Cat Scratch Reader
Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! We got a lot of positive discussion going this week following a much needed victory over the Falcons. Let’s dive right in, and join us next week for YOUR mailbag to ask more questions!
Skizert: How much of this win is attributed to our week 1-2 starters not playing in the third week?
I am guessing you are referencing C Austin Corbett, G Robert Hunt, WR Xavier Legette, and potentially DL Tershawn Wharton?
While I think the snapping of the football at center was a lot better with Cade Mays this week, I think this win more had to do with the team making less back breaking mistakes on offense and the defensive game plan being implemented when the team wasn’t immediately trying to catch up on the scoreboard. I know people rag on Legette, and he himself has said he hasn’t been playing well, but I think a healthy Legette will add something on offense. It might help if he’s more of a complimentary piece and less of a focus as he was in weeks 1 and 2, at least until he gets out of whatever funk this is.
schrodingersblackcat: If the past three games were all you knew about the Panthers, you might draw some odd or surprising conclusions. Which of these conclusions is most ridiculous?
a) Dowdle > Hubbard
b) Mays/Zavala > Corbett/Hunt
c) Our Defense can actually win us games despite holes on the roster
d) Evero might be a good DC
I don’t think Rico Dowdle is a better running back than Chuba Hubbard. I do think they compliment each other quite well, but there’s a reason one is playing on a 4 year extension while the other is playing on a 1 year contract. But the two of them playing significant snaps will help keep one of them from wearing down too fast.
bolshy: How much of our defensive improvement was based on Atlanta’s terrible play?
Well, the Falcons certainly didn’t do themselves any favors, specifically Michael Penix Jr, I would counter by saying how much of Atlanta’s terrible play on offense had to do with the scheming that Ejiro Evero did? He’s managed to get Lathan Ransom involved in the safety rotation as a way to get Tre’Von Moehrig playing closer to the line of scrimmage, which suits his strengths. They dialed up some pressure and blitz packages that had Penix uncomfortable all day. So while the Falcons definitely shot themselves in the foot with missed field goals and missed opportunities, the defense’s ultimate goal is to hold the offense in check as much as possible. Evero’s defense specifically seems to function as a “bend but don’t break” scheme with a little aggression mixed in here and there. The goal of those zone heavy type concepts is you’re hoping for the offense to blink first and make a mistake.
**ericbuck: Is Ryan Fitzgerald the greatest Panthers kicker...
