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Panthers Mid Season Report
Posted by: panthers on 2010-09-03
Image, #20 Rookie HB Terrace Flagler showboats into the endzone.
After ten weeks of silence, the Panthers Management breaks silence as to the progress of the season. In an exclusive interview, Coach Fox revealed his team’s progress thus far and his plans for the rest of the season.
AP – What do you have to say about the season thus far:
Fox – We’ve faced great teams thus far – the Ravens, Eagles and the Rams are amongst the best teams in the league. We took the Ravens down to the final drive and HB Fayson gave up three fumbles in the redzone versus the Eagles – in the 4th Quarter when we were driving for the tying touchdown we miss-subbed the HB and Fayson fumbled, again. Out of those three teams, we held with them to the final minutes – we’ve shown that we can hang with the best of them. We always start slow, in both games and the season, and I feel we’re coming on at the right time.
AP – HB Fayson hasn’t seen a play in the three weeks. Does this have anything to do with your three game winning streak?
Fox – Fayson has been benched. He will never play another down for the Panthers again, if we can help it. He has been on the trade block all season and we look forward to parting ways with him this offseason . We are willing to trade him for any combination of draft picks any team can offer.
AP – The Panthers have seemed to step up their running game this season. Who would you saw is most responsible for this?
Fox – It’s been a total team effort. Ultimately, it is the result of the offensive line – we have dedicated several high round draft picks to the O-Line the past several seasons and we feel it is starting to show. We feel we have three legitimate starting running backs on our team , the three best blocking Tight Ends and the best run blocking fullback in the league. Our primary plan is to run the ball. Our back-up plan is to run a little bit more. When things get dicey, we will run it once again.
AP – What’s “Plan D”?
Fox – Plan “D” is to run it a little bit harder. We have committed to the run game and it has brought us lots of success this season. We traded away two solid RBs this past season – truly we miss Jamaal Charles in the passing game – we’ve had to change our strategy immensely. But we feel we’ve scored with our new RBs and we feel we have a future with them.
AP – When you come out in the 4-3, you have three rookies on the defensive line. Despite this, the Panthers have one of the better-ranked defenses in the league. What do you have to say about this?
Fox – It comes down to scheme and play calling. We have four of the biggest, strongest and quickest defensive lineman in the league and we only look forward to them getting stronger and smarter in their play. When it comes to player selection and drafting, we feel the Panthers are amongst the best in the league. We have almost a ton of meat on the line in the 3-4 and over 1200 pounds in the 4-3.
AP – The Panthers have no particular formation they use. On defense, they often line up in a 3-3 or a 5-2 on running plays or in a 4-3 or a 3-4 versus 3 WR formations.
Fox – We feel we have some of the best depth in the league. Our Nickel Back has more INTs than most of the starting CBs in the league. If we expect a pass play, we are not afraid to play a Nickel in short yardage situations and shut down the outside run. We also have some great linebackers who can cover WRs in zone and with our strong and big defensive line we can hold the inside running to manageable downs.
AP – On offense you use a single back twin TE, a slot three wide, a power 2 TE 2 RB, sometimes a 3 TE single back. There are a lot of heavy formations there. Has this been a factor in your play selection?
Fox - As we’ve said, we are coming out and running the ball hard. We want to put our best players on the field at any given time and if this means we line up with three tight ends and two running backs, we will do it.
AP – Eddie Royal is quietly having one of his best years. Why is this? Have you used him differently?
Fox – We are using Mr. Royal much differently this season. With the loss of Jamaal Charles, Eddie is now in the slot and matched up against the #3 CB where we feel we can exploit his speed and quickness better. This has allowed Jason Hill to play more and he is an intensive run blocker on the outside. We are simply using our personnel a lot better than we were – we are putting the round pegs in the round holes rather than forcing the octagon pegs in the hexagon holes.
AP – Peppers has seem to have made the move to OLB very well, leading the league in sacks. What are your thoughts about this?
Fox – Julius is among the best players in the league on defense. If we could move him to strong safety, we would and we feel he would be a pro bowl player there, as well. He obviously gets a better jump playing off the line but his coverage of tight ends and in the short zone has been outstanding. Credit goes, however, to rookie Bosa who has played beyond his draft ranking.
AP – Running Back Terrence Flagler really seems to be coming on and is mentioned in circles as the NFC Rookie of the year. Did you scout him heavily and did you expect him to be available as the last pick in the third round of the draft?
Fox – I personally heavily scouted Mr. Flagler beforehand and we would have been willing to spring our second round pick on him. When we made our trade to acquire Jason Buck, we were surprised Mr. Flagler was still available. At that pick – end of the third round – you cannot pass up a running back such as him. I would not be surprised if he is among the league leaders in rushing next season.
AP – You have won three games in a row after starting out zero for three. The Panthers are undefeated in the division at 3-0 and the next closest team is 1-1. Does this give you an advantage in the division?
Fox – We have perhaps the closest division in the BBC – it might very well come down to division record when determining the champion. We’ve played some tough teams these past three weeks and we think the schedule might be easing up for us at exactly the right time. The Panthers feel very confident we can make a run at this thing. Fortunately, the rest of the division has the same schedule and we feel we can take advantage of the timing.
AP – Of the Panthers final six games, four of them are division games. Does this change the way you approach the end of the season?
Fox – We are currently tied for the division lead but we play the Falcons twice. Those two games can swing everything – if we are swept, we will be out of the playoffs. If we sweep, we win the division. We love that kind of pressure.
AP – Speaking of the Falcons, with Vick out for a few weeks, the Falcons seem to be on the ropes, losing three in a row when you have won three in a row. Does Vick have anything to do with this and will you game play them differently with or without Vick?
