So What Did Go Wrong?
Before we get into what did go wrong, it is worth noting that the Panthers did get some pressure on Sunday, and on these three plays, the Panthers were able to get to Manning to at least some degree, forcing two incompletions and a sack:
Of course, while Panthers fans would like to see more than just one of these plays being turned into sacks, this is at least effective pressure up front, which if replicated more consistently should lead to an increase in sack numbers. It is also worth noting that there were a couple of likely-to-possible sacks that were prevented by holding that went uncalled. One of which was at least somewhat subtle:
But also one which borders on ludicrous:
The refs didn’t have a good game in general on Sunday, and these two missed calls likely would have – theoretically – taken a touchdown off the board – which would have made for a more pleasant box score. This means that, despite the apparent lack of pressure throughout the game, there were in fact only six plays on Sunday where the defensive line had the time to get the quarterback and were prevented from doing so in a way that wasn’t either illegal or led to a much more favorable coverage matchup. While six plays aren’t worth panicking about, there are some patterns which emerge on these six plays which are worth noting as by learning from what did go wrong, the Panthers should be able to get more consistent pressure.
This play could possibly be classified as a pressure, as Short does do a decent job of getting in Manning’s face, but the Panthers will likely be disappointed that neither Addison or Peppers were able to make more of their one-on-one matchups – Washington said Monday that when players are matched up one-on-one, he expects them to win. Addison’s failure is particularly disappointing as he starts with a leverage edge against Hernandez, but fails to use his hands effectively to prevent the guard from regaining position and negating his rush. And on the following play, the Giants use some pretty strong chip blocks to limit the edge rush, while Short doesn’t quite manage to pull of his planned move:
While not ideal, neither of these plays suggest a fundamental issue with the Panthers pass rush, and given the small sample sizes at this stage these can likely be put down to bad luck, with some lessons still evident in terms of the individual matchups. Some of the Panthers issues may be due to personnel usage, as on the following play, the Panthers do a decent job of setting up the pass rush – only Shaq Thompson gets absolutely handled by Hernandez:
Pass rushing inside in this way is normally something the Panthers have done with Thomas Davis, and while Jermaine Carter, Jr. has also shown some ability as a pass rusher, using Thompson in this way hasn’t shown much effectiveness thus far – this play may well be more effective when Davis returns this week. What might be something of a more long-term issue, however, is – and it pains me to say this – the play of Julius Peppers.
On the following play, Peppers is matched up against the Giants right tackle Chad Wheeler, the same player who got completely abused against JJ Watt. While Watt is one of the elite pass rushers in the NFL, Peppers would still be hoping to get some pressure going against him. However, he simply gets too high going into the contact, and while he gets good initial hand position, he is unable to rip away as all of his momentum has driven him upwards and off-balance:
Where he had the most issues, however, was when he was moved inside as a 3-technique to attack the Giants right guard. On both of the following plays, the Giants look to double the 1-technique and the Panthers are able to get around the edge forcing Manning up and into Peppers. However, on both plays, Peppers is easily handled and Manning is able to step up into the pocket and make the throw.
This is, in part, due to the play of the Giants’ right guard, but when push comes to shove, it has to be said that Peppers doesn’t do hugely well here, and in reality he isn’t a natural fit as a 3-tech. Eric Washington has made it clear that he plans to experiment a lot more with defensive line formations and groupings than Panthers fans have experienced under Ron Rivera, but this use of Peppers as an inside rusher doesn’t seem to be working very well and Washington may be best advised to move away from using it extensively in future.
When examined in detail, the Panthers failure to record multiple sacks on Eli Manning on Sunday might not be as bad as it first appears – many of the reasons behind the Panthers issues are things that have a reasonable chance of change going forward, but it should be said that while Mario Addison has played well and Efe Obada and Wes Horton continue to show flashes of pass rushing ability, this defensive end group is currently not a strength for the Panthers – they need to find ways to put them positions to succeed rather than sticking them out there and expecting them to generate consistent pressure.
That being said, pass rushing is a team effort, and the defensive end group is not alone is bearing some responsibility in this area. Hopefully, however, with the return of Thomas Davis, the continued development of Donte Jackson, Rashaan Gaulden and Jermaine Carter, Jr. along with the continued introduction of Eric Reid, there is reason to hope that this defense is capable of continuing to grow as the season goes along.
