Depending on your outlook on the 2020 season, the Panthers either got off to a perfect start to their ‘get the highest draft pick possible’ endeavor or suffered a slightly frustrating loss while showing both some good and some bad against the Raiders.
Whatever you think the destination is that the Panthers are aiming for this year, the journey continues this weekend when the Panthers go to Tampa Bay and face a Bucs team that lost on the road to the Saints to start the season. So then, what do the Panthers need to do to get their first mark in the win column and possibly jump the Bucs in the standings by sending them to 0-2?
Don’t Give Up On The Run Game Early
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The Bucs run D is good. Very good.
They held the Saints to just 2.4 yards per carry on Sunday and did a pretty masterful job of preventing the Panthers from running the ball in both encounters last season. However, an important note is that while the Bucs were able to limit the Saints on the ground, the Saints didn’t respond by abandoning the rushing game – they continued to run the ball for a grand total of 34 carries. The Panthers offensive line help up OK against the Raiders and they have shown that they can move the ball fairly effectively through the air – but they can’t afford to drop back 50 times against the Bucs defensive front and not expect it to cause some problems up front, especially for the interior guys.
The Panthers probably aren’t going to have a great day on the ground against the Bucs, but it’s important that they don’t have a stat line like their Week 2 encounter last year where Cam Newton had 51 pass attempts to McCaffrey’s 16 carries.
Make Brady Hold The Ball
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The Panthers’ defensive line was always going to struggle to get consistent pressure against a Raiders passing game that focuses on the short game for the most part, but the Panthers have invested far too much in their defensive front to not be able to impact games with their pass rush.
While Brady is known for the speed that he gets the ball out, this Bucs offense looks to push the ball down the field more consistently than any offense Brady has featured in since he lost Randy Moss. Yes, the Panthers are going to struggle to match up in the secondary – and we’ll get to that in a moment – but they can’t afford to give the Tampa receivers big cushions and allow Brady to nickel and dime them underneath while putting the emphasis on their secondary to make plays on the ball in the air rather than on the offensive line’s ability to keep Brady clean.
The Bucs interior line is decent – Derrick Brown and Kawann Short (if he plays) will have another reasonably tough day at the office in all likelihood, but Demar Dotson can certainly be attacked in pass protection and while their first round pick Wirfs has a ton of talent, the Panthers should be able to take advantage of his inexperience to generate some pressure off the edges.
Importantly, the Panthers need to be able to get this pressure without blitzing a lot; Brady should still be able to tear defenses to pieces if they give him open receivers. The lack of pressures on Sunday was disappointing but not unexpected, but if they can’t muster any pressure against a Bucs team that conceded three sacks and six QB hits to the Saints, that concern will start to grow.
Make More Of McCaffrey The Receiver
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Christian McCaffrey had 38 yards receiving against the Raiders, just over half of his average from a season ago, and while there are going to be games where he makes more of a factor than others, the fact that he only had five targets all game is more confusing, with his only incompletions coming on a wild throw from Bridgewater and a DPI call on a vertical route.
McCaffrey is one of the most valuable receiving options in the NFL, and while the Panthers shouldn’t be trying to manufacture catches for him, the fact that the Panthers three main receivers all saw at least eight targets is an indication that there is space for McCaffrey to be more involved in this way.
The Bucs do have a pretty mobile linebacker pairing in Lavonte David and Devin White, but neither of them should be able to run with McCaffrey in space and certainly not through changes in direction. If the two games against the Bucs last year are any indication then McCaffrey could be in for a big game as a receiver, the Panthers just need to get him out in space working against linebackers more consistently, and looking to use the speed of their three main receivers to create more of a vertical threat than they did against the Raiders.
CMC just got a paid like the player he has shown he can be, now the Panthers need to make sure he gets the best possible chance to be that player every week – against the Bucs, that means getting him out in space as often as they can in the passing game.
Can The Panthers Match Up At Corner?
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It looks as though Donte Jackson is likely to be active for the Panthers on Sunday, but even with him back in their cornerback room, it’s not the best suited to match up with the Bucs two rather large and physical receivers.
Whether you view Evans and Godwin as 1-and-2, 2-and-1 or 1a-and-1b, they both had the ability to cause real headaches for the Panthers on Sunday as they both have a significant size advantage over all of the Panthers’ corners. However, there is now a very large chance that Godwin is unable to recover from a concussion in time to play on Sunday – how the Panthers react to this will be interesting to watch as the Panthers match up with the Bucs’ passcatchers.
The 6-2, 210-pound Douglas is probably the Panthers corner best suited to covering Evans, and I think even if Jackson is available, there is a chance that the Panthers would rather have Douglas out there for this particular game and have Jackson cover what would presumably be Scott Miller on the other side. Miller, while not a receiver of Evans’ caliber, is a much better matchup for Jackson stylistically.
If the Panthers are going to have much success this season, their corners are going to have to outperform expectations – while a lot of the pressure in that regard is being pushed on Jackson and his attempt to prove himself as a #1 corner in the NFL, the Panthers have to be smart about who they use – and how they use them – each week. This week, that probably means more Douglas and less Pride, but who plays alongside Jackson is something that should change week to week.
Additionally, if the Panthers get torched this week not by Evans but by Miller, that would not only be a bad omen of what’s to come, it might be an early signal as to where Jackson is in terms of growth.
Learn, and Move On
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So Matt Rhule has now had a game of experience as an NFL head coach, Joe Brady has called a game as an OC for the first time and Phil Snow has seen how some of his box of tricks gets treated at the NFL level.
All three did some good things – and all three have things they can learn from Sunday’s loss and look to implement going forward. The big question is will they be able to assess what the right changes are – and do they have the ability to implement them. This season is going to be a learning process not just for the number of young players on their roster, but also for their very inexperienced coaching staff, at least by NFL standards.
Some of what they were able to run in college didn’t work on Sunday, or at least needs to be adjusted to deal with the differences between college and the NFL in terms of both scheme complexities and player talent. Some of it did but was maybe not always used at the right time.
2020 is about growth for the Panthers as much as success – while they will have several months to show they can make progress on the field, it is never too early to start, and if some of the issues that plagued them on Sunday are exemplified against the Bucs – at least the ones that aren’t down to player ability – then that will not be the best of signs for this new coaching staff.
The Panthers are deservedly underdogs against the Bucs, and success this week shouldn’t be judged solely on the result, but there are things they need to work on that they should have been able to identify on tape, and Week 2 should prove to be an exercise in self scouting and game prep, two things a coaching staff needs to be able to do well to have consistent success at the NFL level.
(Top Photo Via Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports)
