Sunday’s post-practice comments from Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera.
Charles Johnson and Amini Silatolu were carted off early in practice. Was it anything serious?
“As far as I know, no. And as far as Amini is concerned, he strained a calf in the workout the other night.”
Was that the injury that he had before?
“No, that was the other leg. This time it’s the different leg.”
Charles just rolled on it?
“I think so, but I don’t know exactly. Until they get a chance to take a look, I couldn’t tell you what it was.”
Receivers lower on depth shined today, especially Mike Brown and Jarrett Boykin?
“I think it’s really about opportunities. Coming off of a big day the other day, we didn’t have Kelvin as active today, we didn’t have Cotchery as active, so it really gave the younger guys an opportunity to go out there and compete, so that was good to see.”
What have you seen out of Brown?
“Mike just keeps flashing. He’s doing some nice things. 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.”
Did guys have extra motivation after record crowd at Fan Fest?
“Well, I think that’s a big part of it. The excitement was obvious the other night. It really was. You get 55,000 people to come out for a practice speaks very well to the excitement we created. At the end of the day, we have to deliver now. It’s on us. I think our guys are excited and recognize that, and hopefully that type of energy level is something we can keep up.”
Does Colin Jones’ speed sneak up on people?
“Yes, I think it does. I think people don’t quite understand what he’s capable of. We’re still learning to be quite honest. He’s been here with us four seasons, but he seems to do something every time to get your attention. There was a reverse we ran a couple days ago, and he reacted to it and walked it down and you realize he has that kind of ability. The thing he’s done very nice for us is that he’s a very good blitzer. You guys remember what happened last year when he had the opportunities, and he made some plays. He’s getting opportunities, and he’ll continue to get opportunities, and I think he has a little more than you expect, and he does flash.”
Is he a better nickel, safety, Buffalo nickel, or are you happy with mixing his roles?
“I think we’re very happy with the different roles he can play for us. I think he’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. One thing is he’s a special teams ace. We want to find opportunities to use him on the football field and also make sure he’s still involved in special teams.”
Shaq’s still limited, same with Dickson and Short?
“Yes, for the most part. We just got to be careful. It’s one of those things where right now, it’s about learning and growing. At the same time, you don’t want to put a guy in a spot where it’s going to linger. Especially hamstrings, those are kind of nagging. It’s good to have Kawann back. The back calmed down. 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. It was good to have him on the field. Ed with the strain, we had him go in. He got an MRI, and it was negative. That was just a matter of getting it to calm down as well. He’ll get his treatment, and he’s ready to go. We’re going to gradually work him. He didn’t work at the end of practice, but he got early on reps, and then we backed him off big time.”
How did guys return after having a day off?
“I think they’re still caught up a little bit in last Friday night. Guys are still talking about it during stretching and not that it was a bad distraction. They really were talking about that. The lead-off question to the press conference really was about that. The guys really soaked in the energy, and they’re still talking about [Braylon Beam]. I was really pleased with it. The energy level that was brought to us was really special, and we have to live up to our part, and that’s something we gotta stay focused in on.”
Charles Johnson has taken up golf. So you think the sport is ready for an almost 300-pound golfer?
(laughs) “No. He’s really gotten into the game. It’s interesting because he and I talked about it, and I said, ‘You know, this is a gentleman’s game. It’s about dressing properly and controlling your language and your excitement and all that stuff. You can’t go around high-fiving people and all that stuff.’ He said ‘Come on coach, let’s have a little fun with it’. He really has. He’s taken to the game, and the game has taken to him in an interesting way. You’ve got to get him to tell you about the time he met Jack Nicklaus.”
He told us he drove the ball 330 yards down in Atlanta?
“Yeah, but the problem is, where is it going? (laughs) Let’s be honest, I could hit 330 yards, too, but I can probably tell you it’s not going where I want it to. It’s really been a good escape for him, too. He and I talked a little bit about it, and talked about different courses he’s traveled to and what his goals are with the game. So it’s kind of neat to see a young man take interest in something.”
Have you seen his business billboards on the highway?
“No, but that speaks well to the situation we have here, the culture we have here. There is a group of young men here that are trying to become more than just football players, and I think a lot of it has to do with the core values of this situation.”
Frank Gifford passed today, did you meet him and what’d he mean to football?
“You know there’s a whole history of men that were a big part of this game and the development of the NFL and of the professional football game we know today and he was one of them. The history of playing for the Giants and played against the Eagles and I know [Chuck Bednarik] and the whole thing with him. I learned that from my Philly days. I had the opportunity to meet him a couple of times when he did games that I was in, and he was an interesting guy. There is so much history to this game and when you get the opportunity to meet a guy that had a great career is really kind of neat and I think it’s a sad day for the NFL.”
Is that an NFL initiative to have Fan Fest?
“I wouldn’t say it’s an NFL initiative. I think everybody is seeing the energy being caused and created, and I think they recognize how good that is. It’s also bringing the game back to the fans a lot sooner. We’ve done it in the past where we’ve opened up our mini-camp practice, and we had a good turnout a couple years ago. I think it’s because the fans really love the game, and they want to come out and it was kind of nice having 55,000 there. It was awesome.”
Brandon Williams close to getting off PUP list?
“He’s getting close and so is [De’Andre Presley], but we have to work them back in gradually and be smart about it. These young men obviously have some ability and potential, and we don’t want to get them out there too soon and they hurt it again and all of a sudden are out for two or three weeks. He’ll be brought along at the right time and be back on the football field.”
Cut third kicker/punter Wile, do you have to be mindful of reps for Gano and Nortman?
“Yes, we do. We have to be mindful on our kicker and our punter. It was a tough situation because of our roster. We have to think about it long and hard because Matt really flashed. He showed that he could both kick and punt. He had a couple of really good days but unfortunately because of the injuries that we had to both [Kawann Short] and Star [Lotuleli] and we had to make a roster move and unfortunately that was the position at the top.”
More than likely no other kicker or punter in camp?
“Probably not. We’ll have to see as things go along and something might change but for right now, no.”