Analysis: All Aboard The Funchess Hype Train - Why He Just Needs More Opportunities

[Saca312]

Devin Funchess. 

After a stellar 2016 training camp, Devin Funchess looked prime and ready to have a breakout season. With his fluid route-running and ability to beat DBs, everyone thought Funchess was ready to take the next step and become a huge threat.

Sadly, that scenario never panned out.

Coming off a disappointing 6-10 season, WR Devin Funchess had 23 receptions out of 59 targets for a total of 371 yards. He accounted for 11 failed receptions on accurate throws, and the 4th worst in the NFL at getting separation. His only bright spot was gaining YAC, as he was 11th most productive in the league.

Not a very good look for any NFL WR's resume. 

With stats like these, many are ready to write Funchess off as a bust. After showing promise and hope during his rookie season & during practice, he disappointed where it mattered.

Even so, I believe Funchess still has a lot of potential. Out of all our WRs, he has the most WR1 potential. He's still a very good route-runner, has fantastic measurables, and does well at finding ways to get YAC. Although he still has to be more consistent, I think Funchess will eventually pan out as our best WR in the future.

Why am I confident in this idea? Well, take a look at his film and you'll see why.

What Funchess Needs To Work On

Consistency. That's the main issue. At times, Funchess will show up any DB with his size and route-running ability. At other times, he may get beat at the snap and never find a way to separate/catch the ball.

One issue he has is an issue I have with OJ Howard. With Funchess' size, he needs to learn to press and beat smaller defensive backs. He will occasionally let the smaller guys beat him and force needless interceptions.

On the play above, the Panthers designed a play to exploit what should've been a mismatch between Funchess and the Saints. Cam Newton locks onto Funchess, expecting him to win his assignment. As it turns out, Funchess was beat right at the snap, letting the DB grab an easy INT.

Another issue is consistency at the catch point. Funchess will sometimes show little effort when trying to draw in the ball.

On the play depicted above, Funchess is able to gain a step on Xavier Rhodes for the deep ball. Cam Newton throws a picture perfect pass, but Funchess was unable to haul it in. Rather than attempt to leap or put forth much effort to catch the ball, Funchess lets the play slide.

This issue and Funchess inconsistency need to be fixed. Sure, Funchess needed far more opportunities than what he got, but stuff like this shouldn't be happening. Even so, I think there's a lot to get excited about Funchess, and a lot pointing to the amount of missed opportunities for Funchess.

Funchess' Potential & CAR's Missed Opportunities

Now for the good stuff.

Funchess has a lot of athletic potential. His metrics prove he's a guy who can do it all. With very good athleticism, Funchess shows he is very capable of taking WR1 duties. He can thank his athleticism for his fluid route running and flexibility.

One thing people seem to miss is how young Funchess is. He's currently 23 years old entering his third year in the NFL. That's about as young as some NFL rookies this year. Being young means learning to grow in a bigger frame and having a steeper learning curve. Nevertheless, Funchess has flashed enough to convince me he's capable of going far.

Funchess' bread and butter happens to be the Bang 8 route. A very complicated process, this route style requires the quarterback and receiver to be quick and precise. The receiver must shoot out of his break and cut at an angle to get leverage on the defender. If he doesn't get leverage, a safety can nail him over the middle or jump the route for an interception.

On the play above, watch as Funchess runs the bang 8 route. Derek Anderson throws with the accuracy, quickness, and precision he's well known for while Funchess runs the route fluidly. The safety is unable to meet up in time when Funchess catches it. Funchess turns this into a big play as he shakes off two defenders and goes for the YAC.

Funchess' route-running is stellar. He runs with fluidity and technicality. The Bang 8 route is no simple route, yet Funchess runs it effortlessly. He has very high potential as an elite route runner in the future.

On another play shown above, watch Funchess run his route and beat the Saints DB once again before the safety showed up. He runs with fluidity and accuracy and hauls in the ball for a touchdown.

Against tougher competition, Devin Funchess still shines. Against one of the NFL's best corners in Marcus Peters, Funchess finds his way against him.

On the play shown above, watch Funchess run his route, gaining separation against CB Marcus Peters. Cam throws a perfect ball downfield for an easy reception by Funchess and walk in touchdown. Not many WRs get their way against Peters, yet Funchess finds a way.

Once again, Funchess' routes are often fluid and precise. He has the ability to gain YAC, as evidenced by him being the 11th best in the league. 

