The “dress rehearsal” game against the Jaguars has concluded and there are still a number of fans who are worried about how the Carolina Panthers’ offensive line will protect Cam Newton throughout the regular season. After a great showing against the Houston Texans vaunted defensive front and a good showing against the Tennessee Titans defense helmed by Dick LeBeau, the Panthers offensive line looked outmatched against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Left tackle Matt Kalil has quickly become the primary target for offensive line criticism after receiving a 39.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus and allowing two defenders to fly by him on the Panthers first touchdown of the night. However, there were some good moments in how Kalil played that needs to be examined.
McCaffrey takes the handoff from the I formation pic.twitter.com/je87aoPmOI
— Billy Marshall (@BillyM_91) August 24, 2017
The first two runs to Kalil’s side went for a combined 37 yards (31 yards and six yards respectively) and while he didn’t play a pivotal role in Jonathan Stewart’s 31 yard burst, he was the main reason in the above run that Christian McCaffrey went for six instead of being dropped for a loss. Most of Kalil’s poor play stemmed from his decision making, or rather, his indecisive nature; on the touchdown throw he knew he would have to let at least one defender through but didn’t decide which one until both were already through. As a run blocker, he did a great job of finding his man and initially pushing the defender back, however, he struggled to hold the block for long and was caught off balance a number of times. He will need to learn to anchor himself better after initial contact in order to make a difference in the run game. As a pass blocker, he needs to diagnose pass rushers better; when he does identify a pass rusher he does a good job of using a strong initial punch to get defenders off track, but once again has issues when it comes to holding blocks for long. Improving his technique after initial contact will be paramount to his and the offenses success during the 2017 season and will be one of the primary things to watch every week. In the below play, the entire offensive line holds the pocket well and provides clean lanes for Anderson to throw in. Pay no attention to the actual throw, only the pocket it comes from.
Looks like levels concept to the far side of the field. Anderson comes back near side and woefully overthrows Byrd pic.twitter.com/oFpTqXdxps
— Billy Marshall (@BillyM_91) August 25, 2017
Across from Kalil, Daryl Williams and Taylor Moton both had great outings. Williams, in particular, looked ready for the regular season and did a great job of moving his defender almost at will. Williams will likely be the starter come Week 1 but the way that Moton played in his one series with the starters and against the second string defensive line was inspiring, at some point during the season we could see both Williams and Moton at the offensive tackle positions if Moton continues to improve his footwork and Williams continues to play as he has through three weeks of the preseason. Will Ron Rivera be willing to rotate Williams and Moton at right tackle or will this be a case where Moton is too good to keep on the bench? Time will tell, but while Moton has been playing well, Williams has certainly not played poorly enough in practice or during the preseason to lose his starting job.
