Panthers wary of over-confidence against Giants

Many, many years ago in college I was subjected to regional doubleheaders where two bad New York teams wound up as football fodder, and I’ve never liked the Giants since, even when they won two Super Bowls with Phil Simms. Sunday the Panthers will see another two-time Giant Super Bowl winner in Eli Manning, and the expectation is that pressure from the front seven will cause Manning to wilt like he did against New Orleans last week.

Straight up, both New York teams are 1-3, and as faithful as the Giants diaspora has always been, few like this current team any more than I did in days of yore. The greatest threat to a Carolina victory will be over-confidence. There’s an old axiom about a cornered animal being the most dangerous, and the Panthers have been known to throw in a stinker game when it seems least likely, so if the defense can put that recognizable worried look on Manning’s face early and often, that would be the ticket.

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Two players that will earn their paychecks this week are safety Eric Reid and The Weapon Called McCaffrey. The Jint’s are 26th in rushing defense, and the Panthers offensive line obviously put the wood to what was called a stingy Cincinnati Bengal defense before last week’s bye, with McCaffrey having a super impressive 28 carry-184 yard day. That—and Manning having a rinky-dink 4 yds. per completion average- are the major reasons over-confidence might surface this week.

Concerning newcomer Reid earning his check at safety, when the New York media is screaming about an anemic scoring offense (18.3 ppg, 29th in league), sending footballs downfield has historically been Eli’s forte vs. delivered accurately (currently 74.2%, 11 pts. over his career best). That would generally be where Odell Beckham, Jr. wants it, and could help the league’s highest paid receiver earn some of that $95M contract. James Bradberry will have Beckham, because guarding every team’s #1 is his job, and he’s handled that well so far this year. If Giants coach Pat Shurmer lets Manning air it out, having an All Pro like Reid (link) at safety is a beyond comforting factor. Donte Jackson will probably have #2 receiver Sterling Shepard most of the day. Jackson is second on the team in tackles (18) as opposing QBs have checked out the rookie.

The Panthers secondary was torched for 352 yards and two TDs by Andy Dalton, even if the four INTs after the Bengals initial scores kept that yardage from being more  significant on the scoreboard. The Giants O-line has been leaky, allowing Manning to be sacked 15 times so far. Panthers QB Cam Newton has only been sacked three times behind what was a question mark offensive line to start the season, so it looks like the pressure defensive coordinator Eric Washington has been preaching might become a jail break type rush on the Giant QB, who’s never been known for his escape-ability. Six sacks and a mess of knockdowns by Kuechly & Company would send the 37-year old to the ice tub for an extended post-game stay.

Offensively, there’s no reason to think Turner’s system won’t continue to distribute the ball to a variety of receivers and the deserving-of-respect McCaffrey, who is doing all the things Panther fans hoped to see after he arrived last year and snagged 80 catches. Turner has said he’s never had a stud QB who runs like Newton can, and given Giants defensive woes on that front, expect Cam to test the Giants about as often as he did the Cowboys (13/58 yards, TD). Should the Giants send extra people to stop CMC like Bengals did on a fake sweep right-throw back to CJ Anderson for a TD, the possibility of going downfield more could yield similar or even spectacular results.

Playing smash-mouth football with a Giants defense that’s obviously having trouble stopping anyone so far is tempting, continuing their display of utilizing the full variety of available weapons will sharpen those elements for use the rest of season.

Having D.J. Moore and Torrey Smith going long has still been infrequent, and speedsters Curtis Samuel and Damiere Byrd won’t make plays until they get on the field for a real game. Expect Newton and Devin Funchess to continue working the back-shoulder and sidelines routes, where Cam’s laser throws have been most effective. The day that Newton throws a lob-touch pass in the red zone to him will become another headache- like the versatile McCaffrey already is- for defensive coordinators.

Since Saquon Barkley has gained 100-plus yards in all four of his games this year, how fired up Kawann Short, Dontari Poe, Shaq Thompson and the rest of front seven are about restarting their streak of NOT allowing 100 yards to a runner- ok, it’s already at one- will be tested.

While the Giants secondary held Drew Brees to a pedestrian (for him) 218 yards last week, it was still a 33-18 loss, and both the Giants and BOA Stadium patrons should expect about the same this week.