Everything You Need to Know: Sunday at Training Camp

Bill Voth
3 years ago
Categories: August 9, News
Tags: Amini Silatolu, Brenton Bersin, Cam Newton, Charles Johnson, Colin Jones, Damiere Byrd, Ed Dickson, Jarrett Boykin, Joe Webb, Josh Norman, Kawann Short, Kelvin Benjamin, Marcus Ball, Marcus Lucas, OTAs, Panthers, Ron Rivera, Ted Ginn, Training Camp

In/Out

• OL Amini Silatolu missed practice after he tweaked his right calf during Friday’s Fan Fest. Silatolu, who had a good start to camp, never regained his starting job last season when he strained his left calf against the Bengals.

• It looked like trainers were checking out DE Charles Johnson’s ankle near the end of practice, then he took a cart ride off the field. But coach Ron Rivera indicated afterward that it wasn’t anything serious.

•  Lou Young went inside early after he limped off the field. The extent of his injury is unclear.

• DT Kawann Short, who’s been bothered by back spasms, went through drills for the first time since the opening practice of camp.

“The back calmed down,” Rivera said. “He had it a couple years ago, and it flared up this year, but they were able to treat it. He seems to with exercise and therapy to get it calmed down.”

• TE Ed Dickson continues to be limited by a strained groin, but he was back on the field for the first time in a few days.

“He got an MRI, and it was negative. That was just a matter of getting it to calm down as well,” Rivera said. “He’ll get his treatment, and he’s ready to go. We’re going to gradually work him.”

• CB Bené Benwikere, who sat out the first six practices of camp with a sore hamstring, went through his second straight practice.

Top Plays

• Kelvin Benjamin showed off his incredible catch radius when he skied high to snag a deep slant against Josh Norman in two-on-twos between receivers and cornerbacks. Benjamin has the upper hand on Norman so far in camp, but there wasn’t much Norman could do to defend the leaping 6-foot-5 wideout.

• Last Saturday, Ted Ginn was wide open when he hauled in a deep ball from Cam Newton. Norman was covering on that play, but he may have been expecting safety help. On Sunday, he didn’t need it. When Newton launched another bomb Ginn’s way, Norman sped up and dove to knock the pass away.

• When Joe Webb fired about 20 yards downfield to Brenton Bersin, the ball was behind his receiver and DB Colin Jones had good coverage. But Bersin adjusted in midair and made a back-shoulder catch on a ball that slipped past Jones’ outstretched arm.

Offensive MVP(s)

Receivers on roster bubble: Bersin, Mike Brown, Jarrett Boykin and Damiere Byrd all made multiple receptions on a big day for the middle-tier wideouts. Boykin has come on of late, and Byrd has been making plays since the spring, but this was easily the most visible Brown has been since he signed as a free agent after three seasons in Jacksonville.“Mike just keeps flashing,” Rivera said. “He’s an interesting young man, who really just caught our attention when he worked out for us in the spring. He had good OTAs and minicamp, and he just continues to excel. We found out today that he can catch punts, so he’s going to get some opportunities. He really is.”

Defensive MVP 

N/A: This was a tough day for the defense since players spent the day in shells. So while a handful of offensive guys made splashy plays, they have a big advantage when they’re not in pads.

Other Observations

• The punt return job is Ginn’s for as long as he’s on the roster and healthy, but it was interesting to see Benwikere field some punts Sunday. The Panthers put him back there a bit in last year’s training camp, but they never used him as a returner during a game.

• CB T.J. Heath, who signed last week after Chris Houston’s sudden retirement, is turning some heads. Playing with the second-team defense near the end of practice, Heath picked off a pass intended for Ginn.

• The real life family from “The Blindside” held a reunion post-practice:

Coming Up

Monday marks the first of three straight days of 9:25 a.m. practices.[vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html]