Panthers @ Lions: Five Takeaways - There Were A Lot Of Abductions

[Saca312]

As we all know, the Panthers won against arguably one of the hottest teams in the NFL. The Stafford-led Lions were a favorite to win, with the Panthers having no shot. Per the usual, we proved every analyst wrong and shut down the Lions quite well.

So, I thought I'd do a quick hits on a few things I liked. 

1. Someone Abducted Matt Kalil And Replaced Him With An NFL-Caliber Tackle

Put out an amber alert. Sound the alarm. Hide yo' kids.

Matt Kalil's been good. 

Now, at first glance, one would think he faced some scrub or rookie. After all, this IS the Matt Kalil we're talking about - the source of Minnesota's woes and agony. No way he could have turned it around against someone good.

But alas, he didn't face any scrub at all. In fact, he's arguably one of the better pass rushers in the NFL. 

Matt Kalil shut down Ziggy Ansah, who had 4.0 sacks coming into the game - only .5 behind Peppers at the time. I don't mean just shutting down his sack record.

I mean completely and totally shut down.

Sure, he did have a few bone-headed penalties he needed to fix up. However, what this shows is Matt Kalil is taking the next step in understanding this offense. Prior to these last two weeks, he looked lost and absolutely out-of-sync with the rest of the o-line. Now, he seems to be getting a better understanding.

Will there likely be a few more blips down the road? Most definitely. I'm not completely sold myself.

But boy, this new Matt Kalil sure looks good.

2. Speaking Of Abductions, Ed Dickson Has Been Replaced With Greg Olsen

Okay. How many of you actually thought Ed Dickson would eclipse 150 yards?

100?

Not even 50?

Yeah, we get the point.

If you held me by gunpoint and told me to name a number for Ed Dickson, I'd probably say 25. I'd probably talk about how Curtis Samuel would break out (which didn't happen) or how Funchess would be amazing (did happen), but the last guy on my mind would be Dickson. 

Nowhere in my somewhat sane mind would I have conceived the idea that Ed Dickson would end up breaking a historical record by being only the second TE to finish with 175 yards on 5 or less receptions.

I mean man, Shula called a good game. No doubt about that. But holy cow this right here isn't all Shula. This is pure talent dragging the defense down the field like the huge mofo he is.

I mean it's like non-injured Greg Olsen lept in a time machine, had some Ed-Dickson morph suit on, and completely embarrassed the Lions at home.

Whatever the case, Ed Dickson is proving "the answer's on the roster." What this reveals is how Shula likes using #2 TEs as pure blockers, and how Ed Dickson could be a legitimate TE when called upon. He's proving us all wrong.

Way to go, Ed. The third leg we all need when Greg's second leg ain't working.

(Stay tuned this week for a deeper look on Ed Dickson's other wide-open catch. Hint: We used that play before - like just the week before)

3. And Um, Luke Kuechly Was Abducted. And Replaced. And Abducted Again.

Okay, as most of you know, most around here call me a homer.

So here's a bit of negativity to help build the narrative I'm not a homer and in fact very objective in everything I do.

Hot take: Luke Kuechly was not good. Don't try and kid yourself. 

Yes I know, he's basically the best middle linebacker to ever even sniff a football or walk on land. Yes, I know your wives would dump you in an instant if Luke ever gave the word. Yes, I know he's quite the sexy man.

But even so, Luke Kuechly is still human. He's prone to have good days and bad days. It's just those bad days are very rare.

This is one of those bad days.

Luke Kuechly had himself some trouble. Sure, Theo Riddick is arguably one of the best pass-catching RBs in the NFL. However, he just absolutely does Luke Kuechly dirty all game. Missed tackles left and right. Arguably may have been one of his worst games to date.

Sure, he made some amazing Luke plays here and there. Those are expected, as he is the GOAT. However, he was off more often than on. 

(Mini Rant - Meanwhile, the coaching staff seriously needs to stop treating Shaq Thompson like a DB. He's not - he's a LB who doesn't deserve the cruel treatment of guarding WRs.)

(Like seriously, stop. We have Captain Munnerlyn for a reason, and there's an even better reason our nickel defense is so good. Stop with this torture.)

Anyhow, expect Luke Kuechly to come back with double digit sacks and play for comeback player of the year. Or defensive player of the year.

Or basically be the best MLB ever like he usually is.

4. Ok srsly pls stop prevent k ty - signed every Panthers fan ever.

Yep. I'm going two for two with negativity. Try calling me a homer now.

Oh, how I wish Rivera would go back to the Cardinals playoff game of 2015 and pull up his quote where he said he'd "keep the gas on all game." 

That strategy worked to punch in our ticket to Superbowl 50 with a 49-15 score.

Sadly, we don't like doing that nowadays and go back to prevent mode. 