On the play depicted above, Funchess looks inside, then snaps his head to the out route. He proceeds to run and stiff arm the defender for YAC. The result was a solid 28 yard gain by Funchess for the first down.

Funchess is a very flexible WR. He can play in the slot or on the outside and perform really well.

On the 3x1 formation, watch Funchess cut inside from the slot. He's able to beat the defender going deep for a solid gain and play. He gets a little bit of YAC even with the defender draping him afterwards. 

Funchess shows he can make big plays. With his route-running and style, he beats defenders regularly for good chunks and plays on his limited opportunities.

However, now the big issue: missed opportunities.

No, not Funchess causing those "missed opportunities." More often than not, the Panthers offense let Funchess down in one way or another. Whether it be Cam Newton, playcalling, or just not even given the chance of a read, Funchess showed he could've been part of a play but just wasn't given the chance.

For instance, what if I told you we could've sealed the Oakland game on 4th and 10 with an easy FG or possible TD? What if I told you the Khalil Mack strip sack could've been prevented? 

Well, guess what? We could've done both of both of these things if Funchess wasn't an afterthought.

On the play above, rewatch our disappointment once again as Turner gets beat by Mack for a Cam Newton sack. At the time, it appears like Cam Newton had no opportunity to get rid of the ball, or that no WR was open in time.

Further analysis digs up a much deeper problem.

Everyone knows me as a Cam Newton apologist. I consider him a top 3 QB even with last year, and most of our offensive woes came directly from inefficient WR play. I've explained that subject again and again in the past.

However, if I'm going to criticize him for anything, it's locking on to his "go-to" WRs too much. Cam focuses and lock on to Benjamin or Olsen far too often, leaving other WRs with little opportunity to shine.

Even Cam Newton acknowledged this was an issue:

Quote

"I have to give other people opportunities to make plays. That's the hardest thing about maturation, especially for me. 

Looking at the play above, there was a potentially game-saving opportunity missed.

In these two pictures, look at Funchess going against a LB. He has clear leverage against the Raiders linebacker and was wide open for a play. Cam Newton had enough space in his pocket when Funchess got open (see bottom right of top picture) to make a throw without any issue to prevent the strip-sack.

However, look at Cam's eyes in the first picture. Cam's locked on to Kelvin Benjamin the whole time, not even bothering to see if Funchess beat his one-on-one against a linebacker. Perhaps it's part of the play design, but Cam should have been able to read that Funchess was up against a LBer for an easy completion.

That's probably why Ron Rivera said they didn't use Funchess enough:

Quote

“We could’ve used him better," Rivera said last week about third-year wide receiver Devin Funchess.

“That's one of the things we're learning about Devin is how much more we can use him," 

On another play, Cam Newton once again locks on to Kelvin Benjamin:

Possibly a half-read, he looks at KB's way the whole time and fits a very good deep ball in his hands. On the other side of the field, Funchess gets the Raiders DB to trip up and get himself wide open on what could've been another touchdown opportunity.

Most likely, this play was designed to get the ball in KB's hands the whole time. This goes back to Ron's comments about not getting Funchess enough opportunities. Although this play ended up a touchdown either way, Cam probably could've fit an easier deep ball in Funchess' hand for the sure touchdown.

Cam Newton is a very accurate pocket passer. He normally hits the deep ball really well and better than most QBs in the league. However, he's not infallible.

On the play above, watch Funchess run a really nice route against the Rams corner. He gets the upper hand and gains nice separation on the play. Cam Newton has one of his rare overthrows on what should've been a walk in touchdown.

The sad thing for Funchess is how he just never gets many opportunities. When he does, it seems that more often than not something else was the primary factor for Funchess not hauling something in.

On the play above, Funchess beats a 4.41 speed Saints DB on the snap and has clear leeway for a possible touchdown. He gains a step on the defensive back and gets downfield towards the endzone.

However, Cam Newton underthrows the ball when targeting Funchess. Cam rarely does this, yet it seems Funchess has some "bad luck" charm around him. Funchess is forced to slow down to compensate, allowing the Saints DB to catch up and turn this play into a dud.

Finally, Funchess could've helped prevent the catastrophe of KB and Cam tearing his rotator cuff all in one play.

On the play shown above, watch on the bottom right corner of the screen. Funchess goes against the SD corner and gets open going right. If Cam threw his way, Funchess would use likely use his ability to box out for an easy TD reception.

