THE GRID: VOL. VIII

The Carolina Panthers are asleep at the helm and someone needs to shock them from their slumber if they hope to return to the promise land. You see a 3-2 record and wonder why fans and management should be nervous with an above .500 record in the ever-fluctuating NFC. The Saints, Eagles and Rams are having down years and parity is rippling through this Conference every weekend. The roster on this team boasts two of the premier offensive and defensive players in the league along with a supporting cast of members that remain from the 2003 NFC Champions team. The organization ousted the predictable Offensive Coordinator, Dan Henning this past off season and ushered in a more varied style of play with the hiring of Offensive Coordinator Jeff Davidson. Experts predicted Carolina to battle for supremacy in the NFC this season, however if a fire isn’t ignited under this team soon, the Panthers could spend another winter scratching their heads as to what went wrong.

When you envision the Panthers, flashes of Steve Smith, Julius Peppers and Jake Delhomme come to mind. These three players are the catalyst to this teams’ success but there are several other players on this team that can help Carolina to victory. The coaching staff has always believed in the cornerstones to winning in this league – a solid running attack, a stout defense and contributions from special teams. If these three areas are the building blocks to this teams’ success, then why is their running game, defense and special teams so weak this year? Could it be player personnel? Maybe the coaching staff is to blame?

Well, let’s start with the running game. Gone are the days of Stephen Davis and the bulldozing style that he brought to the table. Currently, Carolina is en vogue with today’s NFL and utilizes the running back-by-committee approach. The tandem of veteran DeShaun Foster and sophomore DeAngelo Williams have not excelled yet the way many thought they should. Foster has battled some injury woes and fumbling problems over the past three seasons and could never emerge as a dominating number one back. The former UCLA Bruin is capable of stiff-arming and rumbling over the century mark in yards one week, and then has a deflating game the following week without even sniffing the end zone. DeAngelo Williams was arguably the second best back on many teams’ draft boards coming into the 2006 NFL Draft. He fell into the laps of the Panthers and is a perfect scat back to spell Foster. Williams is small, but elusive. He has great hands out of the back field and was productive at Memphis. He, like Foster, is erratic and not having much success translating his college consistency to the NFL yet. Once these two backs figure out the formula to sustaining consistency, this running game will regain its elite status in the league.

Defensively this team has a roster chocked full of talent. Julius Peppers is one of the most feared defensive linemen in the league and is a spectacular athlete. Opposite Peppers at the other defensive end spot is the veteran Michael Rucker. Rucker is more in the Shawn Ellis mold and disrupts the play at the point of attack. Age and injury is catching up to the ex-Cornhusker, but offensive coordinators can’t forget about him. In the middle is the enigmatic defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. The former University of Maryland standout is a bevy of humanity and commands double teams. Jenkins’ work ethic is the question mark and he has been rumored as a problem in the locker room as well. The linebackers, when healthy are fast and hit hard. Dan Morgan is the leader, but concussions and lower body injuries have hampered the ex-Miami Hurricane from being on the field. The Panthers have outside linebackers that are young, athletic and down shy away from contact. Thomas Davis and rookie Jon Beason are the future for Carolina at this position. The secondary contains a trio of talented yet underachieving cornerbacks. Ken Lucas, Chris Gamble and Richard Marshall are capable of containing the best the league has to offer offensively. Lucas and Gamble are both All-Pro corners and Marshall is a solid nickel back. That being said, these corners are also guilty of giving too much cushion to receivers and at times look confused in coverage. The safety spots have been a glaring weakness for years and the retirement of Mike Minter during the preseason only made the situation more blurry. This team would be wise to invest an early draft pick or key in on this position in free agency.

Special teams are crucial because it dictates field position. A solid return and coverage team allows your team good starting position on offense and helps your defense by burying opposing teams at their end of the field. Carolina’s return game is ranked dead last in the league. John Kasay, the only holdover from the Panthers inaugural 1995 season, has been solid kicking field goals, but that’s the only bright spot. The return team has muffed kicks leading to touchdowns and the coverage team has given up a touchdown as well.

The old adage is that success and failure start at the top. John Fox is a brilliant defensive mind. Since his arrival in Charlotte, Fox has put a quality team on the field. The coordinators have been both great and lousy. Most recently, the coaching staff has been under-utilizing the players given to them. Players like Julius Peppers and Steve Smith need to have their potential maximized and that is just not being done. Current Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio is the former defensive coordinator for the Panthers. When he left for Jacksonville, Mike Trgovac was promoted to coordinator. Since his promotion, the defense has been less than spectacular. The aggressive snarling turnover-forcing defense that Del Rio implemented has been on hiatus since his departure. Trgovac was given the keys to a Ferrari, but is driving it like a minivan. The bend-but-don’t-break style that once handicapped the Panthers pre-Del Rio has reared its ugly head again. Turnovers are at a minimum and there is minimal pressure on the quarterback. The defense is weak in zone coverage and opposing offensive coordinators are exposing it every week.

Offensively, the passing game is almost non-existent. This is not just because Delhomme went down with a season-ending injury. Steve Smith is the focal point for opposing defensive coordinators and they are shading him and stacking seven in the box forcing the quarterback to beat the defense with another weapon. One of the other receivers needs to step up. Drew Carter is actually faster than Smith and is 6’4”, but can’t seem to grasp the concept of continuity. Keary Colbert is a great route runner and has the potential to be a great complimentary receiver for Smith, but can’t get open nor hold onto the ball. Jeff Davidson brought in a new zone blocking scheme and actually uses the tight end in his offense. The latter characteristic is a bright spot for Panther fans that are used to the tight end being non-existent and merely a blocker. The former trait is taking some getting used to by the offensive linemen. This benefits the backs because it allows them to use their speed and size to their advantage and get to the outside, rather than banging it between the tackles.

Several teams in the league would be alright with a 3-2 record through five games, but this team should not be one of them. Aspirations of post-season play were abound in Charlotte, but if they don’t get back to basics and make some changes on the fly, things could get darker before they get brighter. It will be interesting to see if there is fight left in this cat or if it bows to adversity.