Tag: Brian Burns

Panthers retooling, not rebuilding: What it means for 2020

According to Charles Robinson at Yahoo Sports, Carolina general manager Marty Hurney will aim towards a “mixed reboot” rather than a total rebuild.

Good news, Carolina Panthers fans! Your team won’t stink this year. . . . Well, at least they won’t deliberately try to stink as part of a total rebuild.

According to Charles Robinson at Yahoo Sports, Carolina general manager Marty Hurney will aim towards a “mixed reboot” rather than a total rebuild. That “everyone is on the table” sentiment, which was their reported approach heading into the scouting combine two weeks ago, is gone. So, what does a reboot look like as opposed to a good old-fashioned blow-the-whole-thing-up scenario?

For one, your Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey jerseys won’t be outdated for the upcoming season (assuming that still happens). The roster’s key pieces who aren’t about to become free agents will likely all remain in place. That should include defensive tackle Kawann Short, wide receivers Curtis Samuel and D.J. Moore, safety Eric Reid and linebacker Shaq Thompson, who is just three months moved from inking a four-year, $54.2 million extension.

The try-to-compete-in-2020 mode also jives with their recent acquisition of left tackle Russell Okung. One season of Okung, who is on an expiring contract, is arguably more valuable than one year of right guard Trai Turner given the importance of blindside protection as well as Turner’s recent regression.

Additionally, Carolina’s crop of young up-and-comers isn’t far from hitting their stride. Outside linebacker Brian Burns, cornerback Donte Jackson, tight end Ian Thomas and right tackle Taylor Moton – to name a few – have all flashed signs of promise and are primed to begin contributing more. Those players should all be returning in 2020.

Now that they’ve decided not to blow it all up, the front office’s main challenge is reconstructing a much-depleted defense, one that was already embarrassing this past year.

As of right now, they’ll only have approximately $30 million in cap space and a few high-end draft picks, headlined by No. 7 overall selection, to either bring back or help replace the likes of cornerback James Bradberry, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, pass rushers Mario Addison and Bruce Irvin and of course retired linebacker Luke Kuechly. It will probably take more than just one year to accomplish.

In the meantime, this sheds more light on two other key pieces inside the organization.

First, the team will very likely allow Cam Newton to play out the final year of his contract. This lets them reevaluate their commitment to the soon-to-be 31-year-old quarterback. If Newton heals up and returns to his former MVP form, then they’ll already have their franchise QB and won’t have to go through a potentially long and painful process of finding another. All they’d have to do is extend him.

Secondly, this reveals not every part of the Panthers’ brass is on the same page. Hurney, whose deal only runs through 2020, is on a mission to compete now and extend his shelf life in Charlotte. New head coach Matt Rhule, though, has been given a lucrative seven-year blessing from owner David Tepper to build up a winning organization “the right way.”

The mixed signals continue.

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Panthers 2019 class ranked No. 31 in production by Pro Football Focus

It’s far too early to write anybody off just yet. That said, the early returns for the Panthers’ 2019 draft class have not been promising.

It’s far too early to write anybody off just yet. That said, the early returns for the Panthers’ 2019 draft class have not been promising.

In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, they were the second-least productive group of first-year players in the league. Only Cincinnati’s rookies were ranked lower. Here is what they had to say about Carolina’s quiet class of 2019.

“Outside of pass-rusher Brian Burns‘ promising start to the season, there isn’t a whole lot to get excited about with Carolina’s 2019 class. Offensive tackles Greg Little and Dennis Daley recorded overall grades under 60.0, and third-round pick Will Grier (zero touchdown passes, four interceptions) did not look like their long-term answer at quarterback.”

This is. . . not ideal. Then again, we have to remember the context.

Burns was the only rookie who saw consistent playing time and even he was kept off the field too often in favor of much older EDGE defenders like Mario Addison and Bruce Irvin. Ron Rivera infamously put Burns to work as a gunner on special teams but didn’t use him as a pass rusher nearly enough. According to PFF, he was ranked No. 55 out of 112 qualifiers among EDGE defenders. Not a great ranking. However, we saw Burns flash enough to still believe he will become one of the elites at his position. It will take time.

