Larry

What to Expect From Larry’s Post Game Trench Warfare Segment

Trench Warfare

Young Edges:

 Bruce Irvin has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Rams. This has opened up an unexpected opportunity for Brian Burns to make his first NFL start. Also, expect additional reps from 2nd year edge rusher Marquis Haynes who is coming off an impressive preseason, where he showed an improved ability to get to the quarterback with 4 sacks. A fast start to the season will give these two all the confidence needed to help this Carolina defense return to the top ranks of the NFL.

Between these young edge rushers and the quarterback is 6-8 300 pound right tackle Rob Havenstein, who was a 2015 2nd round pick. He should create quite the challenge for the Panthers young edge rushers seeing as though he has all the tools to be a premiere right tackle in the NFL. Glimpses of such were displayed during his rookie season where he did not allow a sack all season.

On the left side you are looking at a 12 year veteran, 4x pro bowl, and 2x all pro left tackle Andrew Whitworth. He turns 38 this December but is STILL regarded as one of the best left tackles in the league. He is the leader of that unit and will also provide a good test for young edge rushers.

It will be interesting to see how Burns and Haynes fair against the talented tackles of the Rams.

Interior Linemen:

Who could be more excited than Gerald Mccoy right now? After a long offseason of seeing a new staff brought in to his old home and being released by that same staff, to signing to his division rival, at the same time seeing his old team just give his old number away, Panther Nation can be more than certain that Gerald Mccoy is itching to prove the doubters wrong. His first opportunity is Sunday in BOA.

One could argue that Kawaan Short should be just as amped. For the first time ever, he gets to play alongside a perennial pro bowler and all pro, which should allow to exploit one on one opportunities, which he tends to dominate. Based on what we have seen thus far the two pro bowl interior defensive linemen have built quite the rapport and plan to be a wrecking force together for the 2019 season and hopefully the foreseeable future.

That leaves Dontari Poe. He was previously one of the most dominating nose tackles in the league. After a disappointing 2018 season, it is fair to say that he has plenty to prove. This may be the most talented group of men he has played with so making his fair share of impact plays seems to be attainable. He will have a great opportunity come Sunday when facing off against first year starter at center, Brian Allen. Allen has never started an NFL game so expect Poe to establish himself right away, and set the tone for four quarters.

Consistent Play:

Two players along the Panther front have embodied what it means to be consistent, and we should expect nothing less from them in Week 1. Mario Addison and Kyle Love have played their roles perfectly to the point where they don’t surprise anyone. They give you the same effort and production every year. Addison has been a constant headache for quarterbacks while registering at least 9 sacks each of the last three seasons. Kyle Love is the unsung hero of the d line. While he has never established a long term lucrative contract, he showed that he was valuable enough for the Panthers to reach out to him for another season, even when it seemed as if he’d be sitting on the free agent shelf all summer. In 2018 he made plenty of impact plays that rarely showed up on the stat sheet and that has always been his style. We should expect nothing less moving forward.

Offensive Line:

It is no secret that the Panthers are facing the league’s most dominant player Aaron Donald. Accompanied with a couple established pass rushers in Clay Matthews and Donte Fowler, it will be interesting to see if the Panthers offensive line can collectively put together an inspiring performance. The biggest question revolves around Matt Paradis and Daryl Williams. Are they truly healthy? Aaron Donald and Donte Fowler are two of the most athletic players at their respective positions, so we will know early and often if Paradis and Williams are healthy enough to answer the bill. Blocking Donald will require some assistance more often than not, however we still will get a good gauge as to how effective Paradis can be. Hopefully, he has regained the mobility that allowed him to be one of the top centers in the league in Denver. Williams and Taylor Moton have struggled in the pre season. The speed and experience that both Fowler and Matthews bring to the table should be a good test for our Tackles.

Summary:

These are the things that should intrigue Panther fans that pay close attention to the trenches. There are some obvious expectations, as well as some key matchups to follow. Catch up with me next week for a segment covering these matchups and together we can get a good idea of how Good this Panther offensive line can be.

