Pounding Panthers Chronicle: Week 9
Week 8 Recap:
The Panthers find themselves in the win column for the first time since week 3 in Houston. Week 8 marked the second divisional game of the season for the Carolina Panthers, heading just a couple hours south on I-85 to square off with its divisional foe the Atlanta Falcons, and this game could be described as a rock fight. The two teams facing off in the NFC South matchup represented the bottom half of the division. Traditionally division games produce entertaining matchups and while the game Sunday was not one filled with highlights it was a close entertaining game overall. The defenses returned to playing like the havoc reeking nightmare of a unit that we saw in the first three weeks of the season. A large part of this turnaround could be contributed to the return of middle linebacker Shaq Thompson. The defensive play-caller has shown that he can be a standout linebacker, and is clearly the leader of this defensive unit. Shaq Thompson’s presence of the field can be seen in his ability to properly align the defense and checking to another play when required, possibly something learned from Panthers great Luke Keuchly. In his return to the field Thompson found himself back as the leader in tackles for the Panthers. Shaq would add an interception to his stats, showcasing his coverage ability. There was one thing that the number 7 Shaq Thompson would like to forget, a particular play that had the Panthers linebacker and former Panthers RB Mike Davis now current Falcons player going heads up, a matchup that players might salivate over, the chance to do what they were restricted from in practices when the two played together, a running lane opens, and what occurred was no different than an Oklahoma drill in a live game. It would be Davis owning the moment but Shaq would walk away with the last laugh and the victory.
A second player was making his debut from an injury stint, Stephon Gilmore, former University of South CarolinaGamecock, and 2019 Defensive Player of the Year put the Panthers black and blue for the first time Sunday. Gilmore was acquired for a 2023 sixth-round draft pick when it was announced that the Patriots would be cutting the veteran player in early in week 5, and the Rock Hill native shined in his first start with the Panthers. On the day he recorded one tackle, one pass deflection, and one interception. The late-game interception would help ice the game and put the Panthers on the winning side for the first time since trading for the cornerback, who was on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list at the time. The Panthers did not shy away from matching Gilmore up with a larger player in Falcons rookie Tight End Kyle Pitts. Overall the Panthers secondary played well and kept Matt Ryan to 146 passing yards on 20 completions, and 1 touchdown while turning it over twice in the form of interceptions.
Halloween Sunday also marked the resurrection of the Panthers pass rush. The Panthers recorded three sacks on the day, 2.5 of those were accredited to DE’s, and one could argue Frankie Luvu deserved the full sack on the play. However, bettors holding a Brian Burns over 9 sacks Futures Prop ticket like myself will gladly take that half a sack for Spiderman Brian Burns. Sunday marked the fourth game that Edge Rushers, Brian Burns and Hasson Reddick recorded a sack in the same game. Reddick leads the Panthers in sacks and is currently tied for fourth in the league for total sacks.
Sunday saw the Panthers get the W but in many ways it was an ugly victory. The offense reverted back to what we see early in the season where the team moved the ball downfield but was unable to punch into the end zone. We saw this take place all game Sunday and would result in multiple drives ending with a field goal; four to be exact. Given the Panthers struggles with field goal kicking in the past it left fans holding their breath as the scoring offense was almost solely reliant on the kicking game for points. A factor in the low scoring output could be due to the decision to run the ball more. That the Panthers did, rushing for 203 yards against the Atlanta Falcons. Sunday marked a career high in carries for the rookie, collecting 24 of the 47 total rushing attempts. Amir Abdullah and Royce Freeman split the other fourteen carries by Panthers running backs, 8 and 6 carries respectably. Sam Darnold found himself involved in the run game as well, electing to run versus pass after scrambling on multiple plays, one of which landed the Panthers QB with a concussion late in the game while driving inside the Falcons’ 10-yardline. For the second week in a row PJ Walker made an appearance though under different circumstances. The backup QB simply had to hand the ball off to Chuba Hubbard who recorded the lone touchdown for the Carolina offense on a six dash through the middle of the field.