It was glorious. The Panthers led the Lions by 17 points by the 4th quarter. It seemed like we might've finished the game with a shut out. Of course, there were those pesky "pessimistic" fans nearby that existed solely to bring reason and logic to our blind homerism and optimism.

Those pesky fans tried to warn us this is the Panthers we're talking about. Prevent defense and 4th quarter comebacks from the opposing team is always the norm. But of course we didn't listen.

They were right.

Panthers went back to prevent and nearly blew the game. If it weren't for CaMVP doing what he does best - save our coaches asses - we would've lost and been ridiculed around the NFL as trash yet again. 

Yeah, I know about every other team goes into prevent too. But I mean I've been a Panther fan long enough to know prevent defense = cardiac attack. We never seem to be able to pitch shut-outs.

So, Rivera, Wilks, or anyone.

NO. MORE. PREVENT. D.

k ty ily 2.

5. And Finally, Cam Newton - Back In MVP Form

Cam Newton said in his presser he's finally feeling more strength in his arm. No longer does his arm feel plagued by the induced-agony our coaching staff's idiocy succumbed him to.

So, let's take a look at what he did against the Lions to verify said arm's health.

Oh heck yes his arm's back.

Cam Newton played lights out, notching a near perfect passer rating while throwing for three touchdowns and 355 yards. He essentially orchestrated a better two game stretch than his first two games his rookie year, AND landing himself with Brady as the only two with two 130+ passer rating games in a row.

Gee, who knew giving Cam protection & a healthy arm would do wonders for this offense.

Basically - as predicted -  Cam having better weapons would indeed help his completion percentage. At the beginning of summer, I predicted Cam would have his best completion percentage yet this year. At the end, I wrote a whole article on that very subject.

(Shameless plug - Read it here. I promise it's worth it: http://www.carolinahuddle.com/2017/09/03/carolina-panthers-cam-newton-7/)

So, should we expect this trend to continue? 

You bet Ed Dickson's mom it will. Coming from a highly-objective poster on this board, you know when I say something's good, it's good.

Cam is back baby, and so are the Panthers. 

 

[Saca312]

TL;DR - The whole team was abducted and everyone supposed to be bad was good and everyone good was bad.

 

[t96]

Dude

[TheSpecialJuan]

good stuff

[csx]

Way TLDR

[NavyPF4L]

I just want to say. I read all of that.. all of it. Loved it. Especially the part about shaq being asked to cover wrs. This is also why I think Luke struggled the 4-3 all game has gotten us into trouble a lot and the only reason it hasn't lost us the game yet actually I take that back. That is why the saints beat our tails and we never adjusted. We're winning on defense due to talent and despite the scheme. We really need to change up our packages better to match what's being thrown at us. It's not like we don't have the personnel to do it. 

I love coach Wilkes but this poo has got to stop or we will get punched in the dick by it

[PantherCam213]

Great breakdown, Saca. 

[rayzor]

very good read.

 

totally agree... prevent D = bad news

never forget:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap1000000067687/Ryan-s-game-winning-drive

 

[Nickdizzle20]

1 minute ago, rayzor said:

very good read.

 

totally agree... prevent D = bad news

never forget:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap1000000067687/Ryan-s-game-winning-drive

 

I knew EXACTLY what play this was going to be before i even clicked it.  LMAO.  Also, fml.  

[ecu88]

8 minutes ago, NavyPF4L said:

I just want to say. I read all of that.. all of it. Loved it. Especially the part about shaq being asked to cover wrs. This is also why I think Luke struggled the 4-3 all game has gotten us into trouble a lot and the only reason it hasn't lost us the game yet actually I take that back. That is why the saints beat our tails and we never adjusted. We're winning on defense due to talent and despite the scheme. We really need to change up our packages better to match what's being thrown at us. It's not like we don't have the personnel to do it. 

I love coach Wilkes but this poo has got to stop or we will get punched in the dick by it

Kinda like Shula's offense and SB50........

[tiger7_88]

46 minutes ago, Saca312 said:

Luke Kuechly had himself some trouble. Sure, Theo Riddick is arguably one of the best pass-catching RBs in the NFL. However, he just absolutely does Luke Kuechly dirty all game. Missed tackles left and right. Arguably may have been one of his worst games to date.

Take a guess how, in retrospect, this now makes me really, really happy.

[PantherGuy]

Yeah @Saca312 you are a homer, but that's ok dude. Much rather have that than the motherfugers who always have to find something to worry or complain about. Keep up the high quality content.

[tiger7_88]

10 minutes ago, tiger7_88 said:

Take a guess how, in retrospect, this now makes me really, really happy.

In other words, I feel really, really bad for the Eaglet's RBs/WRs/TEs on Thursday in advance.

[Saca312]

5 hours ago, tiger7_88 said:

In other words, I feel really, really bad for the Eaglet's RBs/WRs/TEs on Thursday in advance.

Luke’s gonna raise bloody hell.