Football is a game of inches. It comes down to the little things. The game has to be played one play at a time, for sixty minutes, by professional athletes who have to take care of the ball, run downhill, play smart, make a hit, put a hat on somebody and ensure they’re giving 110%. The quarterback would sure like to have that one back when they throw an ill-advised pass or a wounded duck but this guy is a real fighter who will play hard and never give anything less than 110%. Throw the records out when these two teams meet, because there is definitely some bad blood between these two rivals; they’ve got a good, young team and they’re a little bit inexperienced, but they can be dangerous because on any given Sunday anything can happen. As long as they give 110%.
Sometimes when you’re watching football, you’ve got to separate the truths from the cliche. And that goes doubly so when you’re listening to players and coaches, so when head coach Ron Rivera says that the end result “comes down to five or six plays you do or don’t make” in a game they lost by three scores, it’s hard to not cry foul or just dismiss it as more ‘coach-speak’ and move on to another quote. But in this case, the loss to the Saints may be traced to six plays where the game got away from them. Every game has a turning point, but in this case, the Panthers may have had six chances to turn the game back towards victory.
Third-and-4 from the Saints 8, 7:02 – 1st Quarter, Carolina 0, New Orleans 0.
The Panthers drove down quickly and efficiently when they received the opening kickoff, mixing run and short passes with some interesting formations and motions to put together a 14-play, 67 play drives that had already eaten up half of the first quarter, but when tackle Matt Kalil misheard the blocking call in the huddle and made a “mental error” by going right instead of left, it allowed Cameron Jordan a free rush at Cam Newton. Not only did it cost the team four points, it may have given New Orleans a mental edge, as they had come in as the league’s worst defense statistically and looked it. After they made that stop, the Saints would not give up another long drive until they already led by 18.
First-and-10 from Saints 32, 12:49 – 2nd Quarter, Saints 7, Panthers 3.
While the easy answer is to blame the referees for this penalty, in reality, this is actually the Panthers’ fault. A late substitution from the bench by the Panthers forced the referees to hold the snap to allow the Saints’ to make a counter-substitution. Even though the Panthers were, according to Rivera, making a switch from 12 to 21 personnel, the Saints still have the opportunity to sub, even if it means a delay of game penalty is inevitable. The offense had two delay of game penalties last week against Buffalo, and a penalty on first-and-10 gets the team “off-schedule” and they weren’t able to recover from a 1st-and-15 start to the series, ending with a field goal instead of continuing the roll they were on.
First-and-10 From Panthers 24, 7:58 2nd Quarter, Saints 7, Panthers 6.
With the Panthers offense still clicking after a Cam Newton scamper for a first down, the QB took a shotgun snap, faked a handoff to Christian McCaffrey and threw a pass that was intercepted by a driving P.J. Williams. There were multiple issues with this play, not the least of which was that Williams was driving on Funchess for the interception as soon as the play action happened, which means that he had seen the play in film study and was ready for the throw. Not only does Newton need to make a better decision on that play, but Funchess has to run a better route; his cut was soft and made it extremely easy for the defender to see where he was headed. The defense had just forced the Saints to punt and the Panthers’ offense had been moving the ball effectively up until this point. The short field gave the Saints the momentum and they took advantage with a touchdown four plays later and the Panthers were down by 8.
Third-and-10 From Panthers 25, 5:03 – 2nd Quarter, Saints 14, Panthers 6.
After going down by 8, the Panthers had the ball and if they were able to put together a nice drive and put points on the board, this game would have remained close. After two plays that went nowhere, Devin Funchess ran a nice out-and-up pattern (the same pattern that would get Christian McCaffrey free for a big gain later in the game) and had separation down the sideline. Unfortunately, Cam Newton overthrew Funchess and the Panthers had to punt; whether this was just a miss or a symptom of the lack of practice Newton has had in the preseason and through three weeks remains to be seen, but a big play there would have changed the outlook of this game. As it was, the Panthers punted the ball and didn’t see it for the rest of the half as the Saints were able to drive down the field for three points to make this a two-score game. They would also receive the second-half kickoff and score again to extend their lead to 18. Imagine a world of make-believe where this pass to Funchess was complete and the Panthers scored to make it 14-13. The outlook of the game is completely different with 35 minutes left to play.
Second-and-8 From Panthers 40, 11:18 – Third Quarter, Saints 17, Panthers 6.
After receiving the second half kickoff, the Saints were able to make a big play with Ted Ginn over the middle, and while these are the kinds of plays Drew Brees and Ted Ginn make their money on, a number of things had to happen exactly the right way for that play to be successful. Mike Adams was a second too late to get back into coverage after the pump fake, and James Bradberry was in a great position to make a play on the ball, but couldn’t get his head around or his hands on the ball because it is placed absolutely perfectly and Ginn makes a heck of a catch. This was the play that ultimately doomed the Panthers and made them one dimensional for the rest of the game down by 18.
“He was in great position, safety was a little bit late. Safety bit on the pump to the outside on the other side and he didn’t get the help that he should’ve got. The unfortunate part was he was there, you’d like to see him be able to make that play.”
-Head Coach Ron Rivera
Third-and-3 From Saints 27, 5:46 – Third Quarter, Saints 24, Panthers 6.
This should have been a touchdown for the Panthers defense, which would have cut the lead to two scores. The Panthers were able to go 93 yards for a touchdown on their next drive, so having these six points would have made a huge difference. How many times does all-world linebacker Luke Kuechly drop an interception that is thrown right at him?
Third-and-6 From Panthers 29, 11:20 – Fourth Quarter, Saints 27, Panthers 13
A high pass that bounced off of Christian McCaffrey’s hands and into the hands of rookie Marcus Williams has a number of other outcomes. If McCaffrey, he of the sure hands who never drops passes, is able to secure the pass on the run, it seems very possible he has the yardage for a first down and the drive can continue with plenty of time on the clock and the Panthers down two scores; if Newton hits Shepard on the drag route, that appears to have the yardage for a first down. However, this interception (and the next one) proved to be costly, the Panthers were not able to put together anything offensively after this and the Saints coasted to a 34-13 win.
If any one of these six plays goes a different way, perhaps the mood and discussion is different today in Charlotte.
But that’s why they play the games.