However, Cam threw to KB instead, leading to the "no effort KB" catastrophe and near pick six.

So, how does this play prevent Cam's torn rotator cuff? Well, take a look at what happened while the SD corner brought the ball back:

Cam Newton rams his right shoulder on the SD defender, then trips and falls on the ground hard on the same shoulder. The accumulation of these hits in that game likely was the reason Cam's rotator cuff was torn.

With KB's mistake, Cam Newton had to be the big man and show the effort Benjamin didn't show at the cost of his own shoulder. Nevertheless, if Funchess was given more opportunities, this event likely could've been prevented.

Funchess is a very good receiver. However, so many opportunities were missed on what would've been big plays for the offense. Funchess needs far more attention. His play shows he's capable of being a big piece of this offense.

Conclusion

Devin Funchess has a lot of potential. From his metrics to his ability on the field, Funchess has shown he has the ability to become Carolina's WR1. His potential exceeds Kelvin Benjamin's, and his youth shows he still has a lot of upside.

The only big issue with Funchess is his consistency. Funchess needs to start using his body and frame to beat the smaller DBs and not let them get the best of him. He needs to win more contested catches and exert more effort at the catch point.

However, what Funchess really needs is more opportunities. A lot of what was seen in practice last off-season was showing on the field, yet Funchess was often not part of the read/not even targeted. The Panthers have already admitted their mistake of not using Funchess to his fullest, but they need to show it on the field rather than just talk.

Funchess has a lot of potential to be our best WR. However, it's up to the Panthers to unlock and tap into that potential.

[nctarheel0619]

I can sum this up.  Lol, he could've played well last year.  But, I'll make excuses for him.  

He sucks.  End of story.  

[Carolina Cajun]

Great post, but the first bang 8 gif is not Cam, It's DA after Cam got knocked out of the Falcons game.

[csx]

1 minute ago, Carolina Cajun said:

Great post, but the first bang 8 gif is not Cam, It's DA after Cam got knocked out of the Falcons game.

Hence the quickness 

[Carolina Cajun]

Just now, csx said:

Hence the quickness 

Well, I agree because DA is better with the timing routes than Cam.  What You do see though in the other gifs is that the idea that "cam can't do timing routes" is BS.  He needs repetition and practice with it, but it's possible.

[Saca312]

4 minutes ago, Carolina Cajun said:

Great post, but the first bang 8 gif is not Cam, It's DA after Cam got knocked out of the Falcons game.

Thanks for the notice. Didn't bother to think that Cam was concussed at that point.

No wonder the next play was a clear overthrow when Funchess was open yet again on the bang 8. Didn't include that play though.

 

 

[csx]

1 minute ago, Carolina Cajun said:

Well, I agree because DA is better with the timing routes than Cam.  What You do see though in the other gifs is that the idea that "cam can't do timing routes" is BS.  He needs repetition and practice with it, but it's possible.

I know and I was joking a bit.

[*FreeFua*]

3 minutes ago, Carolina Cajun said:

Well, I agree because DA is better with the timing routes than Cam.  What You do see though in the other gifs is that the idea that "cam can't do timing routes" is BS.  He needs repetition and practice with it, but it's possible.

 

5 minutes ago, csx said:

Hence the quickness 

[rayzor]

[Pejorative Miscreant]

This is a big year for him.  Hope he balls out.  If you have Funch Benjamin Olsen Samuel (whatever combination) on the field he should have a favorable matchup most of the time. 

[SwagAces9030]

Funchess has always played his best when playing in Benjamins role, but when both of them are on the field together it just doesn't mesh. Versus the Saints last season, Funchess is held to one catch and then Benjamin goes to the sideline and Devin catches a 25 yard TD on a beautiful route. 

[top dawg]

People still probably won't believe that Funchess gets open as much as he does, but I know what I see. Those gifs should make anyone pause and not be too hasty to consider him a bust. There is just too much promise there. He looks like an outstanding route runner that, with a little more consistency, has the potential to be exceptional.

But I will stop talking. It's time for Devin to do his thing. Hopefully Cam and the coaches will give him the serious opportunities that he is due.

[Shocker]

I agree throw him the ball and he can make plays.  People love someone to hate but he has produced when thrown too (which is admittedly rarely).

[bandu]

another one of  DGs 2nd round hallucinations where blue gooses look like stars