Panthers fans concerned about big 4 on defense

[NEPettyOfficer72]

Although there are alot of arrogant ****y panther fans, I read the same concern on some of their forums of our 3 defensive players. Many fans of Carolina are saying that they are concerned about the matchup of Rob Ninkovich vs Cam Newton, Chandler Jones off the edge, Aqib Talib on Steve Smith and Devin McCourty playing center field. Here is a quote from one on Carolina's huddle "Ninkovich playing mind games with Cam is a concern for me as well as staying away form Talib's side. And we also have to be careful of McCourty lurking back there at center field dude is sneaky, I'd say running the ball is a safer bet to stay away from turnovers in this one"... any comments on that.

 

[IllegalContact]

newton's soft.....he him a few times and ha can no longer make the throws

 

[Fencer]

When it comes to making-play stats, Talib and Jones are probably our big 2. Talib has 13 PDs and 4 INTs, while McCourty, Dennard & Arrington (with better health than Talib) are bunched together at 7-8 PDs and 1 INT each. Ninko is having a quiet statistical year (3 sacks).

So kudos to those fans for their good taste. They aren't just looking at the numbers.

 

[signbabybrady]

This made me think of something that has been on my mind all season: How good do Chandler and Ninko compliment eachother?

I think its great. Chandler being a beast of a pass rusher and Ninko being a player who is always in position and has a knack for the ball. It seems to me a lot of Times Chandler gets a good rush it either a sack for him or he forces the play to Ninko who cleans it up.

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

Dude is right though lol... Ninkovich is a smart son of a gun..

 

[Jase]

If Talib plays, I don't have any confidence in any of our WRs to beat him.

We are very familiar with Talib in Carolina from his buccaneer days.

 

[Jase]

newton's soft.....he him a few times and ha can no longer make the throws

This is simply one of the most wrong things that can be said.

Cam is one of the most unfazed QBs while under pressure in the league.

Per Profootballfocus:

Carolina Panthers: When Cam Newton is not under pressure, he has a below average Accuracy Percentage of 75.7%. When he is under pressure, his Accuracy Percentage drops to just 70.8% which is the third-ranked figure behind that of Rivers and Peyton Manning. The difference of just 4.9% is the second smallest difference in the league.

 

[DoubleTrouble]

newton's soft.....he him a few times and ha can no longer make the throws

that is what people say....and that is what teams have tried to do. The result? Teams have brought pressure most of the year and hit him. He has been one of the most accurate and best QBs this season under pressure. Pass rush got to us in one half of football this year (AZ)....but his WRs were dropping balls and killing us before the pressure came.

Nothing soft about a QB who a team uses a power runner. Nothing soft about a QB who refuses to bail out of a pocket and prefers to take a sack than use his legs.

You won't learn much about Newton listening to ESPN. THAT is problably one of the biggest weaknesses of Newton. He runs on designed runs. He will sit in the pocket all day long.....too long....and not use his legs enough off script. Pressure doesn't bother. His worst throws are unpressured....and generally with open WRs.

We are very familiar with Talib as Panther fans (Tampa days). 89 can't beat him at this stage of his career. Newton forcing into that coverage is a big concern. That is probably my biggest concern. We still heavily targeted Smith.

 

[Rob0729]

This is simply one of the most wrong things that can be said.

Cam is one of the most unfazed QBs while under pressure in the league.

Per Profootballfocus:

I am not goign to say Newton is soft and can be rattled when he is hit, but he also cannot complete a pass over 20 yards. Hence why his completion percentage is so high. He never throws anything but short and short intermediate passes.

He is 7 for 33 on passes over 21 yards this season (21.2%). In fact, his completion percentage spirals from under 10 yards to 11-20 yards from the mid 70s in both behind the line of scrimmage and 1-10 yards to 58.8% from 11-20 yards.

 

[shmessy]

If Talib plays, I don't have any confidence in any of our WRs to beat him.

We are very familiar with Talib in Carolina from his buccaneer days.

Not worried about your passing game.

I AM worried about DeAngelo and those two 245lb RB's pounding our smallish (and 30th ranked against the run) DL.

