Biggest takeaways from Panthers HC Matt Rhule’s pre-training camp presser
The first of the Carolina Panthers players are set to arrive at Wofford College tomorrow. But head coach Matt Rhule was already in Spartanburg, S.C. Monday afternoon for his first training camp press conference.
Among other things, Rhule talked quarterback rep distribution, defensive growth and special teams acquisitions.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Rhule’s session with the media.
Rhule is ready to move on from last year
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Given that he ended the season on the proverbial “hot seat,” it’s easy to see why Rhule wants to move on from those bad moments as quickly as possible. When asked about how last season’s sore spots affect him today, he likened football seasons to golf rounds.
“Last year, to me, is over. It’s kind of like golf: you play a bad round and feel terrible about your game and then, all of a sudden, you show up the next day and you play golf again. I thought we did a lot of things well early in the year and then, down the stretch, I didn’t get it done—we didn’t get it done.”
The offense needs to establish its identity
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The Panthers are entering the 2022 season with two new quarterbacks on the roster: Baker Mayfield and Matt Corral. If Mayfield wins the starting spot, they’ll especially need a new offensive identity.
Rhule expressed his intention of figuring that out, and it could be more useful than it seems. Last season, the Panthers were ridiculed for testing out various two-passer approaches and seemingly calling plays at random (in other words, lacking an identity). With a revamped offensive line and improvement under center, Rhule hoped that would change in the new season.
“Offensively, we have to really establish our identity. A lot of that is personnel: we have to establish who our starters are on the offensive line, we have to establish the quarterback position and who our starting quarterback is, but we also have to establish the identity. We got a great start in OTAs, but we need to know who we are on offense.”
Rhule hasn’t yet discussed rep distribution with Mayfield and Darnold
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Although general manager Scott Fitterer recently said that the reps between Mayfield and Darnold would be split evenly throughout training camp, Rhule was less willing to disclose information. When asked, he said he wanted to have a conversation with the two quarterbacks about their reps before publicizing the information to the media.
“I haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk to those guys face-to-face in a room, since they don’t report until tomorrow. Respectfully, I’ll talk to those guys first and explain how we plan on doing things, and then we’ll share that with you guys afterwards. I want to make sure that they’re not hearing rep counts and things like that over Twitter; I’d rather do it with them all in the same room.”
The defense needs to go from good to great
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Carolina’s defense was almost definitionally mediocre last season, allowing the 12th-most points to opposing offenses. With a couple of important offseason losses and some other important acquisitions, Rhule hopes another year of experience will allow the unit to leap into elite status this season.
“We have to take our defense and they’ve got to go from good to great. I think we have the players to do it—third year in the system—and we have to go from good to great on defense.”
Updates on defensive injuries
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Rhule mentioned a couple of defensive injury updates during the press conference.
After a minor knee surgery, he said he expects linebacker Shaq Thompson to start training camp on the PUP list and return in a couple of weeks. Rhule also said second-year defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon should be ready to go following a season-ending knee surgery midway through last season.
Special teams need to start affecting winning
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Although most of his news stories have involved swapping jersey numbers with Mayfield, Johnny Hekker was one of the more underrated acquisitions for the Panthers this offseason. Rhule hopes the acquisition of the six-time punter, as well as offseason improvements by the rest of the special teams unit, will help them make strides this season.
“Special teams-wise, I think one of our more unheralded moves has been really solidifying that specialist room with Johnny Hekker, Zane Gonzalez, J.J. [Jansen] and [Thomas] Fletcher, then Andre Roberts as a returner. I think it’s time for us that special teams starts to affect winning and I think we have the guys to do it.”
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