Buccaneers
Bucs rookie WR Emeka Egbuka talked about hauling in the go-ahead touchdown pass during his first game as a pro.
“Film, preparation, knowing the look, knowing the opponent and knowing the trust with the quarterback that we had back in August,” Egbuka said, via ESPN. “We kind of got the look that we drew it up for — Baker threw a perfect ball, honestly — and made it easy on me. And when he can make my job that easy, it makes it look good. But honestly, a lot of credit goes to him and to God.”
Egbuka has already established himself as one of the team’s premier playmakers, according to QB Baker Mayfield.
“I just think the way he carries himself — I’ve told you guys, it wasn’t a front, you saw it live today, in person — he’s the real deal,” Mayfield said. “True professional. Doesn’t play like a rookie. Doesn’t act like a rookie. His head is never spinning. He made some unbelievable catches and plays today for us. Obviously, going to continue to lean on him.”
- The Buccaneers shifted their offensive line, moving Graham Barton to left tackle, Ben Bredeson to center, and Michael Jordan to left guard. Former starting tackle Charlie Heck is then moved to the bench. (Greg Auman)
Panthers
After an offseason with expectations around an improving young core, the Panthers struggled mightily in their 26-10 loss at Jacksonville. Panthers QB Bryce Young took blame for the execution issues and vowed to do better as a leader.
“Just something that was going on with not executing,” Young said, via Joseph Person of The Athletic. “When you’re not executing, it sucks. But I have to do a better job as a leader.”
Despite a few rough moments from the young receivers, Carolina HC Dave Canales committed to going through the ups and downs with them and expressed his confidence in their improvement.
“We’re gonna keep giving them opps. That’s just what we’re gonna do. These are the guys we have. We love ’em, and I’m fired up for this group,” Canales said. “But they’ll be the first ones to come up here and tell you, ‘I’ve gotta make that play.’”
Saints
After finishing their Week 1 game, it was revealed that Saints DB Julian Blackmon had a shoulder injury that was likely season-ending. Saints HC Kellen Moore told reporters that the team will use an in-house replacement, which could end up being rookie S Jonas Sanker.
“We’ve invested in a lot of those guys, [they] had a ton of reps, and so we feel like we’re not bringing someone in that isn’t familiar with this thing. We got a number of guys who can go play that,” Moore said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “That’s a conversation that we’ll have to have tomorrow just to narrow our focus and put someone in a position or a combination of a couple guys put them in a position to get ready for Sunday.”
“Certainly there’s times where it becomes relevant [to prep] for the opponent, but Julian being gone for essentially for the year, we’ve got to get these guys ready to go and create some continuity,” Moore added. “There’s a lot of juice and energy and games, and you make big-time plays and everyone’s sore after a football game,” Moore said. “That’s just what happens when you’re out there, and sometimes it takes a little bit of time to realize, you know, what’s soreness and what’s an injury, and unfortunately, this is the way it went down for Julian.”
“Being able to play a bunch of different stuff in college gave me the tools to be able to go wherever they put me,” Sanker said back in August. “Whether that’s playing high safety now, maybe, who knows? In two weeks, maybe I’m playing a different position, being ready for that. So being ready for anything just gives you the ability to be thrown in wherever.”
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