Turf Show Times
For the Los Angeles Rams and their fans, “Revenge is a dish best served cold” is a call to arms, not a cheeky review of tailgate parties in the sunny southeast. This Saturday, L.A. takes its #5 seed and travels to Charlotte, North Carolina to open the NFL’s WildCard weekend against the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers.
The Rams are looking to turn the tables on the Panthers, angered and still-smarting from the stinging 31-28 loss inflicted on them by the Panthers back on November 30. While readers here at TST are well-versed on what the Rams are about, what about the Panthers? Here’a look at the Carolina players, coaches, and schemes. The numbers in parentheses are how many snaps the players have recorded over the last three weeks.
Dave Canales is the Panthers new coach and offensive play caller. He’s been under scrutiny by Carolina fans for some of the game calling and the offense’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde performances. His team is full of young talent on offense, a handful of early draft picks and a few well-paid free agents. But less the three explosives versus the Rams on 11/30, big pass plays have been a struggle. On the ground, they run outside/inside/mid zone about 50% and man/duo about 25%, The also mix in small amounts of power/gap and counter.
Quarterback
Bryce Young (100%)
Now in his third season, the former #1 overall draft pick has shown some incremental progress. He still runs hot to ice cold on a week-to-week basis. This playoff game is his crossroad, is he growing into a franchise QB or destined to be a game manager that might best serve as a backup? A plus is that Carolina coach Dave Canales is widely-respected as an offensive coach/teacher. One thing to watch out for, of Young’s 14 NFL wins, 12 have come on game winning drives.
Running backs
Rico Dowdle (58%), Chubba Hubbard (41%)
Two-man rotation with the primary route of attack between the tackles, Similar play styles, physical north/south runners that have good vision, enough speed to break outside when warranted, and can catch and block out of the backfield. Not really big play threats, more of a grinding style.
Wide receivers
Tet McMillan (86%), Xavier Legette (51%), Jalen Coker (82%), Jimmy Horn (27%)
The Panthers Top 3 are big, athletic, and young, all under 25. Rookie McMillan is living up to his #8 overall draft stake. Coker went undrafted, but proves again that superior balls skills and football IQ will get you plenty of work in the NFL. Although Legette is still finding his way, he’s an athletic freak and breakaway threat. Horn offers some balance as a quick-twitch slot receiver.
Tight ends
Tommy Tremble (70%), Mitchell Evans (44%)
With only 5-6 targets per game, it would seem that the tight ends could easily be lost with all the Panthers receiver talent. Maybe they should target them more. their catch rate is a stellar 79%, compared to 62% for the...
