The Bills game didn’t exactly go to plan, but this is the preseason and so the team can now move on to New England with limited emotional baggage about a tough loss.
However, the way individual players performed against the Bills will carry forward into the decisions about the roster come the end of the preseason, and with another step towards the regular season now behind us, the roster and depth chart are both starting to take shape. However, there are still a number unanswered questions about not only who will make the roster but also how the Panthers plan to use various players, and these questions will once again inform the conversation following the game against the Patriots, whatever the result. So what questions do the Panthers still need answering, and what might get some potential answers on Thursday night?
Does Anybody Want The #2 QB Job?
Going into the Bills game, the narrative seemed to be that the backup quarterback job was a battle between Allen and Grier with both likely to make the roster regardless of who ends up at #2. Given how poorly both played against the Bills and how comparatively well Taylor Heinicke played, it now seems unfair that this still appears to not be a three-way battle. Allen in particular looked quite poor, missing comparatively easy throws and struggling to deal with pressure and failing to execute against what was a relatively simplified Bills defense. Yes, he was going against a strong unit and didn’t have McCaffrey, Thomas or Olsen to fall back on, but when you complete less than 40% of your passes and for just eight yards-per-completion, you are making it very hard to take any real positives from a game.
For Allen, the biggest positive is probably that he didn’t throw an interception, something which Grier has now done for two weeks in a row, but as with last week, Grier seemed to become more comfortable as the game went on. There are still too many misses on shorter passes and he needs to be much better at executing quickly against pressure, but given the standard that Allen set to start the game, it is hard to say he is less likely to win the backup role after the Bills game.
The one player who once again looked impressive was Taylor Heinicke. While he didn’t do anything spectacular and played against lower-tier players, he made a number of nice throws both to short and intermediate areas of the field and looked the most comfortable actually managing the offense of the three players.
Of course, Cam Newton is expected to play at least a little bit – Rivera says three or four possessions – against the Patriots, so there will be less combined playing time for these three this week, but if nothing else, the question needs to be whether the Panthers are still treating it as very much a two-way battle or whether Heinicke gets some playing time earlier in the game to judge whether he is just playing against lower competition or if he is actually the better player. This battle really is wide open, and not for particularly encouraging reasons, but having made a big deal of improving the depth behind Newton – and spending a third round pick to do so – the Panthers need to get this decision right.
Return Of The Linebackers
Against the Bills, with Kuechly and Thompson out, both Andre Smith and Jermaine Carter got picked on early as the Bills looked to isolate them in space against Cole Beasley in particular. While it would be easy to view this as an issue with these two players, it is far from clear that if you took the two best linebackers off any team in the NFL that the depth beneath them couldn’t be exposed in this way. Given this, it is important that the Panthers are able to look more impressive defensively with their full set of defensive starters out there against the Patriots, even if it is only for a series of two.
Some of this is going to be down to how much of an impact Kuechly is able to have from a mental point of view – how effectively the defense as a whole is able to click in terms of alignments and checks is going to be important in terms of the speed at which they hit the ground running when the regular season rolls around. The other thing to watch for is just how easily Kuechly and Thompson slip into the new defense, having not been used at all so far in the preseason.
Given the quality of the two players in question, it would be a real shock to see them actively struggle, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted that they will be able to seamlessly slide into the new defense once the adrenaline starts pumping and there’s a 300-pound man running at you with no care for your personal safety. Fans shouldn’t be expecting an issue here, but it’s good to be sure.
Offensive Stars Get A Run Out
With the offensive line starters getting a run out last week against the Bills, the final part of the offense to still see action in the preseason are the players around which the offensive scheme is based, as well as two of the more interesting offensive weapons in Greg Olsen and Ian Thomas. Thomas did see a few snaps against the Bears before sustaining an injury, but is yet to work with the starters in a meaningful way, and given the rate at which he has developed to this point, he could well be expected to play a more consistently significant role this coming season.
With Newton, of course, there is also some degree of curiosity regarding his health, as while he has been far more involved in training camp than he was in 2017, that’s not quite as reassuring as seeing him actually throwing the ball in full pads and in a live game situation. It would be surprising to see the Panthers leave Newton in for long, but for both him and McCaffrey, the concern is more just making sure that they are fully back to match speed, with this being particularly important with regards to the timing of routes for both players.
For Olsen, there really should be no doubt about his mental readiness at this stage of his career, but given the way in which his past two seasons have ended there is always going to be some concern about his health, concerns that are only likely going to abate once he has shown the ability to play without injury for a sustained period of time. Of course, this is not something he can do in one preseason game, but it would be good to see him go out and run some routes without looking like he is actively having to favor one foot or another.
For all of these players, the concern is more to do with the fact that unless you went to training camp in Spartanburg, you haven’t seen them at all this preseason – and it’s always nice to have a couple of snaps to watch to reassure yourself that they are still the player you remember when going against NFL defenders in an in-game situation, and the Panthers coaches probably aren’t too different in that regard.
Up Next: True Roster Battles
