Observations, notes from Thursday

         --  The Panthers spent a lot of time Thursday on last-second field goal drills. The offensive unit would rush off the field, with the field-goal unit sprinting on in its place. Kicker John Kasay would take a snap, then spike the ball to kill the clock. Then he’d kick what was presumably a game-winning field goal.

      --      Backup quarterback Brett Basanez found himself on a punt coverage team and was blocked out of bounds by Curtis Deloatch and Joe Fields. Basanez didn’t back down and ran up to a referee, took the yellow flag out of his pocket and threw it to the ground. Basanez was just kidding of course, especially after defensive tackle Damione Lewis said of being able to hit a quarterback who for some reason was running around on a punt return: “You’ve got to take advantage of that opportunity!”

--       There was confusion during one drill on getting the right number of players onto the field. “Usually when one (player) comes off, one’s got to go on,” said Fox. “You figure that out.”

--       One of training camp’s most consistent sites is rookie safety Charles Godfrey standing with secondary coach Mike Gillhamer while drills are going on. Godfrey is soaking up every bit of knowledge he can.

--       Former assistant coach Don Breaux, who was with the Panthers from 1995-2002 before going to the Washington Redskins, watched practice. Breaux retired after last season.

-- Several players missed practice Thursday, including linebacker Jon Beason (ankle), safety Chris Harris (upper leg), tight end Dante Rosario (hamstring) and cornerback Chris Gamble (hamstring).

-- The Panthers practice at 10:45 a.m. Friday, their only practice of the day. They'll head to Charlotte afterward for Saturday's preseason opener against Indianapolis. They'll take Sunday off before returning to Spartanburg for three final days of training camp. After an exhibition game next Thursday in Philadelphia, the rest of preseason practice will be spent in Charlotte. -– David Scott