First Quarter Review-Panthers

A quarter of the way through the season the Panthers sit at 2-2. And with a couple of new faces playing vital roles this team looks to improve as we go deeper into the season. As we breakdown each side of the ball by position group it’ll be more evident as to what this team is currently and what they have potential to be later.

QB: With the new acquisition of Jordan Love in the offseason this Panthers fan base was excited about getting their QB of the future. The fans are still excited about what this offense can become with him but the struggles have been costly early, the constant turnovers have lost a couple of games for this team and although he’s made great plays he needs to clean up the mistakes. Look for that to be a sticking point for this coaching staff as the season goes on. Love gives this team a chance to be special on offense with his arm talent and elite weapons around him, but he definitely has to be better.

RB: CMC has done a solid job through 4 games with 522 total yards and 3 rushing TD’s. He’s been the most consistent player in this offense for years and looks to continue that trend. CMC with his punch on the ground and in the pass game makes him a lethal threat out of the backfield. Montague hasn’t gotten as many touches as last year early but he’s been effective whenever he has got the ball. 4 touches for 89 yards. Look for him to be more involved as the season progresses.

WR/TE: This group has been very impressive with how they’ve played this season. No drops through 4 games and they show the elite talent they have consistently displayed these last couple seasons. Samuel is putting up huge numbers and as a whole this team has 3 guys on pace for 1,000+ receiving yards this season. Andrews being one of those guys has been great so far this season and looks to continue that.

OL: The OL has been solid but definitely leaves a lot to be desired. Taylor Moton is the biggest reason for this feeling about the group. He’s given up 6 sacks already compared to just 3 last year and 11 total the last two seasons combined. This group has done a pretty decent job blocking for the ground game but they have to be better as a whole for this team to succeed.

DL: The front 4 for this team has been special so far tallying up countless pressures and getting home a bit on sacks. Derrick Brown has been a beast with 5 TFL’s and 5 sacks along with being tied to lead the team in tackles. Burns has also been a menace with 6 sacks already and 2 TFL’s. YGM has been solid forcing pressure opposite of Burns and Short gives this front a veteran presence.

LB: This group has been the Achilles heel of this defense and this team in terms of play and talent level. The addition of Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles has been great, but this group still leaves a lot to be desired outside of Shaq Thompson. In pass coverage they actually do pretty well getting deflections and picks but they struggle mightily against the run. This coach has to teach run fits better because it will continue to plague this team and be their downfall on this side of the ball.

DB: The secondary has been really good, led by Donte Jackson who has been the most important player to this group. Troy Pride has held his own so far this season after a good season last year. The addition of Hayward Jr. has proven to be vital as a depth piece and given this team more experience to replace the production of Eli Apple. Chinn, Hartsfield and Robinson have been a great trio with Chinn constantly showing his versatility playing in many different spots for this team and making plays at all of them. 

Outlook: This team has shown really bright spots and really bad ones as well. Once this team gels together on offense with new QB Jordan Love, this team can really take off. Getting the turnovers under control is a major sticking point especially coming from the previous QB tenure where protecting the ball was vital. The defense should be fine, they just have to work on stopping the run and keep their gap integrity especially with the front 4 and secondary playing like they are.