Week 2 WIN against Houston - Stats & Analysis

[KB_fan]

Panthers PR Dept. ‏@PanthersPR 7h7 hours ago

Cam Newton's 119 total TDs are 5th most through a player's first five NFL seasons (Marino-171, P. Manning-147, J. Garcia-134, Ryan-132)

[KB_fan]

Jeremy's posted week 2 PFF grades for the Panthers:

Offense:  http://www.carolinahuddle.com/boards/topic/118614-panthers-pff-grades-offense/

Defense: http://www.carolinahuddle.com/boards/topic/118615-panthers-pff-grades-defense/

 

[KB_fan]

The more I play with the Sporting Charts site, the more I really appreciate it.  Not only do they have some of the most interesting (and I believe important) stats for teams & players (things like toxic differential, big play differential, first down conversion %, drop %, etc. etc.), they have great graphs which make it easy to really see how a team is doing at a glance.

I was looking at some of the charts for the Panthers so far this season today.

1.  Points per game:  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#Points per Game

We're not too far off 2013's mark in terms of points scored per game (2013 = 22.9 / 2015 = 22), but we're currently at an all time low in terms of points ALLOWED per game (13 points per game).  Previous low was 1996 (13.6 PPG allowed).

 

2.  Offensive Yards per game:  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#Offensive Yards

We're currently at  323.5 yards per game.  Better than 2013, 2005, 2003 and 1996 levels.

 

3.  Defense:  Yards allowed per game:  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#Defensive Yards

We're currently at an all time low of 282.5 yards allowed, just 0.1 yards per game below our 2005 level of 282.6 yards allowed per game.

 

4.  QB Rating:  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#Team Quarterback Rating

Cam's QB rating is considerably lower than his other years on the team.  Probably a lot of that is due to our WR situation.  He's looked sharp.  I'm not too worried about this one.

 

5. 3rd down conversion %:  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#3rd Down Conversion %

A bit lower than recent years at 40%, but still quite high.

 

6.   Yards per Play:  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#Yards per Play

UGH.  We're down near 2010 levels at 4.38 yards per play.  This is probably the worst of all the graphs, and I imagine it's what's contributing to all the "those were UGLY wins" talk.  The yards we are grinding out have been really hard fought.  It's taking a lot of wear & tear to move short distances.  This is an area it would be really good to see improve.

 

7.  Penalties:  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#Penalties

Ah the difference a game makes.  This would have looked great after JAX, but really deteriorated with the heavy penalties in the HOU game.  6.5 penalties per game doesn't sound like a lot, but in 2013 we were as low as 5 penalties per game.

 

8) Toxic Differential:  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#Toxic Differential

We're already at a VERY NICE +8 - nearly 1/3rd of the way to our 2013 level of 25.  This is currently 4th best in the league.

 

9) FG %:  UGH.  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#Field Goal %

This has got to improve.  We depend on Gano to win us games.  This problem with blocked kicks has got to be solved. 

 

[KB_fan]

A few more stats & graphics from Sporting Charts from their Panthers page:

http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/

[hepcat]

172 yards rushing against Houston is pretty darn good.  I'll take it.  One of the best stats of the game.

That's called Cam Newton is basically a running back who can also throw really good

[KB_fan]

The other REALLY cool thing about Sporting Charts is that you can instantly create a team graph for almost any of the statistics they track.  For instance: 

Field Goals Blocked:

http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#field-goals-blocked$SeasonMax=9999&SeasonMin=1990

Ummm... two games in and we've already matched our worst ever season totals.  We've never exceeded two blocked FGs in a season!  Gulp.

[KB_fan]

OR... on the POSITIVE side of Special Teams & kicking, look how nicely our Punt Net Average has improved from last year.  Huge!  Keep it up ST:

http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#net-average-average$SeasonMax=9999&SeasonMin=1990

 

[KB_fan]

To analyze our passing / receiving performance given the situation with our WRs, here are a few graphs it might be worth tracking over the season:

Receiving Yards per Attempt:  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#receving-yards-yards-per-attempt$SeasonMax=9999&SeasonMin=1990

 

Targets:  % Caught:  http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/teams/364/carolina-panthers/#targets-percent-caught$SeasonMax=9999&SeasonMin=1990

 

 

 

 

[KB_fan]

An interesting analysis of the Houston game's "little big plays" - potentially game changing plays that might not be initially obvious:

http://www.catscratchreader.com/2015/9/22/9367855/little-big-plays-houston-at-carolina-week-2

A lot of the focus is on some of the missed plays / penalties that allowed Houston to keep drives moving, but also some shout outs for good plays & coverage. 

