SPARTANBURG, S.C. – At every training camp, there comes a time where head coach Ron Rivera determines that he needs to demand more from his team.
That day was Monday. Rivera had seen enough during a two-minute drill and called the team together to deliver a message. It was by far the most animated Rivera has been during camp.
"Not being very smart," Rivera said when asked what bothered him. "We missed a couple alignments, and more than anything else, that really bothered me. It was mostly the young guys, and that's even more troublesome because they're the guys that are going to get most of the work. I wanted to make sure they understood that, 'Hey guys, that's not good enough.'
"I wasn't going to have it and I tried to get the message across. Baltimore doesn't care. They are going to line up and come right at you."
While the team awaits word on defensive tackle Chas Alecxih's knee injury suffered Sunday, there is concern about the defensive end Rakim Cox, who missed practice with a back injury and is set to meet with doctors.
"His back is acting up again," Rivera said. "We had him out here yesterday and this morning he was tight, so we're a little bit concerned about that."
The Panthers worked out a group of free agent defensive linemen after Monday's practice.
