The Carolina Panthers are learning to set the standard, and what they did this afternoon certainly didn’t meet it.
Saturday’s 27-0 loss in the preseason opener was headlined by an overwhelmed offensive line—one that was thoroughly pushed around by a talented and deep New York Jets defense. As a result, offensive line coach James Campen and his hog mollies held a private meeting after the performance to talk it out.
Panthers OL met in a separate room after the game to talk about how the standards they showed today weren’t what they want. They entered the locker room well after the rest of the team
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) August 12, 2023
Panthers O-line coach James Campen met privately with his group after Saturday’s game. “We had to keep it real with each other,’’ tackle Cam Erving said. “The sh– wasn’t good enough. Top to bottom, no matter if it’s preseason, regular season, the sh—was not good enough. ''
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) August 13, 2023
Carolina’s line allowed eight quarterback hits in the outing, five of which ended as sacks. Rookie quarterback Bryce Young absorbed a few of them in his very first preseason showing, but was encouraged by the unit’s initiative.
“That’s something’s that big for us—not just as a unit, but as a team,” Young said. “As a unit—you can see the score—that’s not what we wanna do, that’s not what we wanna be. It’s no panic or reaction, but we have to be proactive in trying to get better and grow.
“And yeah, I think that speaks to the accountability. That’s them, on their own, going out and trying to establish the standard and talk about things. All of us—we’re in the locker room and no one’s thinking, ‘Oh, it’s okay. What we put out is whatever.’ That’s not who we wanna be, who we need to be.”
