SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After the most spirited practice of training camp went too far for his liking, head coach Ron Rivera addressed his team to ensure they understood how to conduct themselves as camp winds down.

"It boiled over more than you really want," Rivera said. "The thing that we all to understand is that at the end of the day, the Panthers don't play the Panthers. We're not on our schedule. I think that's the thing that we lost sight of today.

"My message for the most part was about the team and how to practice."

A two-minute drill intensified the action on the field and on the sidelines. Cornerback Bene Benwikere and tight end Greg Olsen had a heated exchange, and after wide receiver Damiere Byrd beat Benwikere for a short touchdown reception, the cornerback lost his cool.

Linebacker and team captain Thomas Davis ultimately pulled Benwikere aside to calm him down.

"Thomas wanted to do it, so I let Thomas talk to him and handle it," Rivera said.

Rivera said things started to get out of hand when the physicality grew too close to live action.

"The competitive nature got carried away, it got a little more physical than it should have been," Rivera said. "We have to understand how to practice with pads. We had a couple guys take a couple shots, and a couple guys took exception to it. This was really the result of overenthusiastic play."