Lea & Welter: Competition and candles, the theme for Panthers move-in day
Posted July 26, 2022 9:55 p.m. EDT
Updated July 26, 2022 11:15 p.m. EDT
Spartanburg, S.C. — It wasn't just a regular move-in day for the Carolina Panthers. This training camp has some urgency to it because of where the team is in 2022.
Let's face it, the Panthers have been a mediocre NFL team since 2018 that's looking to finally break-through as one of the top teams in the league. What's missing?
Competition and Candles.
Competition:
"A rising tide raises all ships."
It's been a while since the Carolina Panthers have had a legit quarterback battle heading into a season. In the last 10 years we've known that Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater or Sam Darnold were their QB1s without anyone else threatening that.
Besides Cam's good years, that was a problem.
This year, the Panthers don't have that problem. There's a hunger in the quarterback room and around the entire team. But in the quarterback room specifically, you have four men who have something to prove.
Baker Mayfield was the best QB the Cleveland Browns had in a while, and yet he was thrown to the side for Deshaun Watson. Sam Darnold hasn't had a good season yet in the NFL. Matt Corral wants to prove he's not just a regular third round draft pick who will be a career back up, he wants to start. And finally, PJ Walker, who is 2-0 as a starter in the NFL.
Head coach Matt Rhule says he believes the competition at quarterback has trickled down to the other position groups. That's important, because high competition will bring the best out of everyone. Exactly what a 5-12 team needs at the moment. The Panthers have done so well bolstering different position groups, that starters form last season may end up getting cut.
That goes for Sam Darnold. That goes for some of their offensive lineman.
You can't stay mediocre for too long. At some point the free agents and rookies have to come in and demand excellence if their new teammates have exhibited that excellence. Maybe Baker and Corral will do that in the quarterback room.
Candles:
If you’ve been to college you know all freshman dorms aren’t equal. The halls often carry a reputation and a type. Some are great places to study. Some are great for well everything but studying. Where you live can dramatically affect your college experience.
At Wofford College this is true as well. I can’t speak for their undergrads, but I can for the Carolina Panthers who will spend the next two weeks here in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The vets get to stay in Jerome Johnson Richardson Hall. The rookies are staying at Dupre Hall. Based on rookie QB Matt Corral's reaction there's a stark difference.
"I mean have you seen where they are staying," Corral laughed in response to a question about Christian McCaffrey's room.
Corral will be taking a lot of notes this week, his first was what McCaffrey packed for his room.
"I wasn't aware of what we were getting supplied with. I had to do a Target trip so we got it situated," Corral said. "I had to get a blanket and a pillow. There was just like a little sheet in the room. It was too cold in there, so I had to get another blanket."
I haven't seen McCaffrey's room, but in the absence of visual evidence and actual football to discuss it's become the the Ritz.
"Definitely, a boujee room, probably the bouj-iest room on the team," McCaffrey said.
How to spell "boujee" was a topic of discussion among myself and several other reporters. We settled on "boujee" which is the way the Migos song "Bad and Boujee" spells it. "Boujee" is derived from the French word bourgeoisie which references the upper class.
"I don't go to the players rooms," Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said as he finished his interview session on campus. "They don't let me anywhere near."
Rhule hasn't seen it, but Darnold has.
"I mean he's got all the candles," Darnold said. "He's got as many blankets you could ever dream of."
"I like to come back to my room and make it comfortable," McCaffrey said. "It looks like half of a treatment room and half of a Four Seasons room."
Whatever it takes to keep you on the field McCaffrey. The former Stanford star is entering his sixth NFL season. Blankets and candles are nice. The Panthers should pay to put McCaffrey in a hyperbaric chamber. He's played just ten games the last two years for a variety of injuries. McCaffrey didn't mind sharing details about his room, but on the subject of his new work out regiment, he was more tight lipped.
"I changed a little bit, but we'll be ready to roll," McCaffrey said. When asked to elaborate he was brief, "Some stuff here and there."
GM Scott Fitterer didn't share many details either.
"Coach will limit his reps, they'll handle him in preseason a certain way," Fitterer said. "I know Christian, he's got a program he's on. I'll let him get into that, but overall I think it's been really good and hopefully he'll stay healthy this year. I wouldn't expect anything less."
I told Fitterer Mcaffrey wouldn't tell us anything about his work out plan. He laughed and said. "I'm not going to tell you either."
Having a healthy McCaffrey for seventeen games (that still feels weird to say) would go a long way towards the Panthers making a leap in year three under Rhule. It would certainly help whomever wins the job at quarterback. Baker Mayfield didn't speak to the media Tuesday, but he famously brought a QB only RV to Cleveland Browns camp his rookie season. A team source told me he is staying in the dorms with the rest of the vets.
"My job is not to pick the starting quarterback," Rhule said. "I have to make that decision, but it's the guys play."
Last year the Panthers were objectively bad, but maybe the secret to getting "boujee" is a good nights sleep.
