4 key takeaways from the Panthers loss vs. the Falcons in Week 8
By Dean Jones
The Carolina Panthers struggled to protect the interior
If the Carolina Panthers were hoping for improvement from their interior protection, it was clear from very early on this wasn’t going to be the case. This is an ongoing concern that continues to hurt the offense and it’s hard to deny that if this continues going forward, they will get exposed even further against some elite defensive fronts.
Grady Jarrett had another big day against the Panthers, the second in the space of four weeks. Considering how much of a threat he was in their first outing, it was somewhat of a surprise that the Panthers didn’t come up with better packages to limit his supreme threat.
Center Matt Paradis looked like a lost sheep at times, waiting for help that simply wasn’t there. This was his worst game of the season by some distance and hopefully, it was just a blip in what has been an encouraging campaign overall.
Chris Reed’s inclusion in the starting lineup was a shock with Dennis Daley now fit and raring to go. However, judging by his level of production, this might not be the case for much longer.
The longer this concern goes on, the less chance the Panthers will have of progressing this season. It clearly hampered them on offense and one only has to look at how much Teddy Bridgewater had to get out on the move to see that.