Panthers offensive line held private meeting after loss to the Jets: 'We had to keep it real'
When the Carolina Panthers lost their first game of the preseason against the New York Jets 27-0, tempers could have flared, and blame could have been levied. Instead, the group that is widely to blame — the offensive line — reportedly held a meeting after the game to go over the fact the position group […]
When the Carolina Panthers lost their first game of the preseason against the New York Jets 27-0, tempers could have flared, and blame could have been levied.
Instead, the group that is widely to blame — the offensive line — reportedly held a meeting after the game to go over the fact the position group has to be better as quickly as possible.
David Newton of ESPN was the first to report the meeting.
"We had to keep it real with each other,'' veteran tackle Cam Erving said to ESPN. "The s— wasn't good enough. Top to bottom, no matter if it's preseason, regular season, the s— was not good enough. Any level, from any position, myself included especially my f—ing self. All we can do is try to regroup and fix it.''
The offensive line took the blame for rookie quarterback Bryce Young's struggles. Young finished with 21 yards of offense and was 4-for-6 on passes.
Young took some massive hits throughout the early portion of the game. Then second-year quarterback Matt Corral subbed in and took many of the same hits. The offensive line was not good enough, and it turns out the group on the field knew it immediately.
In total, the offensive line allowed eight quarterback hits throughout the game. And though Young absorbed many of them, the rookie quarterback was impressed with the group's initiative to fix what went wrong.
“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.”
If the Panthers are able to improve the offensive line, the team still has a shot at winning a division that feels more wide-open than ever.
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Feature image via Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports.
