When last we left nose tackle Andrew Billings, he was sacking Kenny Pickett one time and blowing up the Carolina defensive line on a couple of other plays.

The 10-year veteran was one of the few true vets who played in the Hall of Fame game, but for him, it was necessary.

"We don't tackle in practice, so you don't get to drive on every block in practice the way you want to, can't throw dudes like you want to because you can't finish on the quarterback or finish on the running back," Billings said. "Preseason is about finishing, really."

Coach Mike LaFleur isn't saying yet his playing time plan for Thursday's game in Las Vegas or whether expected nose tackle starter Roy Lopez will get any snaps. For that matter, will Billings play again?

There was no problem driving on every block for him in Canton, for certain.

"Its fun," Billings said. "It's the part of football that I like, when things go right. That's why I wanted to play D-line."

-- The last thing LaFleur is going to do is go overboard from a preseason game, one way or the other. So with rookie quarterback Carson Beck, Beck's big debut was just that.

"He needs to continue to stack," LaFleur said. "Let's see what we can do today. That's in the past."

LaFleur said something similar about rookie guard Chase Bisontis, who was credited by multiple social outlets for looking solid in his own debut.

"He looks more and more comfortable," LaFleur said. "In the first OTAs he didn't get off on the snap count once. I thought he got off on the snap count every single time (Thursday)."

-- Beck, who remained running (mostly) with the third-string on Sunday, was not as sharp as he had been in the game. The offense in general was behind the defense most of the workout, especially in the passing game. Early on there were "sacks" by Darius Robinson and Eku Leota.

-- Beck did rally late, hitting practice bestie Bryson Green for a spectacular 37-yard-or-so bomb (Green simply has made a ton of plays when given chances in practice and in the game) before hitting Reggie Virgil for a TD pass to end his day on a good note.

-- After a Trey McBride TD, he tossed the ball to center Hjalte Froholdt for a celebration. Froholdt's decision was a punt, booting the ball into the stands with a surprisingly nice spiral.

-- Jeremiyah Love got the first snaps as RB1, but again, split the work with Tyler Allgeier.

-- It's fun to watch Love especially from the end zone view as he dances and shimmies to the daylight.

-- Special teams ace Joey Blount landing on IR -- ending his season -- was a brutal blow for the guy who hurt his neck in the regular-season opener last year and wasn't sure if he'd ever play again.

"It's unfortunate," LaFleur said. "It's stinks, but he's a Cardinal and he loves his teammates."

LaFleur wouldn't confirm it was a neck issue that cause the IR move, but he did say previously it was a stinger, suffered when Blount hit running back Bam Knight in a recent practice, that was keeping him out.

When it looked like Blount would be back, he was transparent about his journey. After his first practice this training camp, "it was very emotional for me afterward," Blount told me. "I had prayed to be back on the field just one more time."

The harsh reality of an NFL life.

-- Linebacker BJ Ojulari, the former second-round pick who was playing deep into the fourth quarter of the Hall of Fame game, "did some good stuff," LaFleur said.

"For him, it's time on task, value received," the coach added.

-- One of the defensive guys who made some plays against the Panthers, linebacker Austin Keys, was not practicing on Sunday. Neither was tight end Elijah Higgins, and defensive lineman Walter Nolen III walked to the locker room by himself during the workout.

-- Quote of the day from LaFleur, giving brief insight over movie taste when he was talking about having a crowd at State Farm Stadium for the workout on Sunday and how it does not matter either way whenever it's time to take the field.

"This isn't the Catalina wine mixer," LaFleur said. "We're out here to practice."