CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The 3rd week of training camp for the Carolina Panthers will be highlighted by the team’s first preseason game this Friday at home when they host Cleveland. But before the game, a joint practice with the Browns on Wednesday and afterwards, Panthers head coach Dave Canales was pleased with his team’s progress.
“I think the first team period, I was excited about the execution,” said coach. “I was excited about the physicality of it. Some of our play actions, we were able to hold up and get a little funky with different fronts. I love the run game and how we moved it. And then in the second team period, it got sloppy.”
A big culprit in that sloppy play was penalties.
“We had three delay of games and two false starts,” said coach. “We can’t have that. We’re going to put ourselves in really bad spots when we are putting ourselves in 1st and 15.”
A big positive in this joint practice was the fact that there were no fights. Everyone kept their emotions in check and that allowed this joint practice to become a true evaluation period for both teams.
A lot of eyes were on Cleveland rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Sanders will start for the Browns on Friday in the preseason opener. Sanders was a 5th round pick in the last NFL Draft after starting the process as a potential top 3 pick. Friday will be a golden opportunity for Sanders to shine against the Panthers starting defense.
But on the Panthers side of things, a lot of eyes will be on Bryce Young and how the chemistry between he and rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is developing.
During 7 on 7s, T-Mac had a chance to catch a touchdown pass, but he dropped it. Wasn’t expecting the ball to be thrown in a spot where he was actually open. That’s a part of that chemistry that the two are still developing.
“He was running a corner route and instead of leading him to the back pylon, Bryce threw it behind the defender,” said coach. “And I think that was a new one for T-Mac because he was like ‘oh shoot, this is a good spot for it.’ Bryce turned around to me and we were both smiling. We would love for him to catch that ball and he will. But I just love taking those attempts down the field just because it’s the me to you factor. Learning new skilled players within our scheme.”
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