Carolina Panthers: Gerald McCoy is ready to make his mark

The Carolina Panthers newest acquisition adds an edge to the defense.

It is becoming clear that Gerald McCoy is excited to be a member of the Carolina Panthers. Sure, he said he was excited to be a member of Carolina in a press conference. Although that is great in itself, talk is cheap. It would be very easy and totally understandable if he seemed overwhelmed by his new surroundings. However, it appears that is not the case.

Carolina is very lucky that they are getting a player in the prime of his career. Not only are they getting a player in the prime of his career, they are getting someone who is hungry to win. After several rough seasons with Tampa Bay, McCoy seems like he is eager to get started. I am excited to see him in Charlotte, and I think he will be an immediate boost to the defense.

Another thing that certainly works in his favor is that he doesn’t have to be the main pass-rusher on defense. The Panthers have many weapons that can beat you many ways. Hopefully, that will take some pressure off him and allow him to just be Gerald McCoy. So far, he has shown no signs of slowing down and should be an integral part of the defense.

As practice  wrapped up on Monday, McCoy seemed to be taking it all in stride. As he alluded to with the media, he just enjoys being out there playing football.

"“I’m excited to see what we can do,” said McCoy. “Everything’s new, but we did great today. What’s gonna help us in the long run is communicating. Guys just talking. We’ve got a philosophy, like ‘Who cares if the offense knows what’s coming? They’ve still got to stop it.'”"

That sounds like a lot of smash mouth football to me. I am all for it. Toughness was an element that was missing for the defense last season. In some games, they made it seem like they were inviting offenses to walk all over them. That is certainly not going to be the case this year. They seem focused, and ready to go. In reading all of these reports and quotes to the media, I can tell that the Carolina Panthers want to get the sour taste of last season out of their mouths.

McCoy seems definitely ready to take part in it. For what it’s worth, head coach Ron Rivera seemed impressed with McCoy as well. It must be nice watching him on your team instead of watching him on the opposite side mine after all these years. McCoy is one player that Rivera no longer has to game plan against.

"“He’s the player that we’ve played against the last several years. Very pleased with what we’ve got,” said Rivera. “And again, I think it’ll probably bring an edge to the defensive line and the defense as a whole. I think good players help make everybody else better, so I’m excited about having him with our group.”"

It should be fun times ahead for the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. The 2019 season should be a lot different than last year. I know, I know, we had the same feelings last year. However, I feel the roster is more committed this year to making it happen rather than just talking the talk.