The Work Still Needed
For most rookies, the biggest adjustment when they get to the NFL is the increased size of the playbook and the speed of the game. It is no longer simply a matter of executing, but also about recognizing what it is you are meant to be executing in real time. The Panthers’ rookies have been good in this regard across the board so far this season, but there were a couple of times on Sunday where Daley either missed his assignment or appears not to have really contributed to the play. On the first of these, he does help Paradis on the double, but it appears that one of them should have then kicked onto the linebacker, but Daley never really commits to taking over the double to allow Paradis to do this – again, Daley is #65 at left tackle:
The second error is clearer – here, he does a nice job of initially blocking down before kicking onto the linebacker, but blocks the wrong linebacker, leaving his man free to make the tackle:
Again, these are not mistakes unique to Daley, but they are mistakes. These kind of mental errors should be fixable the more reps he gets and he is able to turn plays on a whiteboard into experience on the field. However, he did also make some errors that are more technical than experiential.
One area where Daley could do with better is in the way he controls his blocks. The Panthers rushing attack doesn’t tend to ask offensive linemen to drive defenders backward, but instead asks them to consistently secure blocks and rely on the play design to open up rushing lanes. What this means in practice, is that blockers need to get consistent hand placement on the frame of their assignments and use their feet to direct the defenders into the correct space on the field. The biggest issue that Daley had with this, at times, was looking to apply the power before having actually secured the block:
This is something that particularly shows up when asked to block in space:
The other way that his control could be improved is with more retrained hand usage. As could also be seen in the play above, Daley’s arms can be a little all over the place off the snap as he uses them to maintain his balance. This then makes it harder for him to locate his punch, and when he misses it, allows the defender to work out of the gap that Daley is meant to be driving him into:
Again, none of these are things that can’t be worked on – given where he was entering the NFL, it is hard not to admire the progress he has made to this point. However, for him to be consistently effective as a run blocker inside the Panthers’ scheme he could do with focusing on keeping his elbows tight to his frame and his hands together and in front of his face. This will put more emphasis on his lower body not only in terms of maintaining balance, but it should allow him to be more consistent in terms of locating his hands and therefore the control of his blocks.
The final issue that Daley is likely to come up against as the season goes on, and the one which it will be hardest for him to overcome, is the strain that this offense can put on offensive linemen in the running game, as this was also something which showed up in London. The Panthers ask their offensive linemen to reach block a lot – that is, to block somebody who they start on the back side of the play from – asking them not only to locate their hands, but also to do so while getting their feet around the defender.
This is really hard, and there are going to be times when all the Panthers’ offensive linemen aren’t able to make such blocks. Daley had at least one of these plays on Sunday:
The point of this article isn’t to overtly criticize Daley; after all, he did play well on the whole against the Bucs – who, to their credit, are the #1 team against the run for a reason – and shows every sign of being a long-term fixture on the offensive line for the Panthers – whether at tackle or guard, on the left side or the right remains to be seen. There are, however, things he could do with working on and, crucially, Daley is still a rookie with just two games of NFL experience – it will only get better from here.
