Panthers early success in return game can be contagious

[Sir Purr]

"If I can get our return guys one on one in space every week, I’m taking it," Blackburn said. "The reality is that the guys who are so good, the Devin Hesters, the Dante Halls, the Tyreek Hills … they had early success and the rest of the team rises up because they can feel that. It’s like, ‘He’s that close to breaking every one,’ so then they tend to block harder and sell out, because they could be the block that springs him. We've started to build that momentum a little bit with the guys that we currently have back there. That’s pretty exciting to have."


It was only one week. In the preseason. Going against second- and third-team opponents. And there were plenty of mistakes still. But the passion showed, and it was contagious. And that's what has Blackburn and the Panthers excited.


"JJ (Jansen) talked in our team meeting about that momentum. We could feel the energy when we were on the field on Thursday. That’s different. That’s what we’ve been trying to build upon the last few years. I think we’re starting to get there. By no means have we arrived; we have a lot of work to do. But if we get it right, we can be a pretty good group."