Starters will get a major workload on Friday against Patriots
The Carolina Panthers want to see what the starting unit is made of..
He Carolina Panthers starters may get a workout come Friday night. The game should already have the feel of a playoff matchup given the fact that it is with the New England Patriots. Now, it appears the starters will get an extensive workload as well.
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Ron Rivera told the media on Wednesday that the starters will have a great opportunity to show what they are made of in the third installment of preseason action.
"“Ideally, we’d like to take our starters into the third quarter,” said coach Ron Rivera. “Let them come out from halftime after we’ve gone through adjustments.”"
The coaches will keep a close eye on Cam Newton and make sure he is not under too much pressure on the part of the Patriots defensive line. The last thing you want to do is get your starting quarterback hurt in a preseason game.
"“We will have to look at what is happening in the game. I don’t want to get ahead of that stuff,” said Rivera. “We’ve talked about how we can protect and the things that we can do to help. And we will see what happens. … We’ll see as the game develops.”"
This will be a good test for the offensive line to see where it is at as preseason nears. Although there is still some work to be done on the line, you would think the Carolina Panthers would assemble a group they feel comfortable trotting out against the Dallas Cowboys in the opener.
The fact that the starters will be playing into the third quarter (as least that is how it sounds right now) is a bit interesting to me. Yes, you want to give the starters some work. After all, you want to see how they play as a unit. However, there is always the risk of injury. To me, playing them after halftime is certainly a roll of the dice. Hopefully, everyone will stay healthy and the offensive unit will execute their adjustments quick enough to get off the field.
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Either way, it sounds like the starters will be busy come Friday. This will make things interesting for the fans and allow them to basically see what the 2018 roster will look like more or less. There will undoubtedly be some kinks to work out, but it should be a fun evening of football on Friday as the season opener inches closer.