Rhule Says Panthers are 'Significantly Better' Following Week with Colts

Carolina responded the right way after a tough first day in Indy and finished the week strong.

The Panthers have begun their joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens and had some positive signs coming out of day one. Last week, the Panthers got caught "dipping their toe in the water" while the Colts came out playing full-speed and really outworked Carolina in the first joint practice. 

"You can be hesitant but that doesn't work in football," Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said. "You've got to show up and be the aggressors. One of the reasons we wanted to get away is because you look at our training camp and you're in Wofford then you're back to Bank of America for Fan Fest, then back to Wofford, then here, I want our guys to get used to preparing for chaos. Everything is just not going to be spoonfed for you. It's been a couple of days since we practiced and our guys have to understand that when we come out here we're the Carolina Panthers and we have to play to that standard and that's one of the reasons I wanted to bring them here to draw some of that out of them. I thought early on offense we were sort of hesitant. I thought guys like Christian [McCaffrey] got really upset about that and brought the group along but it has to be way better."

Day two in Indy wasn't flawless but it was much better and the effort was there which is what Rhule and his staff were looking for. That carried into Sunday's game with the Colts where aside from penalties, the Panthers were fairly solid. Rhule was asked about how much better he felt the team is after having practiced with the Colts. 

"Significantly better. Thank you for that question. I think the first day we went out there and kind of dipped our toe in the water and the Colts didn't dip their toe in the water. I think the second day we came out there and if you were on that defensive field, our defense said we're going to forge an identity. Offensively, seeing Sam in the 2-minute take us right down and kick a field goal to win it. I thought we came out of the second day feeling like 'hey, we are a way better football team than we were even yesterday.' In the game, I thought the twos played really well. We're certainly not where we want to be but I think we are significantly better than we were when we got on the plane last Wednesday."

Is this just coach speak or did the Panthers really get better? 

Well, the Ravens are a very physical team in the trenches and provide a bunch of challenges for offenses. The Panthers' o-line held up and won some battles while QB Sam Darnold made some plays in the passing game. Rhule was certainly more pleased with today's results than last week's first joint practice. 

"I thought going against that Ravens defense, that vaunted front that we held our own running the football, protected well, weren't very good at getting open and catching the football. But in terms of other things and the physicality, what they did with the blitz packages I thought for the first day without watching the tape it was about what we wanted."

Although the results don't necessarily matter in the preseason, the fact that Carolina is going up against three playoff teams that exude toughness and physicality will be a huge benefit for them in preparation for the season.

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