4 burning questions the Panthers must answer ahead of Week 6
By Dean Jones
What are some burning questions the Carolina Panthers must answer ahead of their Week 6 game against the Minnesota Vikings?
After an encouraging start to the 2021 season that saw fans get a little ahead of themselves, the Carolina Panthers are now firmly at a crossroads following two straight defeats. If their Week 4 loss at the Dallas Cowboys was simply a case of one team being better than the other, last Sunday’s disaster against the Philadelphia Eagles was something else entirely.
The game itself was a microcosm of the ongoing struggles where the Panthers are concerned.
Poor offensive line play, bad situational football, not being ready for the second half, and questionable quarterback play came to the fore and eventually allowed the Eagles a late opportunity they took full advantage of.
There’s been a lot of good, especially on defense. But there are still some major kinks to work out before Carolina can be considered as a realistic Super Bowl challenger.
With this in mind, here are five burning questions the Panthers must answer ahead of their Week 6 contest against the Minnesota Vikings.
Burning Question No. 1
Can the Carolina Panthers improve on special teams?
It’s been a comedy of errors on special teams for most of the season. Missed kicks, blocked punts, and bad coverage have made things more problematic than they ought to be and unless things starting trending on an upward curve sooner rather than later, it could see big changes to both personnel and coaching.
Chase Blackburn is on the hot seat, make no mistake about that. The Panthers seem to have a reliable kicker in Zane Gonzalez if the last two games are any indication, but the same cannot be said of punter Joseph Charlton’s production so far.
This might seem like a small problem to have. However, the importance of special teams cannot be understated and the Panthers need more from their current options.