Last weekend, with the Baltimore Ravens bringing the #1 defense into Charlotte, the talk all week was how to handle the pass rush, how to gain yardage when none had been allowed, how to score points against a team that only allowed 14.4 per game. It turned out that all of those questions were answered in the first half as the Panthers didn’t allow a sack, ran up 24 points and never looked back from a halftime three-score lead.
This week, with the Tampa Bay Bucs again bringing a statistically inconceivable unit – they lead the league in both passing yards and total yards in addition to ranking third in yards per play and seventh in overall scoring – the questions have again turned to how to stop an offense that has done it consistently – they’ve ranked in the Top 10 in both passing and total yards every season under Dirk Koetter’s watch; the Bucs are 2-2 against the Panthers while Koetter has been head coach, sweeping the season series in 2016 and being swept last season.
While the passing numbers may be gaudy, the turnover numbers are just the opposite for the Buccaneers; they have the second-highest interception rate in the league and are tied for the worst turnover differential – much of that has stemmed from former #1 overall pick Jameis Winston, who was benched last week after throwing four interceptions; Winston has 10 interceptions and four fumbles in less than four games. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will be starting on Sunday, has only five interceptions in more playing time.
The Bucs have also rushed for over 100 yards in their past three games and if the Panthers, who have a +6 turnover differential themselves, don’t take the ball away from Tampa Bay, they could be in for a long day on defense.
Five Players To Watch
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB
Photo Credit: Kim Clement/USA Today Sports
While Fitzmagic has been around the league a few times – the Bucs are the seventh team of his 14-year career – when his number was called in last week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, he was ready to throw two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally the Bucs back from an 18-point deficit to eventually lose on a last-second field goal – staying ready is what the Harvard grad is all about.
“What I’ve learned is that you’ve always got to stay ready,” Fitzpatrick said to the Tampa Bay media on Wednesday. “You’ve got to take advantage of your opportunities when you get them because the biggest thing about the NFL is that it’s a performance-based league and you have to go out there and perform and if you don’t, there are other guys that will be able to.”
Fitzpatrick’s ability to be at the right place at the right time – and do the same thing with the ball – is what Dirk Koetter has liked this season from the veteran QB.
“What Fitz has done a good job of doing is going to the right spot and giving those guys a chance to make their plays, especially down the field,” said Koetter. “He’s put the ball on the money and those guys have made plays for him.”
Tampa Bay was 2-1 with Fitzpatrick starting and 1-3 with Winston at the helm.
Lavonte David, LB
Photo Credit: Aaron Doster/USA Today Sports
Now that Kwon Alexander has been placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL, LaVonte David has been the spearhead of the Bucs’ linebacking corps and lived up to that moniker with eight stops last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. David has essentially lived in the backfield throughout his seven-year career, racking up 102 tackles for loss – this season, he’s one of only two defenders to rank in the top 10 in TFLs that isn’t a pass-rusher. The other? You guessed it – Luke Kuechly.
David has taken over the playcalling for the defense, but it’s the loss of Alexander that may loom the largest for a Tampa defense that already has allowed the third-most yardage in the NFL (albeit in one less game) to tight ends with 574 yards and touchdowns in four of their last five games.
DJ Moore, WR
After his breakout game last week against the Ravens, Moore will look to follow it up with another standout performance and he may get the chance, especially with wide receiver Torrey Smith not practicing. It was Smith’s absence that led to more snaps and touches for Moore, who rewarded the Panthers with 129 total yards on seven touches; now it will be up to Moore to prove that he can be a consistent part of an offense that will be forced to keep up with the Buccaneers.
“DJ’s proven that he can be part of winning [and] he can be part of the reason why we win,” said Ron Rivera about his first-round pick. “You don’t want to win because of somebody all the time, because now you’re going to rely on them too much, but it is a good thing to have guys that you can say ‘we can win with this guy, we know we can win with this guy.’”
Eric Reid, S
Now that Reid has had a full month to acclimate to the Panthers defense, it is time for him to start making some plays that alter the game – with a turnover-prone team like the Bucs that will look to test the Panthers’ secondary, it will be imperative that Reid both makes plays on the ball when it’s thrown deep and comes up to make physical, violent hits when tight ends like Cameron Brate or OJ Howard come across the middle.
“When Eric came in and all of a sudden [he] comes in under those circumstances and he has to acquire, in a very short period of time, the terminology, the things that are specific to how we play defense, our coverage concepts and then understand the NFC South, the teams we’re going to see multiple times and some of the teams on our schedule,” Eric Washington said about Reid, who he has been impressed by. “It’s very important, having to do that under those circumstances is a challenge and he’s done a heck of a job putting in the time and becoming a part of who we are.”
At some point the adjustment period is over – this week may just be that week, especially in the Panthers first divisional home game of the season.
Carlton Davis, CB
Carlton Davis. Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before – a rookie cornerback selected in the second round that’s thrown into the starting lineup partly because of their talent and partly because of injuries to those ahead of him on the depth chart excels in the first half of his rookie year. While that may sound like Panthers corner Donte Jackson, it’s actually Davis, who matched up against top wideout AJ Green last week and allowed five catches for 76 yards and a touchdown while playing all 66 snaps; while Brent Grimes will likely follow Devin Funchess, it will be up to Davis to match up with DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel or Damiere Byrd – whomever is lined up opposite the Panthers x-receiver will likely draw Davis and get the majority of targets from Cam Newton.
With fellow rookie corner MJ Stewart not practicing, it’s looking as if there will be a lot of playing time for Davis – look for Newton to stay away from the Grimes vs. Funchess matchup and look to pick on the rookie – that might mean a big day for either Moore or Samuel.
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