Hot Takes with Monty

Hot Takes w/ Monty: Week 1 Rush Review vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Hot Takes with Monty

The 2020 NFL Season is finally here! Beyond all of the trying times of COVID-19 and the never ending battle against Social Injustice in America, the Carolina Panthers return to football has come back with perfect timing. We have a lot of different things to break down and cover so let’s jump right into it.

Week 1 Hot Takes w/ Monty
• Solid Performance by Teddy “2 Gloves”
It’s been a very long journey for Teddy Bridgewater with him battling back from a near career ending knee injury, back to a starting QB role in the NFL. So after showing flashes from last season in New Orleans, Teddy B has started off the 2020 season in good shape. Today we saw a very efficient, very composed, very poised and very confident QB. Teddy completed nearly 65% of his passes (64.7%), threw for 270 yards with a TD pass. And when needed, he escaped pressure by extending plays with his legs to pick up key first downs throughout the game. Now, by no means was his performance in Week 1 without mistakes. He actually struggled for most of the 3rd quarter with hitting WRs in stride down field, along with looking a little stagnant at times. However, it was also good to see him rebound late in the 2nd half with a 75 Yard TD pass to Robby Anderson to close a double digit defect. Moving forward I believe Teddy is in a perfect situation to thrive and be successful in Joe Brady’s system. I’d like to see a more aggressive QB at times, with him taking a more shots down field, but I also recognize that this all will be work in progress. So Panthers fans…”Buckle up and enjoy the ride!”
• Attack of the C-Mac / WRs struggle
Very simply put, Christian McCaffery is THE best RB in football. Also in other news, water is wet. We may not have turned out a W in today’s contest, but it definitely wasn’t because of “Run CMC” not showing up and showing out. On a Sunday where WRs not named Robby Anderson, were less than spectacular. In classic Carolina Panthers fashion McCaffrey carried this team offensively. On 23 carries, our guy rushed for 96 yards on the ground matched with 2 TD runs. He also tacked on 36 yards receiving on three catches, which ultimately put him over 100 total scrimmage yards for the day. As great as C-Mac was in Week 1, it was disappointing to watch DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel struggle throughout today’s competition. Both had costly 3rd down drops that would have extended drives in key moments of today’s game. To add insult to injury, DJ Moore got hit with a bonehead penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for taunting, which killed our momentum in the middle of the 3rd Quarter. We absolutely HAVE to see more from guys like DJ and Curtis moving forward.
• Defensive Woes from a Young Core
Coming into the 2020 season most Panthers fans knew that our defense would likely be the “Achilles heel” of our team. We are simply too young, and too inexperienced in way too many different areas. Match that with a first year NFL Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator, we are bound to make plenty of mistakes in 2020. We are still incapable of stopping the run, our LBs look to be a liability in coverage, and our secondary desperately missed Donte Jackson today, who was injured early in the 1st QTR. It seemed like after the very first drive of the game, the Panthers defense had absolutely no answer for the Raiders offense and it’s quick passing game. QB Derek Carr had his way with our defense all game, and RB Josh Jacobs ran the ball down our throats. Rookie CB Troy Pride Jr was baptized by fire today with multiple blown coverage assignments down field which resulted in chunk plays from the Raiders. That being said, Rookie SS Jeremy Chinn was all over the field today and looked very comfortable in Snow’s system. Chinn finished 2nd in tackles for our defense today with 8. Rookie DT Derrick Brown looks like he’s going to be a monster on the interior once his fellow defenders learns to mesh with one another as the season continues. We didn’t see much from 2nd year DE/OLB Brian Burns today, which is a little disappointing and something to keep our eyes on. All an all, we have A LOT of growing to do Defensively but the talent is there to be molded correctly.
– Week 1 Offensive Player of the Game: Christian McCaffery
– Week 1 Defensive Player of the Game: Jeremy Chinn

Hot Takes With Monty: Week 1 Summary vs. Los Angeles Rams

Hot Takes with Monty

First before we get into this thing , let’s all give a huge round of applause and welcome back our beloved and favorite game … We all know, Football😍👋🏽. The wait is finally over. 
 