Fox – Our strategy is always to stop the run first. They have a vicious back in Stewart and if you look to the Falcons games, they were beaten when their opponent stopped their run and they were able to run the ball themselves. We will look to stop their run game and force them to pass. We have one of the top defenses versus the pass and if we can force them to pass, we feel we can win the game.
AP – There is a rumor that you are looking to trade for the Falcon’s Running Back Jonathan Stewart, even offering your first and second round picks and Brent Fayson. Any truth to the rumor?
Fox – No comment other than we are very happy with our current running back situation.
AP – Jimmy Hampton, after being named the Defensive Player of the Year last season is not even in the voting for the Pro Bowl. Has he lost a step?
Fox – We have asked Mr. Hampton to do many different things this season that have not resulted in statistics. If you watch our games you will see that Jimmy has utterly shut down most of the Tight Ends we have played. Jimmy has been matched up man to man on the other team’s number two threat and has performed admirably in minimizing any big plays – I think we have only given up one TD to an opposing TE all season. Previously, we had Jimmy playing more instinctually, where he would drop into a shirt zone or rush the QB. Last season he had no assignments – he was free to make plays and he simply followed the ball. This season we have given him goals and he has exceeded all of our expectations. Ironically, this has allowed Peppers to have a career season and allowed our MLB Vilma to continue to focus on stopping the run game. This allows our secondary to focus on the pass and as a result, we are playing some tough defense.
Panthers Rookie Report:
1.11 – LG Doug Riesenburg – Doug has been a solid starter all season. He is near the top in Pancakes and near the bottom in sacks allowed. Doug is the final piece of the O-Line that has enabled us to run the ball so well. That said, he’s given up some sacks through no fault of his own – our QB holds the ball for too long. Grade: A- (Needs to hold pass blocking longer)
1.31 – DE Jason Buck – Jason has been a phenomenal 3-4 defensive end. He doesn’t get blown off the line often and has some great lateral movement to stop the outside runs. He doesn’t get a lot of sack pressure but tends to hold the pocket, preventing roll-out and collapsing the pocket. He is among the leaders in the league in Tackles for a Loss, despite being a rookie. Mr. Buck can only get better and we look forward to him being a dominate DE in the future. Though we gave up a 2nd, and two third round picks to get him, we feel it was worth every cent. Grade: A- (Needs to improve his pressure – only 2 sacks)
3.32 – HB Terrance Flagler – We feel Mr. Flagler fell a little in the draft because people thought he was too slow to be an outside speed back, poor hands for a scat back, not strong enough for an inside power back, wasn’t a good enough blocker to be a third down back and wasn’t quick enough to return kicks. They were all wrong – Mr. Flagler can do it all. Despite fighting his way out of being third on the depth chart at the beginning of the season he has racked up good numbers and is now the official starting running back on the Panthers. He plays with a chip on both shoulders and has enough power to run you over and enough agility to make you miss. Grade: A+
4.11 – DT Bruce Mesner – Bruce came out of nowhere to be the second starting defensive tackle when we move to a 4-3. He’s big, strong and takes up a lot of room on the line. He hasn’t racked up a lot of numbers but is much more valuable than a typical fourth round draft pick. Grade: B+
4.31 – ROLB Danny Lockett – Danny has been pretty ineffectual making his biggest impact on special teams. Mr. Lockett was drafted as a roster filling back-up and is the #4 OLB on the Panthers. We see nothing special from him other than special teams duty. Grade: C-
5.11 – DE John Bosa – Mr. Bosa was a surprise in the draft. We did not expect a DE of his talent to be available this late in the draft. John battled his way throughout training camp and preseason and supplanted Kentwan Balmer as the starting defensive end opposite fellow rookie Jason Buck. Not many rookie defensive ends drafted in the fifth round can make it as a starter in this league. He hasn’t racked up many stats but his play has allowed former-defensive-end-turned-outside-linebacker Julius Peppers to have one of his best seasons yet, leading the league in sacks and on pace to break his own team record. Bosa has been a hidden gem and we look forward to many years of solid run stuffing from him. Grade: B+
5.18 – QB Brent Pease – Mr. Pease has been on the practice squad all season and has seen little action. Despite that, he has won time on the starting roster and was recently signed to be the primary back-up. He will doubtless see some playing time and will almost certainly challenge next season. Grade: C
5.31 – FS Mark Moore – Mr. Moore was flagged early for his strength and potential as a run stuffing safety but his speed and effort seem to be lacking in some regard. There remains a possibility of him making the full time roster as a permanent back-up next season but this is not certain. We love his strength but he doesn’t close fast enough to be a major factor. Grade: D
6.11 – C Ray Hitchcock – Drafted to fill a roster spot, Mr. Hitchcock has seen no playing time. In fact, despite being only the second Center on the team, he is #8 in depth for playing Center. Grade: Major Fail.
7.11 – TE Derek Tennell – Primarily drafted as a blocking TE, Mr. Tennell has been very effective for a 7th round draft pick. He has great strength and superb blocking ability along with a tiny zero bonus contract. Though Mr. Tennell couldn’t catch a cold if he wanted to, he fills a needed role on the team and will likely achieve a long-term roster spot. Grade: C+.
Archived News
Flagler Continues to Impress posted on 2010-05-18
Panthers Draft Review and Offseason Moves posted on 2010-05-06
Panthers Near Top Defense in the BBC, Despite Record posted on 2010-04-10
Panthers Strong Despite their Disappointment posted on 2010-02-12
Vilma-less Panthers Route Eagles posted on 2009-12-19
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