5 Panthers players that must perform better at NY Giants in Week 2

Shi Smith – Carolina Panthers WR

The darling of the preseason. The player with the most hype out of everyone in what should be a stacked wide receiver room was undoubtedly Shi Smith, which propelled him to No. 3 on the Carolina Panthers’ depth chart in Week 1.

All that hype fell a bit flat as Smith managed just one catch for 12 receiving yards. To be fair, a solitary game does not make or break a young career, but that is not the auspicious start that many expected out of the former sixth-round pick.

With that being said, the Tennessee Titans were able to exploit a weakness in the New York Giants secondary that the Panthers need to take note of when preparing for Week 2.

The short passing game.

Tennessee regularly found themselves with nothing but green grass around them in the middle of the field early. That’s something Carolina’s wideouts can exploit providing Ben McAdoo schemes things up correctly.

Yards after the catch is the name of the game for the Panthers. If there is enough space afforded to Smith, some magic will happen.

What’s also important is for Smith to capitalize on those opportunities when they arrive. No matter how good one player is, they can’t win a game on their own. We saw this last season over and over again.

Smith is going to have the chance to make a difference. It’s only a matter of if the South Carolina product can make the most of it.