Matt Rhule likes Teddy Bridgewater's mastery of offense, ability to throw deep

[Sir Purr]

What will the Panthers have Bridgewater do in 2020? Rhule hinted there could be more downfield shots based on Carolina's personnel at wide receiver.


"I think one of the great things that's one of the strengths of our team is that Robby Anderson's a deep-play threat. Curtis Samuel is a deep-play threat. DJ Moore is a deep-play threat," Rhule said. "So we feel like we have the power to be able to take advantage of throwing the ball downfield, and we know Teddy can do that."


Plus, Bridgewater has showed not only his mastery of the system but also his ability to teach it to others so that they have the same level of understanding. Rhule said Thursday that he'd guess Bridgewater didn't necessarily enjoy the virtual offseason program because it limited his ability to engage with his teammates in the locker room. But the Panthers still found ways to show off his leadership ability by having him run certain meetings, like one on blitz protections.


"The level of not even detail, but understanding and reasoning behind it is so high that I remember when I was with Eli Manning, I used to sit there and listen to everything he would say because he was so intelligent," Rhule said. "And we're coaches, we think we know it, but we don't have to stand back there and get hit. So he has a different set of reasoning than we have, and to hear Teddy reminded me of that.


"It's like, it punches you in the face with, wow, that's really, really, really intelligent. You can see how all of a sudden, people just stop and listen to him."


So while there may be a narrative out there about Bridgewater, Rhule is confident his quarterback will run the Panthers' system as the coaching staff intends.