Dropped catches will be something that you hear about after this week’s game. The Panthers came into this game with a league leading 20 dropped passes. They would add to this total Sunday. In today’s NFL if you can’t move the ball up field through the air you simply will not win football games. The decision to run more opened up the play-action game and also took some pressure off the offensive line. Stats do show that Darnold has been a better passer while on the move than in a static pocket. Sunday may have better highlighted this factor if the drops had not persisted into week 8, instead we see Darnold go 13 for 24 with 146 passing yards.
Revenge of the… Who?
This coming week’s matchup was quickly circled by many Panthers fans as a revenge game, and they would be right. Little would they know that they would be right; but for all the wrong reasons. Before a single snap of the 2021 regular season had been played what went from excitement behind then New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton return to Bank of America Stadium turned to dismay. Cam Newton would find himself cut from the Patriots prior to the start of the season. Fast forward a couple weeks and after a chaotic morning of almost contradictory news reports and boom we find ourselves back where we started, well kind of. The move to acquire Stephon Gilmore was shook the sports world, and at the same time converted this week’s matchup with New England into a revenge game. Now the Panthers stand with a chance to be the protagonist in this tale instead of the potential antagonist. This coming Sunday we will find out how the next chapter of thisstory unfolds. Gilmore was on the field for 17% of the defensive snaps and this number is expected to go up in the coming weeks. There is no clear perspective of the depth chart that might indicate what to expect when it comes to the amount of time Gilmore will see on the field. It is hard to imagine that the former South Carolina Gamecock is not chomping at the bit to get as much playing time as possible this coming Sunday.
From Benched to On the Bench
The message was clear, after the second half benching in week 7. It was a change that would not persist past the end of the game, and head coach matt Rhule stuck to his words. There was no question that Darnold would be under center against the Atlanta Falcons. The adjustments made by the coaching staff… YES, the coaching staff adjusted. As mentioned in the recap above the Panthers were dedicated to establishing the run game. The stat line may have lacked the luster of a good game performance, but Darnold appeared to play with a confidence that had appeared to be lost during the losing streak. Prior to Darnold being sidelined with a concussion the offense looked like a unit on the verge of being cohesive. This was a pleasant sighting; a confident Darnold has proven able to move this offense downfield. The main issue with Darnold under center has been putting the ball in the end zone. Now the most pressing issue will likely be how to integrate PJ Walker into the offense. The inefficacy to adjust to available personnel hasalready been witness and now we will see what Matt Rhule and Joe Brady can muster with Walker under center. It will be up to the former XFL Roughneck quarterback to lead the Panthers offense for at least this week and possible week 10. The roller coaster that is the Panthers season continues on.
Return of the Shaq Daddy
There is no disputing the importance of Shaq Thompson in the Carolina defense. The linebacker’s football IQ was on display in Sunday’s game against the Falcons. At no point pre-snap was the linebacker seen static, from coverage adjustments to gap alignments, Thompson could be seen directing the other defensive players, and a sign of a good player is how well they improve the other players around them. The defensive is a better unit when Shaq Thompson is on the field, and this goes beyond his physical abilities as a player. Early in his career Thompson’s speed as a linebacker was put on display when he kept up with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald. This was a prime factor is using the former Washington star on the weak side, often a position targeted in the pass game, and as a rookie hewas able to partake in being an understudy to future Hall of Famer Luke Keuchly and Panthers great Thomas Davis. Coming back to current day, the transition to middle linebacker must be declared a success, and Shaq Thompson is the linchpin to this defense. The Panthers continue the tradition of having a top-tier linebacker on the roster. The only real negative mark that might exist on Thompson’s career is the fact that fans will have to buy a second jersey if they want to be up to date. The doubters were silenced a long time ago if we are talking about Shaq Thompson. The switch to wearing number 7 has been as fortunate as many of the other transitions made by the seventh year player. If there is a player on the roster that embodies “Keep Pounding” Shaq Thompson is the one. In his return from injury we saw Shaq play over half of the defensive snaps and play at that high-caliber that we have come to expect from him.