Takeaways from Christian McCaffrey's virtual press conference

[Sir Purr]

New beginnings


Monday marked the start of the Panthers' virtual offseason program, and with it came a fresh start for McCaffrey and everyone else on the team.


While the Panthers didn't begin by going all-in on the program, opting to let players handle their own workouts instead of hosting virtual group lifts, the team is utilizing the opportunities to dive into the playbook.


McCaffrey said Monday began just like any typical day during Phase I: with a team meeting followed by smaller meetings with position groups. But instead of walking across the hall to the running backs room, McCaffrey simply joined a different video call.


"It was great. It seemed like it was just like a normal day, just without being in the facility," McCaffrey said. "Everybody's on the same page and everybody's learning it the same way, so it was a good day."


"We have such a new team, a new energy in the building — well, I guess on the computer screen, not in the building," McCaffrey continued with a laugh. "It is nice just having some fresh air and knowing that everybody's starting from scratch. I think that's important and that there's not one person who's exempt of that."


The virtual meetings were the first opportunity for the players to actually get a chance to talk Xs and Os with their new coaches, and McCaffrey said he was looking forward to diving deeper into a new system with offensive coordinator Joe Brady.


"You can definitely tell that he's such a unique mind when it comes to offensive football," McCaffrey said. "And he puts his players in the best position that he can — look at what he did at LSU. So I'm really excited to play for him and work with him."


As different as a virtual offseason may be, McCaffrey still has the same lofty expectations of himself and his teammates, because they're not the only ones having to adapt.


"Everyone in the league is going through the same thing," McCaffrey said. "We can't start making excuses for ourselves just because we're talking over a camera. I think it's really important that we still train, follow all the workouts, take care of our bodies, and do everything we can to be detailed in our playbook."