Comments from Carolina Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera.
On this week's practice routine: When we get to Week 3 of the preseason, that's when we'll start doing our mock game stuff. Right now, we're still in training camp mode. These next two days will be installation days for us. Then the last two days leading up to Saturday will be more game-like.
On if defensive tackle Ron Edwards will have surgery on his torn triceps: I know they've talked with the doctors, he's visited with his agent, and they are formulating a plan to go forward with the surgery. But what happens from that, we'll see how the surgery goes.
On if the surgery will cause Edwards to miss all or most of the season: It depends. Honestly, I really don't know. I've heard of situations where guys come back in eight-to-10 weeks and I've heard, also, where those surgeries are for the whole season. We'll see. That's why we're taking the wait-and-see approach.
On why he decided to give defensive tackle Corvey Irvin another opportunity: In all honesty, everybody is getting another opportunity. This is a situation where we came in and didn't want to have any assumptions about anybody's abilities or their circumstances. It's a chance for us and for everybody to start fresh. So I think more so than anything else it's an opportunity to see what these guys are about.
On the opportunity for others to step up at defensive tackle: It's a huge opportunity. Right now, we don't have Ron on the field, so at nose tackle we're going to try and find who is going to be the guy that steps up. At the three technique, we really like what we're getting from Corvey. We really like what (Terrell) McClain can bring as a potential guy in the rotation, so we're excited about that. As we look through it, there are a few other guys we're watching. We're going to move some guys around, too. They're not just going to sit there and be a three or a nose. We're going to give them opportunities at both spots.
On the importance of competition between the offense and defense during training camp: It's good. The one thing you want is the kind of tempo you had (at Fan Fest). I thought that tempo for practice was outstanding. What we try to do is go live to the ball and then just thud up the receivers and the runners. We don't want to have any high-speed collisions as far as those positions are concerned. But everything going into the line scrimmage, we want it as close to full speed as we can get, and the guys have responded very well. (Saturday) was a great indication of the type of tempo we need to practice with if we expect to get better.
On what he is looking for from the Panthers number two wide receiver: First of all, we're looking for a guy that's going to make plays, a guy that's willing to come in and block and a guy that can ascend and become the guy that is going to take over at that position. The biggest thing right now is we've had nobody step to the forefront. With a guy like Legedu Naanee out there, who's been a number two in certain situations in San Diego and knows the system, we thought this would be a good opportunity to bring a guy in that has that kind of potential and ability. And we're not giving up on anybody by any means. We really believe that the other guys all have the opportunity to ascend as well, and we'll make that judgment come September 11.
On why quarterback Derek Anderson has not done any throwing: Most of his throwing has been in the warm-ups. The biggest thing is we've had limited reps. Derek's ability to pick up what we've done, because he's very familiar with it, we're not really overly concerned with that yet. We'll get to that point very shortly, because, obviously, we'll start getting ready for the preseason games. But the big thing is we've had to limit our reps with the number of guys we've had down and, truthfully, the limited practice time. So we've monitored that situation to make sure right now that Cam (Newton) and Jimmy (Clausen) are getting their throws in.
On when he expects Anderson to start doing some team drills: It's coming. Mike (quarterbacks coach Mike Shula) and Chud (offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski) are going to formulate that plan, looking toward the preseason game. And we're waiting to find out on Tony (Pike) as far as the shoulder is concerned as well. Once we get a feel for that, those guys will probably start getting a few more throws.
