Panthers Evaluating Position Changes on the OL

Scout.com is projecting some interesting position changes on the Panthers offensive line. They indicate Jeremy Bridges, who started 14 games at right tackle last season, is moving to right guard and Evan Mathis is moving from right guard to tackle as a back-up. I’m not a line coach but given that all these guys are around the same size it must mean adjustments are being made based on speed. It’s not surprising the new zone-blocking scheme is resulting in position changes. I’m sure it places a premium on mobility and there’s a chance some of the current lineman are not a fit for this system. As a matter of fact I would be surprised if someone didn’t get moved to the bench because of it, ala Geoff Hangartner. It throws a wrench in the recent offensive line roster evaluations I’ve been doing. I’m working on the center position now so I’ll have to evaluate how this might change my thinking.

Just as the Panthers are moving to zone-blocking, the Falcons are moving away from it. I can’t understand why you would want to make changes to the leagues #1 rushing unit but it appears they want better pass protection. If zone-blocking requires smaller, quicker lineman as the article suggests, then I can see how your pass protection might suffer. The Panthers need to keep this in mind because I’m sure we want to be effective at passing the ball as well as running (Duh). Lets hope we don’t end up with a Falcons style passing game as well! Oh I forgot, our guys can actually catch the ball.