BobDigital
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2013
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First a look at all 3 games then my overall thoughts.
#1 SF - I will talk about the D more for the Bills game as I feel it is generally the same story. This game (held SF to 3 points) I will talk more about the Panthers O. The Panthers offensive day really started after a turnover at the opponent's 41 (not much before then). From there it a few ineffective plays then a throw to a wide open WR and awful play by a DB to allow a 40 yard TD. I would like to give the Panthers credit for this... I just can't honestly. The next time they scored they make a nice 10 yard run and convert a 3rd and 12 with Cam buying time. A few impressive offensive plays but again it stalls and leads to a FG. 3 more points are added from a 3rd and 15 conversation from McCaffrey (it was 5 yards behind the LOS so really a 23 yard YAC play and a nice chunk yardage catch by KB. Luke makes an AMAZING play to pick off a pass to get the Panthers to about the 25 then a few nice plays the key one being a Jonathan Stewart catch and run for a 9 yard TD (it was a great run after catch). That brings it to 20-0 early in the 3rd. Next drive a few nice chunks plays give the Panthers a FG and the 49ers get one of their own but mostly not much happened. A McCaffrey fumble put the ball at their own 33 but the Panthers D turned SF away for no more points. Easy 23-3 win but a IMO the Panthers got 14 easy points. That 40 yard TD pass was hideous defense and getting the ball 25 yards from the goal line for another 7 is a gift. Could easily have been 9-3 if not for those 2 plays.
#2 Buffalo - Not a lot happened in this game which is what the Panthers like. Some key first down runs from Newton and some drives for FGs with a D that shut Buffalo down almost all game. A few interesting parts. In the 2nd quarter up 3-0 Carolina had made a few nice plays to get at the Bill's 22 yard line. They had a chance to really apply pressure but back to back sacks knocked them out of FG range. Cam just was not feeling the rush like a QB should and knowing the situation. Still they pinned them back on a nice punt then on 3rd and 7 inside the 5 Taylor runs for a much needed first down. It kept the Bills alive and it was the only play that could have gotten a first there as everyone else seemed well covered. A few big pass plays to big targets for about 20 yards each lead to another Panthers FG. The Bills were pinned deep again (the Panthers do play field position well with their STs and D) and got the ball back with good field position but did nothing with it. The 3rd quarter was mostly ineffective offense (panthers) vs a shut down offense (bills). The Bills drive for a hard earned FG to make it 6-3 but the Panthers have a nice time consuming 4th quarter drive for a FG to make it 9-3 with a bit over 2 minutes left. The Bills with 4 downs make some progress and almost make an amazing play to bring it inside the 5 with 9 seconds left on 4th down but are stopped. It would have been an amazing play. Oddly enough this score of 9-3 is the same one they Panthers would have had at SF if they didn't get those 2 gift plays for 2 fairly routine TDs.
#3 New Orleans. A lot tougher than the score would indicate. The key play here was an interception that put the ball at the 20 about a little over half way through the first. The Saints would convert (after a great 3rd down conversation) to go up 14-6. Before that mistake the game was an absolute rock fight and the Panthers D had mostly handled a very formidable Saints O. After that the Saints started to impose their will with effective runs and passes for the rest of the half but the stingy D stopped them in the red zone on a 3rd down sack allowing only a FG there. This brought it to 17-6 and would soon turn into 24-7 early in the 3rd. However that 3rd TD was just Drew Brees being Drew Brees. He made a very good pass to gain 20-some yards that an absolutely fantastic 40 yard bomb just over a defender who was a mere 1 step behind if even that much. Maybe only 5 QBs in the NFL could have made that throw. The Panthers made a few big plays and Cam kept it himself for 7 to punch it in. The Saints got another field goal that required Brees to let Thomas get lit up by a safety to get a chunk play. He did well to hang on to the ball. Saints get a pick at about the 40 that leads to no points and another pick returned to the 35. A nice 20 yard run give the Saints another TD however it was near the end of the game at this point and as much as that D was on the field I wonder how much they had in the tank. Overall 34 points looks bad but considering how the Saints had it in their end on turnovers 3 times it was rather a stingy D. Particular if you consider the last 7 garbage points from a worn down defense. Nothing about this game makes me think this D isn't legit which their first 2 games seemed to indicate. 34-13 loss for the Panthers. Keep in mind 14 of those Saints points came from short fields.
