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Some takeaways from today

lightsout

By lightsout,
in Carolina Panthers

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lightsout Grand Master

lightsout

Posted
Posted

Given time to reflect, there are several things most of us noticed. Most of this will be stating the obvious/repeating other posts but with some original takes.

Detroit came ready to ball. Their gameplan was simple: take away our run game, establish theirs, keep the game close. They succeeded in this early. They got chunks in the run game, they picked on Worley as EVERY TEAM has done and will continue to do because they know he plays soft coverage on everybody. They moved the ball efficiently. Their defense never gave us our run game, but Cam is firmly in his groove and was able to do what they challenged him to do: beat them with his arm. 

Kuechly hasn't seemed himself this season. He has plays where you go "OK, there's Luke". But way more often than in seasons past, Luke is simply not making plays that he typically makes. There are times when he's not getting downhill on runs. There are times when he's flat out not seeing receivers and playing them, which leads to first downs or at least decent gains. And his open field tackling has not been the guarantee that it has been his entire career. Now granted, his failures today came against an incredibly shifty back that gave the entire defense fits for most of the day. However, seeing Luke appearing human when he has played at a superhuman level for his entire career thus far is jarring. I think he's healthy for sure, but mentally just doesn't seem to be as sharp at times. Or maybe it's a misread and he simply had a single bad game.

Cam is rolling. Either he was motivated by the opinions of analysts over the lackluster start to the season, or he simply just needed practice reps and time to get into his groove. Whatever the case, this is the best he has ever been throwing. He's throwing with more touch at times, and is as accurate as we have seen him. A lot of this is due to the OL keeping him clean, which has improved as of the Patriots game. I don't think it's a coincidence that as of that game, we're getting to the line with time to check the defense and make adjustments. Good on Shula, good on the OL, good on Cam. 

We have to finish games. Rivera and this staff have always had this habit, but they seriously need to work it out. It is a confidence killer and it creates a false arrogance that can effect future games. Backing off in the third quarter with a 3 score lead is a recipe for losing in the NFL. If you have this lead, it's because you're beating the life out of your opponent. You continue to do so. Maybe midway through the 4th you start chewing clock and becoming conservative. Maybe you take your foot off the gas and tell guys to avoid making risky plays. But you do not do this when you have them against the ropes. Pass rush is getting there, Stafford is flustered, Cam and the offense are clicking...so you go into shell defense and go away from the offense that is driving the ball down the field at will? No team does this more than us and a loss from doing it would be unacceptable. And that well could have happened if Cam doesn't hit Benjamin on that last drive of the game for a first down. Putting your star players in that situation is often a sure bet, but a failure to capitalize and seal wins is deflating for even the best and they never should have been in that position to begin with.

Philly in just a few days means the above positives need to continue and the negatives need to be corrected and quickly. National spotlight means a lot for teams in terms of establishing legitimacy and winning the mind games in future games as every team will be able to see if you're a contender or a pretender.

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Asurfaholic Newbie

Asurfaholic

Posted
Posted

Never mind that Luke has the only interception our team has this year.

 

one bad game. Every linebacker misses some tackles. He missed a couple, got his fingers tied up in someone's face mask. Played a bit aggressive and missed some tackles against good NFL players. 

 

He'll bounce back.

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