Pounding Panthers Chronicle

Week 5 Recap 

This Sunday many Panthers fans found themselves seeing red while watching the game versus the San Fransico 49ers.  This is not a metaphorical reference to Panthers’ fans emotions about the performance of the team Sunday, but a literal sight being seen for the fans within Bank of America stadium.  The outpour of 49ers fans could easily be described as a sea of red.  It took only two plays Sunday for the 49ers’ fans present to be heard.  This is only the most recent occurrence in what has been a disturbing trend within the confines of the Panthers’ stadium.  Both audibly and visually it could be noted at the number of 49ers fan that were in attendance, or I should say it highlighted just how many Panthers’ fans weren’t attending Sunday’s game.  This should be a clear “red flag” to Panthers’ ownership about the fans’ feelings towards the team.  The growing outcry by Panthers’ fans has only escalated throughout the season and given what fans were forced to endure with Sunday’s game they have good reason for doing so.  The 49ers were a team that coming into their matchup with Panthers was only averaging a mere seventeen points a game this season.  Even the Panthers have managed to produce a higher average so far this season, however this would have zero indication on the outcome of the day.  The offense has yet to find any conceivable rhythm that would allow for them to move the ball downfield.  For the second time this season we final saw the passing attack go over two hundred yards on the day, this should not be considered a successful benchmark to have for a passing offense in the NFL, but this was a productive day through the air by what have become Panthers’ standards.  Baker Mayfield made an early withdraw from this game as he was seen favoring his left foot.  After the game Baker was spotted in a walking boot, saying that the injured his ankle in the first half, but continued to play on through it.  Injured foot or not all game long Mayfield looked to be flustered even when standing behind a clean pocket.  In the third straight game a non-offensive unit delivered a jolt of momentum to the offense for it to be squandered away.  With the 49ers up by seven and attempting a field goal to increase their lead, Yetur Gross-Matos rose above the blockers, and blocked the would-be Robbie Gould kick.  Four plays later after double-clutching Baker Mayfield would egregiously overthrow McCaffrey for what would result in a pick-six.  It is fair to say the most positive note that could be made about the Panthers’ offense from Sunday’s game is what seems to be an emerging Shi Smith.  On five targets in the game Smith record four receptions and was able to rack up sixty-nine yards on the day.  I’m not here to tell you that Shi Smith is the next great thing, but it was nice to see productions from players not named DJ Moore or Christian McCaffrey.  The coaching staff also found Terrence Marshall Jr as well as the second-year wide receiver hauled in all four of his targets Sunday.  After a forty-five-yard kickoff return by rookie Raheem Blackshear the Panthers pieced together a seven-play drive that resulted in the lone touchdown for the Panthers on the day.  This would not be the first time that the Panthers started a drive with great field position as Blackshear was able to deliver a second massive return on the very next kickoff by the Panthers.  The bright spots were few and far between in the game against the 49ers but they did exist.  During the post-game press conference Matt Rhule asked about his job security, which has become a hot topic when talking Panthers’ football.  The rushing defense, or lack thereof cannot be overlooked.  This is the fourth game this season that the opposing team rushed collectively for over a hundred yards, and the second time this season that a single player has rushed for at least one-hundred-twenty yards.  The defense failed to get off of the field in critical situations and even when doing so was unable to stay off of the field by the piss-poor play of the offense.  A possible answer to the issues in the run game could stem from the schemes and philosophies used by defensive coordinator Phil Snow.  The roster of the defense has been built to support the 3-3-5 schemes that Snow is known for preferring, often this year we have seen second-year cornerback Jaycee Horn play out of the nickel position and operate more in a safety capacity.  The thought of Horn’s size and speed being used as a corner-safety hybrid is attractive, but is less sexy when you see the defense gashed in the run-game all day long.  Horn, who left the game with a hip injury and did not return, is joining fellow hybrid-player Jeremy Chinn on the injured list.  It is yet to be determined the severity of the injury and hopefully will not be as severe as Chinn’s trip to the IR.  Baker Mayfield is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday and does lead the door open for a possible start by PJ Walker, the former XFL quarterback. 

Is Tepper the Disease? 

The amount of attention on how long Matt Rhule continues to dominate the main topic of Panthers’ news.  If it is an extremely valid topic, but one that has to raise a certain question.  Is Rhule the problem in Carolina or is he simply another symptom of the Tepper disease?  It has become obviously clear that Matt Rhule’s time with the Panthers’ is on the verge of ending.  There is a number of decisions already that have occurred that have left many people scratching their heads.  David Tepper has been very vocal in the media about his desires on the direction this team should be heading.  A key talking point for the new owner when he first took control of the team was doing away with mediocrity.  Not only has the team continued to trend in a downward direction on the field, and matters outside of football that make fans wonder what the future holds for this team.  While Tepper has preached patients he has acted with childish inpatients each offseason at the quarterback position.  The revolving door of quarterbacks is not only alarming but is also expected to continue regardless of the outcome from this season.  At what point is it fair to ask if the owner is the issue with a team.  It would not be the first occurrence of such a thing, but it does paint a blite outlook on the future of the Panthers.  The news back when Matt Rhule was hired as the Panthers’ head coach was somewhat surprising, but what was mind-boggling was the contract given to the then Baylor University coach.  If the dysfunction that we have seen out of the team is a symptom of Tepper’s involvement with the team, how can anyone expect to see any level of improvement out of this team?  There are many hopes that removing Matt Rhule will serve as the cure that is needed, or is it dissimilar to putting a band-aid on a gunshot?  Because if we find this team amidst another coaching search, we have to wonder who it will it be making that final decision.  It is a challenging task to predict what members of the coaching staff, if any, will survive the impending overhaul within the team.  If current General Manager Scott Fitterer is released before a new head coach is hired it almost ensures that the decision will be made solely by Tepper.  This could become a growing fear for Panthers’ fans as the Tepper-era in Carolina has produced nothing that could be viewed as a mark of progress.  Tepper was quoted saying that “Rome was not built in a day” before the start of this season, and currently it feels like there is more progress being made on the Rockhill Project then the Panthers as a team.