Three Panthers players to watch: Arizona Cardinals

With Cam Newton out this week, can the Panthers ride the hot hand of their undefeated quarterback and turn this season around?

As the week has progressed, the Panthers have hinted at the possibility that Kyle Allen will be named the starter for week three in Arizona. Allen, an Arizona native once beat out Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray at Texas A&M for the starting job. They both ended up transferring shortly thereafter, but have come full circle into a match up that seems to be a must win for both teams’ playoff chances.

As a Panthers fan, it is not yet time to panic. Even with an injury to the franchise quarterback and questions as to whether he can ever play to the capabilities of what we’ve seen in the past, it’s early. Very early. So early, in fact, that there are seven more two-game stretches over the course of the season. Although bleak, there is still hope for this team.

Here are three players that I’ll be watching closely on Sunday afternoon:

Kyle Allen

The hope to turn around the season starts in Arizona, where the Panthers will be led by Kyle Allen (who is undefeated as a starter). As noted before, this isn’t Allen’s first opportunity to beat out Cardinals quarterback and rookie phenom Kyler Murray. Kyle Allen had a seat on an abysmally managed quarterback carousel at Texas A&M under head coach Kevin Sumlin. He won the job, but struggled in a poorly organized offense and eventually transferred to the University of Houston. The rest is history and got us to this point, where the Arizona native will have the opportunity to inject life into a team that’s lost nine of its last ten.

The upside to Kyle Allen starting? Health and a strong arm. Allen proved in Week 17 of the 2018 season that he’s got a rocket arm. I have no doubt he will make mistakes, but I’m confident in his ability to stretch the defense with his ability to throw the deep ball. Thus opening space for playmakers such as Christian McCaffrey and DJ Moore.

Speaking of the deep ball, Curtis Samuel had one of the best receiving games of his career under Kyle Allen’s arm in week 17 last season where he brought in a 53 yard touchdown that was beautifully thrown. I think Samuel should have a big day and will be key to Allen’s success against a banged up Cardinals secondary.

Daryl Williams

Daryl Williams was moved over to left tackle, arguably the second most important position on an offense, for the first time this season. To this point, the experiment has not held up as Ron Rivera and co. had hoped.

We can give Daryl the benefit of the doubt here, as he’s only played the position in two NFL starts. If he continues to struggle, rookie quarterback Will Grier may reach the field much sooner than coaches would like to see him. The Panthers need to monitor Williams closely this week, as rookie tackle Greg Little has cleared concussion protocol and should be ready to play this week.

If I’m Rivera, I would highly consider kicking Daryl to a guard spot and either flipping Moton from right to left tackle or sliding Greg Little into the blind side. This is not an ideal situation for Carolina considering their quarterback situation this early in the season.

Joey Slye

Could Joey Slye be the answer at kicker for Carolina? It’s far too early to tell for certain, but Slye has been phenomenal stepping in for Graham Gano. Slye has made 9/10 kicks this season (6/7 FG, 3/3 XP) including three from over 50 yards.

He’s not far off from being the Panthers MVP through two games and will look to continue his momentum into the desert. If Slye guy can keep this up, he may be next up as the Panthers franchise kicker, a situation which would lead to the team moving on from long-tenured veteran Graham Gano.

Joey has been reliable, which is fantastic for an offense that sputters in opponent territory as often as Carolina tends to. Slye is also currently the NUMBER ONE kicker in standard fantasy scoring. He’s on waivers in most leagues if you want to dip your toes. The legend has only just begun.