Carolina Panthers OTAs - Photos and Notes

[Jeremy Igo]

Hello there and welcome to the Carolina Panthers OTA sessions of 2018.

 

First things first, you have to get the right music for a successful practice. Your DJ? Cam Newton.

 

Ryan Kalil did a fair amount of practicing which was good to see. The Panthers really need a healthy season from him. The entire line hinges on him being in there.

Cam Newton was as vocal as ever. Not shy about getting the guys' attention.

Have a Ball.

Garrett Gilbert was by far the second most impressive quarterback on the field. He looked well ahead of the pack as far as the second string QB job goes.

Curtis Samuel got in more practice than I expected him to. At this point I would be shocked if he is not full go by training camp. Samuel showed some nice hands today, hauling in some tough catches.

DJ Moore got plenty of one on one attention from the wide receivers coach today. At one point coach Taylor himself played defender for Moore during drills.

Cameron Artis-Payne dropped a ball in simple RB drills. Not a big deal really , but for a guy trying to finally come into his own these little mistakes could add up.

CJ Anderson on the other hand showed really nice hands all day long. Catches the ball too smoothly for a guy his size.

 

Gaulden didn't see time with the first or second string defenses from what I could see. Here he could not quite make a catch during interception drills. Your starting safeties were Adams and Searcy and I doubt that changes.

 

General Observations

Was good to see Alex Armah in the back field with Cam Newton playing that H-Back role. He got in as much time as Manhertz.

Rookie TE Ian Thomas made a really nice grab in stride from Gilbert. Earned a holler from Cam Newton.

Starting corners were Bradberry and Seymour. Starting nickel was Munnerlyn.

Rookie DE Haynes showed more strength than I expected from him in sled drills. Was really able to show some power there. Pleasant surprise. I can remember the days of Hurney's other light DE's not being able to complete said drills.

Cam Newton hit DJ Moore in stride over the middle of the field for a big gain against the first string defense. My heart skipped a beat.

The rookie DBs did not get much work in at all, which was expected.

Julius Peppers jogged around a bit, sat on a bike, left early. Thats good for about 12 sacks this season.

 

 

[t96]

Thanks Jeremy, great stuff

[Wolfcop]

Thank you...nice to get a little fix with just over 2 months to go until Training Camp.

[top dawg]

The last paragraph was the cherry on top. Reactions are always welcome, Igo.

[LinvilleGorge]

Very good to hear about Samuel. Seems like many are ready to write him off as a bust but the guy is basically still a rookie after missing practically the entire off-season last year. He badly needs this off-season work.

[RealBitsOfPanther]

Solid as always! 

[SpeedOFLight]

Great write up! I am excited about this group of guys. WR competition will be great for everyone involved. Thanks for sharing 

[Toker Smurf]

Actual football news!

[MHS831]

Here is the big question, and I think I know the answer, but it is interesting a bit--why is Moore not wearing gloves?  He has them in his holster, but I am assuming this was some drill and he did not feel that he needed them, but then I wondered (with my brain) if he was doing it deliberately to increase his concentration.

[brandon_87]

Solid info! 

 

Any info on Corn or Jackson?

[steven8989]

Thanks Jeremy it's nice to get away from all the owner situation stuff. Nice to see and read about some real football. Can you pay some close attention to Elder? I'm really excited to see how he is going to look!

[ChibCU]

59 minutes ago, Jeremy Igo said:

Julius Peppers jogged around a bit, sat on a bike, left early. Thats good for about 12 sacks this season.

While we all love Peppers and he had a productive 2017, I have my doubts he replicates that performance. I am expecting a drop off.

[Dunn]

6 minutes ago, ChibCU said:

While we all love Peppers and he had a productive 2017, I have my doubts he replicates that performance. I am expecting a drop off.

I think that's been said about him for the past 6 years...

[LinvilleGorge]

12 minutes ago, ChibCU said:

While we all love Peppers and he had a productive 2017, I have my doubts he replicates that performance. I am expecting a drop off.

I'm not sure he can replicate last year's performance either. Last season he got home a lot. What I mean by that is that he really didn't create many pressures when he didn't register a sack. QB pressures are almost as important as actual sacks. You're still affecting the QB and being disruptive. 4:1 is a great pressure:sack ratio for an outside pass rusher. Anything better than 3:1 is amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if Peppers' past year was the best of any double digit sack guy in the history of the NFL.