5 critical observations from Carolina Panthers 2024 training camp Day 5

The first session in pads at long last.
Adam Thielen
Adam Thielen / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next

Carolina Panthers players get chippy

Putting the pads on gives the players a different mindset heading into practice. Things instantly become more physical and can often boil over as tensions rise. That was evident on a few occasions without ever reaching unacceptable levels.

According to those in attendance, three after-the-whistle skirmishes threatened to become something more severe. Jadeveon Clowney and Chuba Hubbard got into it. Things also got chippy after a physical run from Mike Boone. While this was expected, things simmered down quickly thanks to some self-policing from others.

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales saw this as another teaching moment for his players about the standards expected during a typical game day. Fighting teammates during practice accomplishes nothing, but the head coach knows it can have a much more detrimental impact when the real action arrives based on comments via the team's website.

"Great teachable moments right there. We're, we're toeing the line, we're pushing each other, the physical nature of it. It gets heated sometimes, but it's just a great opportunity to teach them about what happens in the game. Be a great teammate, pull our guys away, don't give the opponent anything. We can't give them free yards. We got to keep our head about us. And just in general, we lose time, the play clock's running, all those things. So just really good teachable moments right there as we start to get a little bit pushy and shove-y at the end of some plays there."

Dave Canales via Panthers.com

There was nothing much to be overly concerned about, in all honesty. Tempers flared briefly, but everyone got back down to work soon after. Players are fighting for spots and places on the 53-man roster. They don't want to be embarrassed, so they're going to feel a type of way when things aren't going as anticipated.

It's about harnessing this aggression and controlling emotions. Sounds simple enough, but anything can happen in the heat of the moment.