Panthers fans had their first look at what is likely to be the starting offensive line for the 2019 season – at least to start with – last Friday against the Bills; while the game itself was something of a mess for the Panthers, because this is the preseason, what is far more important is how the individual players and position groups got on in isolation.
For the offensive line, there is obviously more uncertainty than at some other positions as Daryl Williams hasn’t played left tackle in the NFL and is coming off a season-ending injury and Matt Paradis -who is also coming off a season ending injury – is new to the team. While there are obviously limits to what can be concluded from a few drives of preseason action, how did the Panthers’ offensive line starters look against the Bills?
Taylor Moton, RT
Moton didn’t see much action as a rookie in 2017, but 2018 saw him emerge as the Panthers starting right tackle and going into 2019 he is expected to be one of the surer things on the Panthers’ offensive line. While some, as fans of any team often do, might have raised their expectations of Moton to a somewhat overly-optimistic level, there was a lot to like from his game against the Bills, but there were also a number of negatives that need to be addressed going forward.
In the run game, he had a couple of nice snaps, the first on this play where he does a good job of walling the defender off on the backside of the run (Moton is #72):
And while he could have been slightly quicker to get across on the second play, he did well to down block initially before kicking out to set the edge (this play seems to be doomed by design rather than failed by execution):
However, one thing that has continued to be an issue for Moton throughout his career – though he has made some improvements in this regard – is his knee bend. This showed up somewhat on the following play where his high pad level makes it hard for him to generate much push and makes it easier for the defender to push him slightly off-balance – allowing for the defender to release back inside him to stuff the run:
This knee bend issue might be a physical limitation, but with focused weight-room work and coaching it should be able to be improved, and should allow him to both generate more push as a run blocker and also do so with far greater control of his blocks.
As a pass protector, there were also some really nice reps, working well to force the edge rusher wide and around the pocket with good foot speed and balance:
However, some of the same knee bend issues also showed up here, forced to put himself noticeably off-balance to counter power moves:
This then created issues against stunts, as while he was able to prevent the edge defender from generating pressure, when the interior defensive lineman swung around the edge, Moton was off balance and unable to separate from the block allowing him to pass his defender back to the guard so he could stop the loop from getting to the quarterback:
There were also a couple of plays where he appeared to misjudge the speed of the opponent, initially setting himself one way and then struggling to cover the ground he had allowed around the edge:
It would be unwise to take this as a major problem with his play based on these two plays, but mistakes like these are unnecessary and give the defender easy pressures. This apparent lack of focus also showed up on a screen, where he looks to be already thinking about his second block in space before focusing on actually making his initial block at the line:
He would also do well not to get too wide in pass protection, as while it is important not to get beaten around the edge, by getting outside of the defender on plays like the following, he risks getting beaten inside:
The most obvious negative play he allowed on Friday was actually one of the ones which is hardest to avoid, the sack on fourth down. Here, he’s in good position but just as he punches, the defender looks to spin inside:
Ideally, he would have waited for the defender to commit to a strategy before looking to use his hands to react, but his punch isn’t mistimed or wild and it is unlikely that he if played this rep over every passing snap of a game that he would have whiffed in this way very often, but this is the NFL – the expectation has to be that he will have the discipline and talent to be reactive in situations like this. Moton didn’t have his best game against the Bills, but his run blocking was still good and his pass protection is more about refinement than any gaping hole in his technique or ability.
Up Next: Trai Day