 

-Keep Pounding -4MR Larry

Preparing for War With the Buffalo Panthers (Bills)

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Familiar Faces

  • General Manager Brandon Beane: Mr. Beane began as an intern with the Carolina Panthers in 1998. In 2008, he was promoted to Director of Football Operations after holding various roles within the organization in previous years. He held that role for six years before transitioning to Assistant General Manager from 2015 to 2016. That experience led to a job opportunity as the General Manger of the Buffalo Bills.
  • Head Coach Sean McDermott: With most organizations, the General Manager selects the Head Coach. To no surprise, Mr. Beane selected another familiar face in Sean McDermott to be the new Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills. He was the Defensive Coordinator for the Panthers from 2011 to 2016. After boasting a top 10 defense for several years during his tenure with the team, it was a no brainer that he ended up at the top of Mr. Beane’s list.

 A Glance at the Roster

Because of the front office and staff connections with the Panthers, fans will notice some familiar faces when we kick off on Friday night. The Bills have signed several former Panthers, but some players currently with Bills are Star Lotulelei, Kurt Coleman, Dean Marlowe and Captain Munnerlyn. It should also be noted that the Bills scout similarly to the Panthers. They have drafted several players that the Panthers either met with or showed heavy interest in. Some players that The 4 Man Rush had on its most recent draft board were former Oklahoma Offensive Tackle Cody Ford,  former Houston Defensive Tackle Ed Oliver and former Buffalo University Quarterback Tyree Jackson.

What to Expect

In only his second season, Bills quarterback Josh Allen already has a reputation for having one of the biggest arms in all of football. With his top targets Zay Jones, Andre Roberts, and Cole Beasley having sub 4.4 40 speed, we should expect Allen to take some shots downfield. Curtis Samuel has made a lot of explosive plays in camp thus far, so it will be interesting see how capable the Panthers secondary is at keeping plays in front of them. The Panthers offensive line had a very underwhelming performance last week. Buffalo presents a very formidable front seven with a rare combination of size and speed at both levels. Star Lotulelei, Shaq Lawson, Jerry Hughes, and Oliver head the defensive line. The linebacker unit is headed by Tremaine Edmunds, former first round pick, who has elite speed and football instincts. This is a good test to see if the offensive line can open some running lanes and neutralize a pretty good pass rush.

Key Matchups:

  • Curtis Samuel and DJ Moore vs Tre’Davious White
  • Panthers interior offensive line vs Ed Oliver and Star Lotulelei
  • Daryl Williams, Taylor Moton and Greg Little vs Jerry Hughes and Shaq Lawson

Game Preview: Preseason Game #1 @ Chicago Bears

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New faces on defense: 

  • Defensive Coordinator: Chuck Pagano replaced Vic Fangio
  • Safety: Ha-Ha Clinton Dix replaced Adrian Amos
  • The defense is returning 10 out of 11 starters still featured in their 3-4 philosophy.

New coach, same scheme. The Carolina Panthers have seen plenty looks of this defense in practice. Seeing it executed from different players will be a great challenge for the Norv Turner designed Panthers offense. The Bears featured the league’s number one defense in 2018, so we should have a series or two to get a proper gauge as to where the Panthers are offensively.

Key Players on defense: Although edge rusher Khalil Mack is the best player on defense, the emotional leader is veteran inside linebacker Danny Trevathan. He heads an impressive inside linebacker core with 2018 1st round draft pick Roquan Smith playing alongside him. Featured behind them are a plethora of playmaking studs: Two first team All Pros and 1 second team All Pro defensive backs, safety Eddie Jackson (1st team), corner Kyle Fuller (1st team), and safety Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix (2nd team).

Other key contributors are productive veterans in defensive tackle Akeem Hicks (1 Pro Bowl), defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, edge rusher Leonard Floyd and corner Prince Amukamara.

The Return of The Monsters of the Midway: This unit has established playmakers on all three levels and continuity with 10 starters returning. It’s very easy to see why this was the league’s top unit last season.

New coordinator Chuck Pagano put an emphasis on forcing turnovers and its been said that the unit has 10+ interceptions and an astronomical amount of fumbles forced in camp thus far. This will be the biggest test for the Panthers offense not just this pre-season, but possibly all year. For the Panthers to have success this season offensively, this is a great way to start the test.

-4MR Larry