Pounding Panthers Chronicle Week 3
Week 2 Recap:
In the days leading up to the week 2 matchup with the New Orleans Saints a growing concern could be found within the Panthers’ fan base. It was noticed by many that during the season opener with the Jets that the “Keep Pounding” chant was surprisingly absent from the stadium. Anyone that has attended a Panthers’ game at any point in almost two decades knows of the “Keep Pounding” chant. It is a phrase that embodies what it is to be a Panther. An excerpt from the famous Sam Mills speech that helped propel the team to its first Superbowl appearance, this simple phrase has found a home in the hearts of many Panthers’ fans. After the week 1 victory it surfaced that the team had intentionally decided to not to not prompt the “Keep Pounding” chant within the stadium. This left many people asking themselves, why? Without a substantial answer from the organization on the suspicious absence of any prompts or signs to spark energy in the stands; the fans took the matter into their own hands so to speak. Throughout the entire game energy could be felt radiating from the stands, so much so that one Panthers player felt a need to announce it on Twitter after the game. The number of fans in the stands may have been lacking, but their presence was still felt. The Saints required an early timeout on offense after a sack and being faced with their first 3rd down on the day. This led to back-to-back false starts by the offensive line of the Saints; turning a 3rd&8 into a 3rd&18.
The harassing nature of the defensive line shredded the Saints pass blocking all game long. At no point did Winston appear comfortable in the pocket when faced with the swarming Panthers’ D. The Panthers’ defense racked up four sacks on the day, but Winston might argue that number felt low. On Sunday seven different players on the defense tallied a QB hit. Sean Payton had no answer for the blizzard being put down by DC Phil Snow. There has been much credit given to Snow’s ability to outsmart some of his offensive counterparts. On one play in particular the Saints called a max protection boot-leg, the Panthers only rushed five against the 8-man protection, and still Reddick comes off the edge unblocked and Burns beats his defender and Kamara before cleaning up the sack Edge rushers Brian Burns and Hassan Reddick each found their way into the sack column in Sunday’s game. They were accompanied by fellow linemen Morgan Fox and Daquan Jones in filling the team’s four total sacks on the day. For Jaycee Horn this will go down as a game to remember. Son of the longtime Saints WR great Joe Horn, this marked the first time he faced off against his father’s former team, and would also be the game he notched his first career interception. Late in the fourth quarter he dropped what would have been an easy pick and gave himself ten quick push ups as punishment, the Panthers’ Horn picked off a wayward lame duck pass from Winston. The first in what fans hope will be a career filled with marvelous defensive stops.
For the second week in a row we have seen Sam Darnold lead this Panthers team to victory. No one is ready to crown Darnold for this short stint of quality play, but brighter days could be waiting on the horizon for this team. This marked the second week in a row that we saw the offensive line put forth another quality effort as well. The O-Line of the Panthers has been nothing to write about this offseason, and if anything I have tried to highlight where flaws have existed. Regardless of the evaluations you may hold of these players the fact is they have produced when it was needed. Compared to what was expected of this unit coming into this season one could say their play so far has been exceptional. As the offense line has held up their end with keeping Darnold upright and opening holes for McCaffrey the offense as a whole has begun to click. Whether it was the opening drive that ended in a touchdown for the Panthers or at any other point in the game; it never felt as though the Saints had any momentum against the Panthers. The offense called on CMC heavily again which has to keep many people up at night. When McCaffrey is on the field healthy there is no disputing him being one of the top players in the NFL. The mind does begin to wonder, how much abuse can one person take before their body gives out? Outside of one instance where we Panthers fans got to see a glimpse of the old Sam Darnold. While under heavy pressure from the Saints D, Darnold threw a panicky shotput into the waiting arms of a Saints’ linemen. Minus this lone blemish on Darnold’s season the only real mark of concern was a sole pass into double coverage. The majority of the passes thrown by Darnold this season have been well placed. I have not seen many defenders getting their hands on passes through this early-season stretch of games. TE Dan Arnold walked away with multiple catches and a touchdown in the victory Sunday. This is another Fitterer acquisition, it is still too early to say boom or bust for a lot of these players as the season is still young. One thing is certain, that is the Panthers have been exciting to watch in the first two weeks of the season.
