What are some burning questions Carolina Panthers fans are asking ahead of their Week 3 matchup against the New Orleans Saints?
There was once a time when there was excitement and optimism for the Carolina Panthers heading into the 2022 regular season. The franchise made upgrades at both offensive line and quarterback that looked to promise better execution than what fans and media alike have seen in the last two years.
Two games into the season, there is very little optimism and excitement. The Panthers are now 0-2 following another close loss to the New York Giants at Metlife Stadium, 19-16.
The loss adds yet another game in which the Panthers and head coach Matt Rhule have been unable to seal the deal and bring home a win. With the defeat, more questions have begun to rise about the head coach’s job security.
Fans are understandably pessimistic, angry, and frustrated. Many displayed their feelings when discussing the team’s loss to the Giants on social media, mainly towards the lackluster performances of the coaching staff.
You, the fans, have some questions that would like to be answered about what is next for your favorite football team. Let’s take a look at five such burning questions ahead of Sunday’s home game against the New Orleans Saints, which is another must-win contest for a team in the middle of an alarming slump.
Matt Rhule’s job security with the Carolina Panthers
Why is Matt Rhule still Carolina Panthers’ head coach? – Joey Pardun
Thank you for your question, Joey!
This is one that everyone within the Carolina Panthers has been asking since the end of the last season. Why is Matt Rhule still the head coach of this team?
Franchise owner David Tepper wanted to make a splash hire after firing Ron Rivera at the end of the 2019 season. He did so by hiring the former Baylor head coach to go along with a massive seven-year contract with the idea that the Carolina Panthers would be in a long rebuild.
However, questions arose as to how patient Tepper would be when it came to the rebuild. When he first arrived in Charlotte, one of the first things he said was wanting a strong culture within the organization. Entering his fifth year as owner, the franchise has yet to establish a winning record since 2017.
I’ll be the first to admit that I was a fan of the Rhule hiring and defended him as a coach for a good year and a half. I’m sure others were doing the same.
The idea behind the hiring was Rhule would similarly build the team to what he did with Temple and Baylor. The only problem is that the NFL is not college football.
There was hope with how close the Panthers came to winning games in Rhule’s first season that those close losses would become triumphs eventually. Through his first two games of his third season in Carolina, those close losses continue to occur. Sunday afternoon at the New York Giants was a prime example.
The Panthers have a Rhule problem. The lack of discipline in situational football occurrences has been baffling for the last two years. He created competition at positions that shouldn’t have had them during training camp, creating a lack of chemistry with the first-team offense through two games.
He even threw former franchise quarterback, Cam Newton, under the bus multiple times last season when filling in for the injured Sam Darnold.
I’ll put it bluntly: the Panthers are starting to look like a college program instead of an NFL franchise with how Rhule has micromanaged the personnel on both sides of the ball.
A 10-25 record in two seasons plus the first two games of the 2022 season isn’t going to cut it. Rhule is on borrowed time in Carolina.
As harsh as this may sound if his team isn’t able to win over the next couple of weeks, expect the third-year coach to be either a top candidate for the Nebraska gig or an Alabama analyst under Nick Saban.
Concerns involving the Carolina Panthers’ offense
Where’s the disconnect on offense? For the last few years now, seems that no matter who the QB or OC is, we cannot for the life of us sustain a consistent offense. A shaky O-Line contributes for sure, but even with improvements and upgrades, the Carolina Panthers’ offense remains abysmal. – Chris White
Thank you for your question, Chris!
I think there are a couple of factors as to why there is a disconnect on the offensive side of the ball. The first is early season rustiness and chemistry issues. The other is inconsistencies from a disciplinary and fundamental standpoint.
This group is still meshing together. Thanks to Matt Rhule’s decision of creating open competition at critical spots such as left tackle, left guard, center, and quarterback, this current starting offense has had only a few weeks to create chemistry and get into a groove.
Baker Mayfield, who the Carolina Panthers traded for in early July from the Cleveland Browns, wasn’t named the starter until a few days following the team’s second preseason matchup. For a quarterback who has only been on the roster for two months and still adjusting to a new scheme, he hasn’t played too badly.
The former Browns’ signal-caller’s flaws have shown through the first two games of the season. Keep in mind that even though Mayfield has his struggles, he is still the best quarterback this franchise has had since Cam Newton left – the first time – in 2019.
While this isn’t the entirety of what the Panthers’ offensive line was supposed to look like before the season, this is another group that is still trying to mesh together and develop. Ikem Ekwonu, the team’s first-round draft pick, has struggled in his first two games.