Now, we’re back at it. Week 1 of “Hot Takes w/ Monty” #4MR style. So let’s jump right into it.
 
1. CAM NEWTON 
 
– So for point #1, it’s only right that we start with #1. There is no sugar coating it. There is no way around it. Cam Newton had a sub par game, to say the least. We cant let the 65.7% passing fool us. Cam Newton couldn’t consistently deliver an accurate ball down field, and it further showed as the game went on. At times he looked to be flustered in the pocket and struggled to trust his protection, and he just never seemed to get in any kind of rhythm. The offense ultimately struggled b/c of it. With several misses to a wide open Olsen late in the 4th, with him completely overthrowing Samuel down the sideline late in the game as well … #1 put together a very disappointing performance in Week 1 against the defending NFC Champs, the LA Rams.
 
2. CMC 
 
– You can call him Run CMC, Duece Duece, White Lightning, whatever.  No matter what it is, just make sure you put BEST RB IN FOOTBALL at the end of it. If ever there were a game where one player totally carried his team to near success …THIS was it for Christian McCaffrey and the Carolina Panthers. With 19 carries for 128 yards on the ground along with 10 catches for 81 yards receiving and 2 Rushing TDs, Christian McCaffrey was easily the best offensive player on both teams. It’s just too bad his amazing performance couldn’t translate over to a win for the Panthers. In a game where there wasn’t much to be excited about concerning the offense, McCaffrey sure did deliver. With performances like these, CMC will surely be looking to cash in on a HUGE deal and extension hopefully from the Panthers this coming offseason. 
 
3. DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES/ JAMES BRADBERRY & SHAQ THOMPSON
 
– I’m truly having mixed feelings about our defensive unit as a whole today, especially after re-watching part of the game and calming down a bit. 
On one hand, we held Jared Goff, (a Pro Bowl QB) to 186 yards passing, 58.9% completion, and for majority of the game kept one of the best offenses in football to 20 points. But on the other hand, as the game went on, the defense got very sloppy. From mental mistakes that led to silly/costly penalties, to HORRIBLE tacking late in the game, matched with absolutely no pass rush in the 2nd half. For a defense that is supposed to be the best unit we have had since 2015 (on paper), we sure didn’t look like it at times.
– Now, all of that being said James Bradberry and Shaq Thompson are HERE ladies & gentleman. Both guys played lights out. From Shaq being a consistent big hitter and run stuffer, to JB coming down from coverage to get a sack on the QB. And we all love Bradberry being aggressive and coming down with a beautiful INT. Our defense flashed it’s dominace at times, as well as it felt a little like 2018 all over again. We need more out of this front 7 if we are serious about making the playoffs this year. 
 
4. DJ Moore, Turnovers and O-Line woes
 
– I know what everyone is gonna say. And I also know we all need someone to place blame on for today’s loss. Let me be the first to say …DJ had a rough game. And his fumbling problem is becoming a very frustrating issue that needs fixing asap. All being said, I still like what we have in both DJ and Curt Sam. We just didn’t see much of them. For the record, turnovers lost us this game. And we all will remember DJ’s fumble, but for the most part, DJ had a decent game. 7 catches for 76 yards on 10 targets isn’t a bad game. Cam just couldn’t consistently get our skill players the ball at times. On top of having a few miscommunications up front from the o-line that resulted in sacks on the QB. It was all around a very sloppy game from the offense. 
Sloppy game all around. 
 
– All and all …I still believe we have a very talented team. But we have a lot of work to do. 
Next stop, bring it on Tampa
#KeepPounding Carolina 
 
Offensive Game Ball: Christian McCaffrey
Defensive Game Ball(s): James Bradberry/Shaq Thompson