How Rasul Douglas' Phone Call to Matt Rhule Helped the Panthers
Heading into the 2020 season, the Carolina Panthers knew they were a little short on depth and experience in the secondary, specifically at corner. Just one week prior to the season getting underway, Carolina signed veteran corner Rasul Douglas who had just been let go by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Douglas didn't enter the Panthers' building until the Wednesday before the game because he had to go through all of the COVID-19 testing protocols before he could participate in any team activities. This just gave him 3-4 days to learn the playbook, the scheme, the play calls, and at the same time prepare for the Las Vegas Raiders. Although he only finished the first game with one tackle, he had two big pass breakups with one coming on 3rd down in the 2nd half. He instantly earned the respect of his teammates and most importantly, the coaching staff.
"He's a competitor. He's an East Orange kid, he's a West Virginia guy - I mean he's tough. He's played a lot of football," head coach Matt Rhule stated. "As we watched the tape on him, you see him making plays and he's fearless and that's what we're looking for. We're looking for fearless guys that just go out there and love to compete and don't back down from a challenge and that's who Rasul is. He loved it out there, you could just see it in his eyes. He wanted to keep playing. He loves playing man-to-man coverage, he loves playing bump and run, I mean he's a tough guy. He's the kind of guy that I like to coach."
In week two Douglas led the Panthers defense with seven tackles and although he played well, he was not happy with how the team played collectively. Following the team's loss to Tampa Bay, Douglas called Matt Rhule and told him that he didn't feel close to anyone because of COVID-19 and having to wear masks and that he thought that having a team meeting would be beneficial.
"Since I've been here, I've been thinking about things and I called him. I wanted to talk to him one on one because that's the type of coach he is. He said if you got questions or feel any type of way to just give him a holler. So I just talked to him and basically told him how I felt. I didn't feel like we were playing for each other," Douglas said. "I remember a point in the game we were down 21-0 to Tampa Bay and I looked at everybody and it was just like a whatever type of thing and I didn't like it, so I just had to tell him how I felt about it and I just wanted us to play for each other. It's bigger when you play for the team than individually. We're not track runners, we're not boxers, so individual stuff doesn't matter, it's about what we can do collectively as a team."
For a guy that has a Super Bowl ring to his resume, something like this should be easy to spot out and Douglas knew it was something that would continue to hurt the team if wasn't brought to attention. In the Panthers' week three win over the Chargers, you could see a difference in the defense. Guys were flying around, being active, playing faster and harder and it showed that the team meeting from earlier in the week made an impact. Douglas talked about what all happened during the meeting and how important it is for the players to know each other on a personal level and not just on the football field.
"It was more about explaining whatever you felt on your heart to tell the guys about yourself. Teddy got up there and talked about how his mom had cancer and just watching her go through that and her smiling and her being happy and her caring about him was bigger than anything. We also talked to one of the linemen where he said he had COVID and he couldn't be with his wife and his wife was pregnant and he couldn't be around her and the whole time he wasn't, he was thinking about the team. It was basically just expressing how we need to do it together and we need to know each other. If we are going to call each other a family, we've got to feel like family. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. I'm here. I go home, I get two hours and then I'm going back to sleep to get ready for here, so it's like if I'm going to be here with you all day, I need to know you. I need to know who you are, I need to know how you think, so when I'm on the field I want to play for you."
There's no question that Rasul Douglas is quickly becoming a leader on the Panthers' defense and it's something they desperately needed - a quality, experienced corner with leadership traits.
During his time with Philadelphia, he made 18 starts in 46 games, but never saw more than 57% of the team's defensive snaps in a single season. So far this season with Carolina, he's played 182 defensive snaps, which is 90% of the team's total defensive snaps. So, definitely a bit of a boost in playing time from what he is accustomed to, yet he is flourishing in his role. As the season moves on, look for Douglas to continue to be a big part of the Panthers' success on defense.
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