3 pivotal keys to victory for the Carolina Panthers vs. Saints in Week 2
By Noah Bryce
Carolina Panthers must help C.J. Henderson
Does anyone else hear a broken record? C.J. Henderson will be the deciding factor in this Carolina Panthers secondary for better or worse.
The Panthers are well aware of Henderson's limitations at this point. What remains now is how the team decides to mitigate against them.
The only problem is that with the absolutely stacked New Orleans Saints receiving room, there isn't really the opportunity to send much help Henderson's way in the form of double teams and the like. Because if you take away that help from one side it leaves a gap that cannot be filled and will be exploited.
Between Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Rasheed Shahid, the Saints have plenty of options and all have the ability to break open the game. This begs the question of where you line up the weak point of your secondary that gave up a 100 percent catch rate in Week 1. There is nowhere to hide, no player that isn't a legitimate threat before or after the catch.
The only possible solution to this problem, which isnt a very good one, would be to put Jeremy Chinn in the game as an extra defensive back at the linebacker position. Simply to have another body on the field that is capable of covering. Even though this would further open up the Panthers against the run which is exactly what doesn't need to happen.
There are not many good options here for the Panthers and it may come down to sliding a safety wherever Henderson happens to line up for the entire game. But that is not sustainable in the slightest. The team has to figure out how to help the troubled corner as best they can as there is no one else on the roster that can replace him.
Donte Jackson did perform rather well in Week 1, showing just how effective the aggressive corner can be when healthy. Something that the Panthers will desperately need in Week 2 if they want any hope of containing the Saints' passing attack.