If Cam throws more than 15 attempts this game, your OC should be fired before reaching the lockerroom.

 

[jah]

This is simply one of the most wrong things that can be said.

Cam is one of the most unfazed QBs while under pressure in the league.

Per Profootballfocus:

I'd believe that Newton is good under pressure, but PFF is the most garbage football site ever.

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

I think Chandler Jones is in the Aldon Smith mold, and will collect 12+ sacks this season.... like how they have him standing up as well

 

[Jase]

I am not goign to say Newton is soft and can be rattled when he is hit, but he also cannot complete a pass over 20 yards. Hence why his completion percentage is so high. He never throws anything but short and short intermediate passes.

He is 7 for 33 on passes over 21 yards this season (21.2%). In fact, his completion percentage spirals from under 10 yards to 11-20 yards from the mid 70s in both behind the line of scrimmage and 1-10 yards to 58.8% from 11-20 yards.

As someone who has seen all of the games, I can tell you that this is a combination of game plan and the receivers.

In the previous two years, cam led the league in long completions and efficiency on long attempts.

Now our offense is much more focused on ball control, which isn't all that bad. But I do miss seeing cam uncork the long ball.

 

[Jase]

I'd believe that Newton is good under pressure, but PFF is the most garbage football site ever.

yeah, they do get questionable, especially when they try to quantify unquantifiable things. but in this case it's a pretty raw stat, so I feel comfortable leaning on them here.

 

[DoubleTrouble]

I am not goign to say Newton is soft and can be rattled when he is hit, but he also cannot complete a pass over 20 yards. Hence why his completion percentage is so high. He never throws anything but short and short intermediate passes.

He is 7 for 33 on passes over 21 yards this season (21.2%). In fact, his completion percentage spirals from under 10 yards to 11-20 yards from the mid 70s in both behind the line of scrimmage and 1-10 yards to 58.8% from 11-20 yards.

2011-2012 - Newton was one of the best deep ball throwers in the NFL.

2013 - Scheme changed. It isn't that Newton can't do it....our offense just does things entirely different. Also, he has had some big drops on the intermediate and downfield strikes. They want to play ball control.

and the sad fact is....Ted Ginn Jr is our best player downfield. Let's not sugar coat that and let it be what it is. Steve Smith has essentially retired from that and more of a short yardage possession WR

 

[shmessy]

You all (on both sides) are arguing the least relevant part of this game.

The Panthers don't have a great passing game and the Pats have an excellent secondary (when Talib plays).

The entire game comes down to whether the underwhelming (what's left of it) Pats DL can stop a big and brutal Carolina running game....and a very big, running QB.

I certainly hope the Panthers offensive coaching staff focuses as much on their passing game this week as you all are.

 

[Jase]

Here's a nice example of what happens when cam is under pressure

my god, it's glorious.

 

[NEPettyOfficer72]

Here is where Carolina is in trouble, though the light defensive tackles may not be stout against the run.. Cam's athleticism categorizes him as a running quarterback which bodes well for Chris Jones and Joe Vellano who are light but quick, fast and good pass rushers.. Plus Rob Ninkovich will be playing spy to keep him in the pocket. And people forget that the way New England creates pressure is by collapsing the pocket all around in all directions, kind of like a trap.

 

[PatriotsReign]

Here's a nice example of what happens when cam is under pressure

my god, it's glorious.

Heck, anyone can do that...even TFB! He just doesn't want to....

 

[everlong]

You all (on both sides) are arguing the least relevant part of this game.

The Panthers don't have a great passing game and the Pats have an excellent secondary (when Talib plays).

The entire game comes down to whether the underwhelming (what's left of it) Pats DL can stop a big and brutal Carolina running game....and a very big, running QB.

I certainly hope the Panthers offensive coaching staff focuses as much on their passing game this week as you all are.

I'd say the bigger story is on the other side of the ball where the underwhelming Pat's O-line hasn't been able to handle a D-Line's like the one the Panther's have. If they protect Brady the Pats will put up a bunch of points and Carolina won't be able to run the ball and the Pats win. Don't protect Brady and Carolina grinds the defense down and wins a close low scoring game.