I came away from this more impressed with this D than I thought I would be and more shocked at how bad their offense is. While I will not call this defense a true "shut down defense" they are not inferior to any defense in the NFL right now. Among the best. If their D had a weak spot it would be they give up the run play at times. I don't think consistent 4 yard chunks but they will stop you at the line one play then give up a 10 yard run the next. Hyde from SF had a nice day. McCoy was shut down but Tyrod ran for 55 yards. Ingram had a nice day. I think there is something there to attack. Their pass rush is very solid as is their pass defense but only 1 interception and that was by their all star LB. I think their DBs while not bad are being a bit protected by the front 7 making them look better than they are. Still they will not be easy to pass on. On offense they have very good pass catching backs but no one who is a threat to run which is unusually for them in the Cam era. Their offense has big play potential but suffers from 2 steps forward 1 step back. Newton takes way too many sacks and misses open WRs at times. Their dangerous plays are 20 yards over the middle to one of their many big targets or little dump offs to RBs. Also the again and again fail to finish drives particularly when not helped by a bad play on D or turnover deep.
If our defense doesn't absolutely suck and our offense doesn't turn the ball over 17 points should be their absolute ceiling. This defense though will fight tooth and nail and probably make things hard for our offense. Overall though unless Cam has a bunch of bad turnovers again deep in his own end I think this will be a bit of a rock fight most of the way through. That D won't let the Pats pull away quickly. This team is 2-1 for a good reason. They have serious weaknesses but serious strengths.
After looking it over I think Pats 24-13. A TD in the 2nd half to get up by 2 scores puts the nail in the coffin but it will be tough going for a while.
#1 SF - I will talk about the D more for the Bills game as I feel it is generally the same story. This game (held SF to 3 points) I will talk more about the Panthers O. The Panthers offensive day really started after a turnover at the opponent's 41 (not much before then). From there it a few ineffective plays then a throw to a wide open WR and awful play by a DB to allow a 40 yard TD. I would like to give the Panthers credit for this... I just can't honestly. The next time they scored they make a nice 10 yard run and convert a 3rd and 12 with Cam buying time. A few impressive offensive plays but again it stalls and leads to a FG. 3 more points are added from a 3rd and 15 conversation from McCaffrey (it was 5 yards behind the LOS so really a 23 yard YAC play and a nice chunk yardage catch by KB. Luke makes an AMAZING play to pick off a pass to get the Panthers to about the 25 then a few nice plays the key one being a Jonathan Stewart catch and run for a 9 yard TD (it was a great run after catch). That brings it to 20-0 early in the 3rd. Next drive a few nice chunks plays give the Panthers a FG and the 49ers get one of their own but mostly not much happened. A McCaffrey fumble put the ball at their own 33 but the Panthers D turned SF away for no more points. Easy 23-3 win but a IMO the Panthers got 14 easy points. That 40 yard TD pass was hideous defense and getting the ball 25 yards from the goal line for another 7 is a gift. Could easily have been 9-3 if not for those 2 plays.
