strip the ball from the carrier with a ripping action. 

Dean Marlowe had a solid day today. He is currently pressing Robert Lester for his position on the practice squad. Marlowe may have more upside than Lester. 

Mario Addison continues to impress. It seems to me he has built up more strength this offseason. If he can get stronger while maintaining that elite speed, he could be a real solution opposite Charles Johnson. 

That Devin Funchess vertical again.... 

Funchess shows solid concentration and control while playing. In end zone drills with Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin, Devin kept the ball in front of him and alive while making the grab. 

By now you may have heard of the scuffle that happened between defensive end Frank Alexander and guard Ricky Henry. 

Here are the pictures. Our training camp partner Black and Blue Review has the video available. 

The Panthers offense struggled again overall today. Cam Newton was either sacked or forced to scramble on a good number of snaps. This is starting to be a concern and brings back memories of last season. The offense needs better play selection with quicker developing routes along with better protection if it hopes to improve this season. 

 

Nate Chandler is seeing much more time at left tackle. He took more than a few snaps with the first team offense today. The Panthers could be looking at contingency plans if Oher continues to struggle. Chandler didn't look great, but he didn't look terrible either. He does look improved over last season. 

 

Lee Ward almost got into it again today, this time with linebacker Brian Belchen. 

After Ward placed a textbook block on Blechen, Blechen kept engaged even after the whistle. This time, Ward stood his ground, challenging Blechen who then backed off. 

Ward is not making any friends on the Panthers defense, and I am just fine with that. 

 

Other Notes: 

- Devin Funchess had a solid day today, hauling in numerous passes from Cam Newton and Derek Anderson. 

- Kelvin Benjamin also impressive still. Caught a nice reception in traffic while bodying out Josh Norman. 

- Kurt Coleman is looking more and more like a day 1 starter at strong safety. 

- Kony Ealy had a solid day, more on that later. 

 

More updates coming later today, stay tuned. 

 

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[London Loves Luke]

Is Coleman getting snaps at SS or FS? I thought I saw a tweet from BBR saying we were fielding Coleman and Harper together with the 1s.

[PantherFeez]

I'm curious if you're seeing Coleman as the rotational SS on passing downs or some other setup. Also curious where they line up when he and Harper are both on the field together. Also, on Ward -- is he getting first team reps as a true old school run block leading FB? Thanks!

[CatalystNX]

If Coleman starts at strong safety, is it Boston/Coleman at the two safety spots? I hope they're not considering Harper at FS...

[AceMan]

I hope it's Boston/Coleman as FS/SS respectively.  

 

[bigpoppa]

I see Ward and I think of another un-drafted fullback we had many years ago.

[t96]

Should we be very concerned about the offense or very excited about the defense?

[PanthersUnited]

hmm, I will give the offense the benefit of the doubt and attribute the offensive struggles more to our stout D as opposed to bad offensive execution 

[BigBoss]

Alright Nate chandler!!!!

 

ugh. Very glad to hear the progress Mario has made. Nice!

[UpstatePanther]

i will not freak out about the offense until i see them in the preseason. i have a hunch half of their struggles are in blue jerseys playing on the other side of the ball. 

that said, as bittersweet as it is, if our offense continues to struggle this season... i dont know how this Front Office cant let go of Mike Shula. we gave him weapons. we did the best we could with the OL given the circumstances we had to work with. and Cam Newton is finally healthy. there comes a point where you cant hide behind poor OL play. there are ways to scheme around that and Shula has never seemed to figure them out. if the offense continues to struggle to score points with all the talent there, Shula needs to be given a demotion back to QB coach, or his walking papers, one or the other

[motocross_cat]

Heres to our d just being that good...i hope.

[GRWatcher]

lol I'll bet the Bon Jovi is a cut to the Bills.  :)  You know Rex Ryan hears it. That 1st preseason game is gonna be bonkers. Good Lord, I can't wait!!

[PantherRN]

Thanks for the updates! I can't make it to training camp this year and your coverage has helped the football withdrawals.

All the talk about the offensive struggles is starting to make me anxious and giving me flashbacks from last season. I had hoped Oher would be at least serviceable until Gettleman could find a true replacement for Gross...

I'll reserve judgement until after the dress rehearsal preseason game, but I'm already quite worried.

[tailg8or]

'The Panthers offense struggled again overall today. Cam Newton was either sacked or forced to scramble on a good number of snaps. This is starting to be a concern and brings back memories of last season. The offense needs better play selection with quicker developing routes along with better protection if it hopes to improve this season. '

Wow ... sounds familiar.  A porous OL and Shula's offense.  SSDD.  Please let there be hope.