Rhule responds to Bridgewater's criticism of Panthers' practices

Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule defended his team's practice habits on Wednesday.

Former Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater recently said on a podcast that Carolina barely practiced two-minute or red-zone drills during offensive coordinator Joe Brady's first season.

"I'll just say this, for Joe Brady's growth, that organization, they'll have to practice different things in different ways," Bridgewater said.

Rhule, who was also a rookie coach last season, heard Bridgewater's comments and defended the team's methods.

"I'm not going to delve into specifics about our process, some of that is specific to us. But I feel really good about our preparation, and the amount of work our coaches put in and the amount of work our players put in," Rhule said to Panthers.com's Darin Gantt. "The amount of practice work, I think we push them in a really smart way."

The Panthers ranked 28th in red-zone efficiency last season.

Nonetheless, Rhule stands by the way his club prepares for games.

"When you have 140 guys in a locker room, guys will disagree on some things sometimes. You can't ask everyone to agree with everything," Rhule said. "But I feel really good about what we do, I want to make sure to say I feel really good about the way we practice and our process. I'm disappointed to hear he didn't feel the same way."