#2 Buffalo - Not a lot happened in this game which is what the Panthers like. Some key first down runs from Newton and some drives for FGs with a D that shut Buffalo down almost all game. A few interesting parts. In the 2nd quarter up 3-0 Carolina had made a few nice plays to get at the Bill's 22 yard line. They had a chance to really apply pressure but back to back sacks knocked them out of FG range. Cam just was not feeling the rush like a QB should and knowing the situation. Still they pinned them back on a nice punt then on 3rd and 7 inside the 5 Taylor runs for a much needed first down. It kept the Bills alive and it was the only play that could have gotten a first there as everyone else seemed well covered. A few big pass plays to big targets for about 20 yards each lead to another Panthers FG. The Bills were pinned deep again (the Panthers do play field position well with their STs and D) and got the ball back with good field position but did nothing with it. The 3rd quarter was mostly ineffective offense (panthers) vs a shut down offense (bills). The Bills drive for a hard earned FG to make it 6-3 but the Panthers have a nice time consuming 4th quarter drive for a FG to make it 9-3 with a bit over 2 minutes left. The Bills with 4 downs make some progress and almost make an amazing play to bring it inside the 5 with 9 seconds left on 4th down but are stopped. It would have been an amazing play. Oddly enough this score of 9-3 is the same one they Panthers would have had at SF if they didn't get those 2 gift plays for 2 fairly routine TDs.
#3 New Orleans. A lot tougher than the score would indicate. The key play here was an interception that put the ball at the 20 about a little over half way through the first. The Saints would convert (after a great 3rd down conversation) to go up 14-6. Before that mistake the game was an absolute rock fight and the Panthers D had mostly handled a very formidable Saints O. After that the Saints started to impose their will with effective runs and passes for the rest of the half but the stingy D stopped them in the red zone on a 3rd down sack allowing only a FG there. This brought it to 17-6 and would soon turn into 24-7 early in the 3rd. However that 3rd TD was just Drew Brees being Drew Brees. He made a very good pass to gain 20-some yards that an absolutely fantastic 40 yard bomb just over a defender who was a mere 1 step behind if even that much. Maybe only 5 QBs in the NFL could have made that throw. The Panthers made a few big plays and Cam kept it himself for 7 to punch it in. The Saints got another field goal that required Brees to let Thomas get lit up by a safety to get a chunk play. He did well to hang on to the ball. Saints get a pick at about the 40 that leads to no points and another pick returned to the 35. A nice 20 yard run give the Saints another TD however it was near the end of the game at this point and as much as that D was on the field I wonder how much they had in the tank. Overall 34 points looks bad but considering how the Saints had it in their end on turnovers 3 times it was rather a stingy D. Particular if you consider the last 7 garbage points from a worn down defense. Nothing about this game makes me think this D isn't legit which their first 2 games seemed to indicate. 34-13 loss for the Panthers. Keep in mind 14 of those Saints points came from short fields.
I came away from this more impressed with this D than I thought I would be and more shocked at how bad their offense is. While I will not call this defense a true "shut down defense" they are not inferior to any defense in the NFL right now. Among the best. If their D had a weak spot it would be they give up the run play at times. I don't think consistent 4 yard chunks but they will stop you at the line one play then give up a 10 yard run the next. Hyde from SF had a nice day. McCoy was shut down but Tyrod ran for 55 yards. Ingram had a nice day. I think there is something there to attack. Their pass rush is very solid as is their pass defense but only 1 interception and that was by their all star LB. I think their DBs while not bad are being a bit protected by the front 7 making them look better than they are. Still they will not be easy to pass on. On offense they have very good pass catching backs but no one who is a threat to run which is unusually for them in the Cam era. Their offense has big play potential but suffers from 2 steps forward 1 step back. Newton takes way too many sacks and misses open WRs at times. Their dangerous plays are 20 yards over the middle to one of their many big targets or little dump offs to RBs. Also the again and again fail to finish drives particularly when not helped by a bad play on D or turnover deep.
If our defense doesn't absolutely suck and our offense doesn't turn the ball over 17 points should be their absolute ceiling. This defense though will fight tooth and nail and probably make things hard for our offense. Overall though unless Cam has a bunch of bad turnovers again deep in his own end I think this will be a bit of a rock fight most of the way through. That D won't let the Pats pull away quickly. This team is 2-1 for a good reason. They have serious weaknesses but serious strengths.
After looking it over I think Pats 24-13. A TD in the 2nd half to get up by 2 scores puts the nail in the coffin but it will be tough going for a while.
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