4 major observations from Baker Mayfield at Panthers joint practice Day 1
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers’ offense struggled with timing early
This was never going to be an easy task coming up against the New England Patriots defense, who were in no mood to appease the ongoing quarterback competition. Baker Mayfield and the offense overall struggled early on, with wideouts failing to create separation and timing not up to the required standard over the initial stages of practice.
Mayfield came on a little later in the day, but taking the rough with the smooth was always going to be a feature during the preparation period. Perhaps people were expecting too much based on his exceptional transition to the Carolina Panthers, but this was arguably his worst day since the first week of training camp.
Sam Darnold didn’t fare any better. So it’ll be interesting what – if anything – can improve when push comes to shove on Wednesday.
📝: In 1v1s between the WRs and DBs it’s clear that the QBs and WRs have to develop better chemistry. As drill progressed they were connecting more, but once a QB1 is announced that has to be a point of focus.
— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) August 16, 2022
The Panthers will want Mayfield and Darnold to bounce back in the face of adversity. New England boasts a playoff-caliber defense and if Carolina wants to accomplish anything next season, then these are the sort of tests they need to pass.
Of course, this is one of the fallbacks to splitting reps between starting quarterbacks. Something that needs to change at the earliest possible opportunity with a little under a month before Carolina’s season opener against the Cleveland Browns.