The first quarter of last week's game against the Chiefs was ugly. Cam Newton looked rusty, the offensive line wasn't creating running room, and the running backs, as a result, were getting little going on the ground. The offense would go for three straight 3 & out drives, while KC's offense seemingly roamed the field for 13 of the 15 minutes in the quarter. While it was only a preseason game, the outlook was a tad bleak to say the least, with many of us hoping the team would be able to shake this off before playing the New England Patriots this week. Fortunately, the football gods decided we wouldn't have to wait that long.
Something seemingly woke the team up right as the second quarter started, because everything started to click for the Panthers. Newton gained his composure and poise and would help march the team down the field, with the help of a vintage rushing performance (circa 2008) by Jonathan Stewart. The team came alive, and as a result, was able to put some points on the board and look good doing it. This week, the first team offense will face its last real challenge of the preseason, as they will likely see little to no action in the fourth game. This is the real tune up game, and it couldn't come against a better foe in the Patriots. Hopefully we will see a better view of how the offense will really look for this upcoming season.
With that, let's take a closer look at the offense.
Panthers Passing Offense vs. Patriots Passing Defense
As previously stated, it wasn't a pretty performance at the start, especially for Cam Newton. After a few series however, the franchise QB was able to lead some pretty drives down the field that would result in 14 points in the second quarter. Much of this was due to the offensive line playing better as the game went along. While they would surrender two sacks on Newton, the line would hold up against the 3-4 pass rush of the Chiefs fairly well. Even Byron Bell's play apparently helped vault him into the starting LT spot for the year, Head Coach Ron Rivera announced yesterday. Newton would also eventually complete a pass to the man we hope will be his go to target for the next 10+ years in Kelvin Benjamin, providing the fans with a taste of what is to come this season. Derek Anderson was solid, as he has been all preseason long, and Joe Webb would come in as relief, but would mainly hand the ball off to kill time, attempting only three total passes.
All in all, the passing game was efficient enough. It wasn't entirely pretty, but it got the job done, especially with a nice performance out of veteran WR Jason Avant who would draw a nice pass interference call on the Panthers first TD drive. WR Brenton Bersin showed some skill as well with two receptions, including one for a TD. It is the little things like that, that can help an offense win. The Panthers will have another chance to showcase that again against the Patriots pass defense.
The Patriots faced the Philadelphia Eagles last week, and while they had a combined two INT's on the three QB's that played, they also allowed those three QB's to nearly pass at will, with a combined 82% completion percentage. It isn't as though the Patriots are without talent, especially after signing CB Darrelle Revis to help with coverage duties as he will try to isolate whomever he is covering on the famed "Revis Island". The Patriots also have a good pass rush in DE's Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones. It will be yet another test for the offensive line to see if they can contain the Patriots 4-3/3-4 pass rush, and a good determinant for who should start at RT for the rest of the season.
If the Panthers can hold off the Pats pass rush, they should have a good chance at finding holes to exploit on the Patriots defense. This will, of course, only happen if the running attack is also somewhat successful.
Panthers Rush Offense vs Patriots Rush Defense
Last week, I said it was imperative that the Panthers find some success in the run game, and find it soon. How can a team be a run first offense if they can't run the ball, right? Fortunately, with the help of a seemingly renewed Jonathan Stewart, the Panthers running attack looks deadly again. The only thing missing from Stewart's mauling play in the second quarter was a patented "Stewart Stiffarm". It was wonderful to see him look like the back we all saw rush for over a 1,000 yards back in 2008. What was even better was seeing the offensive line create some room for him to run through. Again, after a first quarter filled with futility, the interior of the line was able to open up lanes for Stewart to get through. To create that room last week, the Panthers had to face off against DT Dontari Poe. This week it is another big and nasty DT in the form of Vince Wilfork.
Wilfork (along with most of the Patriots starting defense) was missing from the infamous Monday Night Football game last season. When he is out there, you can tell. Not just by the fact he takes up approximately 12% of your TV picture at any given time he is on the field, but also by his ability as a run stopper. It will be interesting to see if the Panthers can take the success they found last week against the Chiefs in the run game and build on it against an equally stout Patriots front seven. Since this is the final "real action" the first team will see, it is worth mentioning that the three teams we have/will play against have been rather formidable defenses that have, no doubt, helped the team identify issues they have and address them.
One final note on the run game is the back up RB situation. On Tuesday night, the Panthers made a move that helped clear the fog some by trading embattled RB Kenjon Barner to the Philadelphia Eagles. Shrewd move aside, this helped narrow the RB3/4 battle down to two men: Darrin Reaves and Fozzy Whittaker. Reaves, after splitting carries with Barner against the Bills, would never take a snap against the Chiefs. Whittaker though went on to have an excellent game, amassing 71 yards on 13 carries, including a TD. The former Longhorn appears to have the inside track on the job after that performance, while Reaves has a bit of ground to make up.
Overall Outlook
When it is all said and done, this is supposed to be the teams most "complete" effort in the preseason. By the third game, your team should look about as good as it will look come Week 1, or so conventional wisdom tells us. While a win would always be nice, a sharp performance from the first team offense is what we really need to see. Last week, the team improved the running game significantly compared to the first preseason game. This week, the Panthers need to focus on a fast start against the Patriots. Pouncing on teams early will not only allow the offensive some wiggle room come later in the game, it will also allow the defense to do what it does so well: harassing the opposing offense into making mistakes. If the Panthers can improve that like they did the running game last week, whilst maintaining an efficient and balanced attack, we should feel extremely optimistic about this team's chances this season offensively. This game likely won't be as exciting and thrilling as the last matchup between these two teams, but it should be important nonetheless.