5 burning questions Panthers fans are asking ahead of Week 3 vs. Saints

Lackluster coaching affecting the Carolina Panthers

How long is poor coaching going to be allowed to undermine the talent we have on the roster? – Nick Vaughen

This is a great question from Nick, as others are pondering the same thing. I’ve been saving my observations for the coaching on both sides of the ball in previous questions when discussing the flaws on either end. Now, I get to finally unpack these.

Let’s begin with offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. The hire was not incredibly well-received by fans and through two games his offense has been inconsistent in all facets.

The play-calling and concepts used in certain situations during the last two games have been all over the place. It’s either hot or cold and nothing in between. Carolina’s lack of pre-snap motion has also limited their explosive potential in plenty of ways. Not establishing the run game in certain situations has also hurt.

Yes, the Panthers did a better job establishing a run game with Christian McCaffrey this week, who had his first 100-yard rushing performance in two years. However, the Panthers’ final offensive series showed McAdoo abandoning the run once more in a drive where Carolina could run the clock out enough to get into the end-zone with not a lot of time left.

Defensive coordinator Phil Snow and his players have shown inconsistency and a lack of discipline in certain situations, especially on potential game-sealing or game-winning drives. While it’s still a young and fast defense, the Panthers still lack true physicality in the trenches and on the second level.

Take Daniel Jones’ game-clinching run on Sunday for example. For a defense that is expected to be a great unit, they did not step up to the plate and contain the signal-caller while on the move.

As previously mentioned, game management throughout and late in games have been death blows for Matt Rhule as an NFL head coach in the last two seasons, including the first two games this year. This not only falls on the former Baylor man, but the lack of elementary fundamentals on both sides of the ball in crucial situations also reflects badly on McAdoo and Snow.

This isn’t something that can be sustained.