I find this helpful as I go back and look at replays of some of the drives.  It helps me zero in on players to watch, things to look for.

[KB_fan]

I know I've posted some stats about J-No's performance already, but here's another good perspective of the difference he's made in the past 2 games along with our stout D:

Remember, DeAndre Hopkins and Allen Robinson combined for 6/80/0 against (mainly) Norman and 15/253/4 against other teams.

from here:  http://www.catscratchreader.com/2015/9/22/9371025/5-questions-from-the-texans-game-with-answers

[KB_fan]

From the same article just linked above....

Someone besides me noticed that we're (not too surprisingly) worst in the league right now in dropped passes according to Sporting Charts:

In two games this season the Carolina Panthers have (only) six drops according to SportingCharts, good for a league worst drop percentage of 8.8%. The number seems like it could be a little low, too. Drops can be a very subjective statistic. There is a clear definition of a "drop," but everyone sees it a little differently, much like an umpire's strike zone is baseball.

[KB_fan]

Panthers have 3 defensive players on the PFF best player at each position team this week:

KK, J-NO, Coleman.

SWEET

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/09/21/the-best-players-at-every-position-for-week-2/

Each week, we put forward a hybrid defense that features two edge rushers (4-3 defensive ends or 3-4 outside linebackers), three players on the “interior” of the defensive line (3-4 defensive ends or defensive tackles, and two linebackers (all inside linebackers and 4-3 outside linebackers).

Defensive interior – Ends: Aaron Donald, Rams (+7.9) and Kawann Short, Panthers (+5.9)

Sound the alarm; this team is J.J. Watt-free! But one guy does hold over, and that’s Aaron Donald, who is setting the bar for Defensive Player of the Year. Short joins him, with his ability to beat tackles and guards a number of ways truly impressive.

Defensive Interior – Nose: Jaye Howard, Chiefs (+6.3)

Howard spends enough time even with or shading the center to be considered here, and when you pick up seven defensive stops in the run game, you do more than just “be considered.”

Edge rushers: Pernell McPhee, Bears (+7.2) and Justin Houston, Chiefs (+6.8)

Talk about a one-two punch. Houston got after the Broncos offensive line with five quarterback disruptions (including two sacks), while McPhee was even more destructive with eight.

Linebackers: Sean Lee, Cowboys (+4.6) and Jelani Jenkins, Dolphins (+4.0)

After all the injury problems he’s sustained the past couple of years it’s great to see Lee back to his best. A nice action-packed display from Jenkins, as well, who ended the day with seven defensive stops.

Cornerbacks: Josh Norman, Panthers (+3.1) and Aqib Talib, Broncos (+2.6)

Ryan Mallet kept going after Norman, but he allowed just 40 yards into his coverage on 12 attempts. Meanwhile, Talib continued his fine start to the year with just one reception allowed for seven yards, and a pick of his own.

Safeties: Kurt Coleman, Panthers (+4.4) and James Ihedigbo, Lions (+4.4)

Coleman is trying to write a story of redemption, and more plays like the one that saw him deflect a potential game-tying pass can’t hurt. Ihedigbo is about as good a safety in the NFL gets when you put him in the box and the opposition runs at him.

[KB_fan]

I've now posted the Excel spreadsheet with all the gamebook data for games 1 & 2 for anyone who wants to download it.  You'll find it here:

For now, it's just the spreadsheet with a brief word of explanation about what it is.  I've not yet posted any commentary about or excerpts of the data comparing weeks 1 and week 2.

 

[SOJA]

 

 Jonathan Jones Verified account ‏@jjones9

Today's Panthers-Texans game was the longest regulation game in Carolina history at 3 hours and 39 minutes

this I know, because I had a genetics exam the next day I hadn't started studying for