On Sunday, the 4-3 Baltimore Ravens travel to Charlotte to face the 4-2 Carolina Panthers.
Here we look at the Panthers.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
1) Carolina is 18th in Total Offense, averaging 363.3 yards per game. Their Passing Offense is 22nd, their Rushing Offense is 4th. They are 17th overall in 3rd down percentage. For the year, they’ve allowed just 10 sacks.
2) Cam Newton is in his 8th year in the league, several years removed from his MVP performance of 2015. Compared to his MVP season, his ’18 completion percentage is higher (65.6% vs. 59.8%), but his yards per attempt is lower (6.83 vs. 7.75). His QBR rating (62.3) is significantly higher than the last two seasons (53.3 and 48). In Carolina’s two losses on the year, Newton has averaged 42.5 passing attempts vs. the 31 attempts he has averaged in their four wins.
3) 2017 1st round pick Christian McCaffrey is piling up the receptions. As a rookie, he has 80 grabs on 113 targets. Here in ’18, he’s on pace for 107 (though averaging just 7.2 yards per reception). Against Cincinnati on Sept. 23rd; McCaffrey had 28 rushing attempts for 184 yards (including a long of 45). In the other five games; he’s had a total of 50 carries (including four games of 10 or less).
4) In Torrey Smith, and DJ Moore Carolina has two former Terps in their receiving corps. Smith – now in his 8th season – is dealing with a knee injury. For his career, the former Raven has averaged 16.1 yards per reception, and 4.9 yards after the catch. In his first year with the Panthers, Smith is averaging just 10.7 yards per reception, and 2.8 yac. Moore left Maryland early, and landed with the Panthers with the 24th overall selection in the ’18 Draft. The rookie has 13 grabs on 18 targets, with 11 of those receptions coming the last 3 weeks.
6’4, 225lb Devin Funchess is in his 4th year out of Michigan. After ’13, he was named the Big Ten TE of the Year. The following year, he transitioned to WR. After catching 54 passes combined over his first two professional seasons, he had 63 receptions on 113 targets (and 8 TD’s) in ’17. As his reception total increased, his YPR went down. Here in ’18 he’s on-pace for 77 receptions, and 1,000 yards.
5) TE Greg Olsen is in his 12th season. As a rookie he appeared in 14 games. That was followed by 9 straight seasons of appearing in all 16 games. Last year, he was limited to 7 games with a broken foot. This year, he’s appeared in just 3 games, having had to leave the season opener after suffering Tranother foot fracture. He has 8 catches on the year, 6 coming the last two weeks, with the longest for the year being 19 yards. He’s had a great career, and if he’s now healthy he can’t be ignored. If the age and injuries have caught up to him, that will make life easier for the Ravens defense.
6) As mentioned above, the Panthers have allowed just 10 sacks on the year.
Journeyman Chris Clark is starting for the Panthers at LT. He entered the league as a Undrafted Free Agent in ’08. He’s started 54 games for 5 teams since then.
At LG, Greg Van Roten entered the NFL in 2012, and is another UDFA.
At Center, is 33 year-old Ryan Kalil. Kalil is a 2x All-Pro, and a 5x Pro Bowler.
At RG, is 3x Pro Bowler Trai Turner. Before the ’17 season, Turner signed a 4 year $45M contract extension.
At RT, is 6’5, 325lb Taylor Moton, who was the Panthers 2nd round pick in ’17.
7) Carolina is ranked 13th overall in Total Defense. They are 17th against the Pass, and 9th against the Run. They have 16 sacks, good for 18th overall. They are 29th (4th best) in 3rd down percentage.
8) Julius Peppers is in his 17th year. He’s the one active player with more career sacks than Suggs. 2x Pro Bowler Dontari Poe is in his first year with the Panthers after signing a 3 year $27M contract. The DT is listed at 346 lbs. RDE Mario Addison has 4.5 sacks.
9) MLB Luke Kuechley anchors the Panthers defense, and is a 4x First Team All-Pro. Weakside LB Thomas Davis is a 3x Pro Bowler, 1x All Pro. SLB Shaq Thompson was a 1st round pick in 2015.
Rookie Jermaine Carter – another former Terp – is also in the rotation.
10) The starting CB’s are James Bradberry (2016 2nd rounder), and Donte Jackson (2018 2nd rounder). The starting Safeties are Mike Adams (2x Pro Bowler), and Eric Reid (2013 1st rounder, 1x Pro Bowler).
BONUS:
Carolina is 9th in the ESPN Power Rankings, 7th at NFL.com, and 10th at CBS Sports.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.