February Football?
It is still far too early to even think about this team in any sort of playoff fashion. By all accounts the Carolina Panthers have come out of the starting blocks hot. This Panthers team will look to do something that hasn’t been accomplished since the magical 2015 season, and that will be starting 3-0. The Panthers will take to the road for the first time this season, heading into Houston to take on a battered Texans team. The Houston Texans have found themselves in media headlines all offseason for all the wrong reasons. I’m not here to speculate or report on any personal or off-field matters involving players without the facts to support said statements. Thursday will see Davis Mills lining up under center, yes that’s right a 3rd string quarterback will take on this Carolina defense. At first glance it would seem like a cake-walk, but with a short turnaround for this Thursday night game anything can happen. The production of the Texans offense has been surprising and possibly was propelled by veteran Tyrod Taylor. With a trip to the Injured Reserve list Taylor will be sidelined for at least three weeks and yet another setback for the journeyman QB. The Panthers defense is on pace with a historic sack total projecting to get 85 sacks on the season. That is an insane figure and would blow the current record of 72 out of the water. Against Houston we could see another strong performance out of this defense. DC Phil Snow’s ingenuity for designing exotic schemes and blitz packages will be a tall order for the Texans offense to stop. This 2021 Panthers defense is poised to be one of the best in the team’s history. Carolina has started 2-0 six times, every one of those teams made it to the playoffs, it is still too early to even consider if this trend will hold, but a dose of optimism is good for the soul.
Winter is Coming
A lot is being said about the coaching schemes of Defensive Coordinator Phil Snow and rightfully so. The NFL is not a playground. You don’t just draw something up in the dirt and make it work. There is a long laundry list of coaches that failed on the NFL level that were great in college. Anyone remember a guy called Saban? The personnel of the Panthers’ defense could be described as exotic even in its most basic form. Players like Shaq Thompson, Brian Burns, Haason Reddick, Jeremy Chinn, and Sunday against the Saints we even saw rookie Jaycee Horn taking snaps in a more Nickel type role. In many ways these players have non-traditional skill sets, and still excel at their individual positions. Phil Snow may stack the box with eight or nine players and still only bring a 4-man rush on the play. To end the first half in the Saints game we saw the Panthers and Phil Snow dial up the exact same blitz three times in a row. In each of the three plays the blitz was incorrectly picked up and led to a positive play for the Panthers. Thursday night’s game will mark the first opportunity for the league to get a look at off-season acquisition A.J. Bouye who has finished serving a suspension from 2020. Bouye seems slated to be the Nickel DB in this defense, but as we have seen versatility is not lacking with this lineup. The formations we see Snow putting on the field are more commonly seen in the college realms but the man has found something that is working. The 3-3-5 and 4-2-5, Panthers fans might remember the Double A Gap blitz look that was persistent during the Kuechly era, this is just one way to present a 4-2-5 package, with a DB or Safety playing down in the box i.e. Jeremy Chinn, and just one of the many examples of this defense’s versatility. This could be the largest factor in the matchup with the Houston Texans’ offense. This game will be played indoors at the confines of NRG Stadium. Know one thing for week 3, the weather reports will be wrong. Thursday night, in Houston expect Snow for the game.
A Thin Line Already
Sunday the Panthers saw their own player sent to the Injured Reserve list in Pat Elflein. The offensive line has only allowed two sacks on the season thus far. It is likely we will see Dennis Daley starting in place of the injured left guard. This unit has already surpassed some of the expectations set forth before the season began. If the offensive line can give a repeat performance of their week 1 or 2 output that will help set the table for another Panthers win. The Houston defense will be without Safety Justin Reid most likely as he is listed as Questionable with a knee injury. The bar has not been set high for this offensive unit and another solid performance would allow Darnold the time to pick apart the defense. The array of weapons offered by the Carolina offense might make some coaches head spin if not for the question marks that exist within the offensive line. Lovie Smith on the Houston coaching staff will look to contain these weapons as best as possible as Defensive Coordinator. The longtime coach will face possibly his toughest matchup so far in the young season with the Carolina offense.