Following an up and down performance against the San Francisco 49ers, the Carolina Panthers will be facing off against a number of familiar faces when they play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. With the upcoming matchup on our minds, the only thing we can do is count down the days and take a look at the most important things to watch heading into the weekend.
Five Panthers We’ve Got Questions About:
#22 Christian McCaffrey, Running Back
After some talk about limiting his snaps and involving Damiere Byrd and Curtis Samuel more will we see McCaffrey as much in week 2? Will the Bills focus their defensive efforts on McCaffrey like the 49ers did or will he see more one-on-one matchups? Will we see him return a punt that doesn’t get called back by a penalty?
#19 Russell Shepard, Wide Receiver
First touchdown of the season!
Will he see more targets after catching his only two against the 49ers? Will he take more of a lead role in the offense if Benjamin and Funchess have a hard time connecting with Newton? Will he put up another solid performance or did we see his best game of the season in Week 1?
#54 Shaq Thompson, Linebacker
Will he see more snaps after being the most efficient linebacker in Week 1? If so, who does he take snaps from? Will the Panthers utilize him as a safety to inject some speed at the position against a west coast offense?
#1 Cam Newton, Quarterback
Was his early performance against the 49ers rust or is his shoulder still not 100%? After only scrambling once against the 49ers, will he be forced to scramble more against a stronger defensive line? Can he read McDermott’s defense pre-snap and make the correct adjustments and decisions?
#29 Mike Adams, Safety
Will he line up closer to the line of scrimmage against a run heavy offense? Is he fast enough to keep up with Zay Jones if he gets behind one of the corners?
Four Important Matchups:
E.J. Gaines & Kelvin Benjamin
Can Benjamin get the better of the Bill’s newest trade acquisition and reaffirm fans after a lackluster week one performance or will Gaines prove to be a formidable adversary and keep Benjamin in check? Either way this duo will be fun to watch due to their height difference and play styles.
Kawann Short & Richie Incognito
Short had a strong performance against a lackluster offensive line last week but Richie Incognito is a much stronger opponent and will represent a bigger challenge. Can Short plug gaps and break into the backfield frequently against Incognito? He will likely have to if the defense is going to keep Tyrod Taylor and LeSean McCoy in check.
Greg Olsen & Micah Hyde/Jordan Poyer
Olsen had two receptions for 18 total yards last week which makes him a player to watch, because Olsen has had less than twenty yards receiving in only six games since 2011. Poyer had a terrific Bills debut and Hyde looks poised for a good year as well. Olsen’s ability to get behind defenses and provide Newton with a safety net will be tested against these young talented safeties.
Tyrod Taylor & Luke Kuechly
Kuechly has given many a quarterback nightmares by calling out their plays instantly and putting his teammates in position to make plays and Tyrod Taylor has never faced off against Kuechly before. As such, these two become an interesting duo to watch; will Kuechly get the better of the indecisive quarterback or will Taylor keep his cool and make the right reads at the right times?
Three Things The Panthers Need to do to Win:
Utilize bunch formations:
Sean McDermott’s zone blitzing defense relies on two things; the ability to get pressure while only rushing four linemen and the ability to disguise coverages in order to confuse the quarterback. The best way to attack this style defense is the use of 3 and 4 wide receiver sets that apply pressure on the defense by attacking the edge of the field. Bunch formations are one of the formations that do particularly well because it tends to lead to overloaded zones, open players and mismatches while allowing the offense to call a variety of plays and forcing the defense to move blitzers further from the quarterback.
Get Kelvin Benjamin the ball:
In two games against the Bills, Benjamin has 4 receptions for 65 yards and 2 touchdowns.(Keep in mind that both games came in the preseason when Benjamin played with the starters for only a handful of drives.) The Bills have a new coaching staff, but their biggest defensive back is only six feet tall and weighs 197 pounds which simply isn’t big enough to handle Benjamin at 6’5″ and 245 pounds.
Play disciplined:
The Bills run a west coast offense that utilizes zone rushing concepts and short timing routes to keep the defense on their heels. If the Panthers are to win they will need to understand their assignments and play as a cohesive unit as they did against the 49ers.
Two Reasons the Panthers Could Lose:
Photo: Rich Barnes/USA Today Sports
The Bills get pressure at will:
If the Bills can get pressure while having seven players in coverage then it will be ‘game over’ for the Panthers. When a McDermott defense can apply pressure and keep seven players in coverage, it is almost impossible to create any momentum as an offense. As such, if the Bills can get pressure early and often, Newton will be asked to carry the offense on his back and with the quarterback being so rusty Week 1 it is hard to see him being able to drag the offense to victory against a talented defense.
LeSean McCoy gets going:
There really isn’t much a defense can do if LeSean McCoy gets into a groove; unfortunately for the Panthers, it appears McCoy got off to a hot start against the New York Jets and will likely carry that momentum into their matchup this week. If McCoy can take the pressure off of Tyrod Taylor and create mismatches all over the field then the Panthers defense will be in for a long game of cat and mouse.
One Bold Prediction: Star Lotulelei has more tackles than Kawann Short
It only happened in three games last year, but you never know…..