Not to worry, as this is what is to be expected early in his career. Ekwonu was and still is quite raw when it comes to his technique in pass sets. While some may argue for him to move inside to guard to help limit the mistakes, Ekwonu needs to be tossed into the fire and learn along the way.
He has shown encouraging flashes throughout the last two weeks. It would be wise to give Ekwonu the benefit of the doubt in 2022.
There’s been some lack of discipline from the offense. This, again, comes from early season rustiness and a group that is still meshing together overall. For example, slot receiver Shi Smith had a couple of crucial drops that could have led to big plays or touchdowns.
While the snap exchange issue from Week 1 was resolved, the offensive line still struggled with some communication against New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s aggressive and blitz-heavy defense. Once more, this could be signs of early seasons jitters or misdiagnosis of the defense from the center.
We’ll find out more this coming Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
Carolina Panthers defense showing inconsistency
Why was Phil Snow dropping Brian Burns into coverage when we need him rushing the passer? – Angela Denise
Thank you for your question, Angela!
The Carolina Panthers’ defense has been a hot topic through the first two weeks of the season.
This is a unit that gave up more than 200 rushing yards to the Cleveland Browns a couple of weeks ago. This time around? They conceded just over 100 versus Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants.
Carolina did a much better job squeezing gaps and not allowing Barkley much running room. Gap integrity improved drastically and the run fits by the Panthers linebacker corps were much more sound than they were against the Browns.
Frankie Luvu has become a key piece of the Panthers’ defense early this season. He had a monster day against the Giants on Sunday, racking up 10 solo tackles and four tackles-for-loss in the team’s defeat.
The secondary, however, had some inconsistencies in coverage. A couple of lapses led to a Giants touchdown drive early in the third quarter that would tie the game up at 13 apiece.
When Carolina played with man coverage principles, Jaycee Horn and C.J. Henderson showed out. However, there was some lack of discipline when the Panthers went back to their Cover 3 looks in zone schemes.
As to Brian Burns and other pass rushers dropping into coverage, this is typically normal for most defenses that are looking to throw opposing offenses off-balance when it comes to disguising pressure points. However, it’s become a clear habit for Phil Snow to do so, especially in crucial situations.
Dropping arguably your best pass-rusher, one who recorded two sacks and four hurries, into coverage on crucial downs in a tight game seems unwise.
According to Pro Football Focus, Burns had only two coverage snaps against the Browns. This week? 15 snaps with 17 against the run and 24 as a pass rusher. For the lack of true talent opposite No. 53, this seems less than ideal.
There was an obvious improvement from the Panthers’ defense in almost all facets against the Giants. Once more, however, they were put in a situation where there was little margin for error thanks to lapses on the offensive side of the ball.
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.
What’s next for the Carolina Panthers?
What is the long-term plan for the Carolina Panthers? Every process is jumbled, and team decisions are contradictory. At this point blowing everything up and possibly selling assets for an actual rebuild seems like the only option. – Benton Stilwell
Thank you for your great question, Benton.
Right now, it’s hard to get a grasp of what the team looks like long-term since there is a lot of uncertainty around the head coach and his staff.
So, let’s discuss the Carolina Panthers’ next options going forward. What does this team have to do to have success this season and beyond?
The obvious answer is a clean slate. Matt Rhule is 10-25 and with how the Panthers have played the last two weeks, close losses have been the name of the game since he came to Carolina in 2020.
Rhule has arguably become the worst head coach in the NFL and seems to be wasting a very talented roster thanks to fundamental breakdowns, mismanaging of personnel, and a lack of awareness during in-game situations. If he were to go, defensive coordinator Phil Snow and quite possibly offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo may not survive, either.
The Panthers might be looking for a new head coach early in the season, one that was expected to be the year Rhule gets his team over the hump to get into the postseason. Steve Wilks and, yes, McAdoo would be the two coaches that could step into the interim role.
As for Rhule’s potential replacement next offseason, expect names like Sean Payton, Brian Flores, and Eric Bieniemy to be mentioned, assuming the embattled head coach were to be let go. As for the roster, there is too much talent to give up on.
There are franchise players on both sides of the ball that the Panthers can continue to build around. While uncertainty remains at quarterback, there is a bright future from a player personnel perspective.
The best hope right now is that Rhule can somehow turn it around over the next few weeks. The Panthers are 0-2 to start what is considered to be their easy stretch so if little improvement is shown, heads might roll.