Second-round pick Greg Little was limited by concussion and ankle injuries and only played 230 offensive snaps, or 20.3% of the team’s total. It would be unfair to give him anything but an incomplete grade for his rookie year. Thanks to Little’s and other injuries up front, sixth-round pick Dennis Daley was called into action a lot more than expected. He was on the field for a total of 691 snaps (61.1%) split between left tackle and left guard but he never really settled into a rhythm.

With more time to develop, they could both become starters. A lot of that will depend on what incoming offensive line coach Pat Meyer can get out of them.

If there’s one legitimate concern here it’s the play of No. 100 overall pick Will Grier. While two games is hardly enough to go on, Grier did not look much better than he did during the preseason when he bombed. His processing speed and decision making simply aren’t at the level they need to be for him to compete at this level yet. General manager Marty Hurney looks like he might have whiffed on another third-round pick here.

The rest of the 2019 class hardly saw the field at all. Jordan Scarlett was stuck behind Christian McCaffrey and Reggie Bonnafon on the depth chart, Christian Miller was hurt and then languished on the bench, often being inactive on game days. Terry Godwin was cut before the season even started.

A lot of this falls on coach Rivera, who always preferred to play veterans at the expense of rookies and younger players. Perhaps Matt Rhule will take a different approach.

Either way, fans should not panic about this class. Yet.

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David Tepper wants Matt Rhule to turn Panthers around quickly

In hiring coach Matt Rhule, owner David Tepper shows this is his team now.

There no longer is any question about who is running the show for the Carolina Panthers. It’s become increasingly obvious that it’s owner David Tepper.

The latest – and, perhaps, strongest — evidence of that came Tuesday morning when the Panthers hired former Baylor coach Matt Rhule as the fifth coach in franchise history. This hiring has Tepper’s fingerprints all over it.

Like many things that have happened since Tepper bought the team from founder Jerry Richardson, this breaks from franchise history. Richardson had a pattern when it came to hiring head coaches. He went with rising NFL coordinators when he hired Dom Capers, John Fox and Ron Rivera. He broke from style a bit when he hired former 49ers coach George Seifert.

But you get the picture. Richardson always went with coaches with deep NFL experience. Rhule doesn’t have that. He has only one season of NFL coaching experience, coaching the offensive line for the New York Giants in 2012. But he impressed Tepper enough to get a seven-year contract that could be worth up to $70 million.

In breaking with franchise tradition, Tepper is going with the current curve in the NFL. This move shows he realizes the NFL is becoming more like the college game. Many teams on both levels are using the read-pass option offense. It’s also obvious Tepper wanted a coach with a reputation for building in a hurry.

Rhule has that reputation. Let’s take a look at Rhule, what he’s gotten himself into and what he needs to do to succeed in Carolina.

Build — and win — quickly

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Rhule has a history of building teams and turning them around in a hurry. That’s one of the main reasons he got the job. At Baylor, the Bears went 1-11 in Rhule’s first season (2017), but went 11-3 in 2019. He previously coached at Temple, where he led the Owls to consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time in school history. Can he build as rapidly in the NFL as he did in college.

It’s going to be tough. The Panthers were 5-11 this season. The New Orleans Saints have dominated the NFC South recently. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear to be a team on the rise. The Atlanta Falcons have enough talent with quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones to bounce back from two disappointing seasons.

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Panthers Highlights: Brian Burns saves a touchdown with hustle tackle

Naturally, the Colts went on to score anyway.

It’s been a while since we got to see a highlight-reel play from the Panthers’ first-round pick Brian Burns. Because this season has been bizarre, he broke the streak on special teams. Watch Burns save a touchdown by chasing down Colts punt returner Nyheim Hines from behind.

Naturally, the Colts went on to score anyway, courtesy of a sneak at the goal line by quarterback Jacoby Brissett. It’s 7-0 early.

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Panthers fans are rightly mad online about Brian Burns’ lack of playing time

What’s most frustrating about this is Burns is actually producing.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera has made a number of critical mistakes this year.

His greatest sin was allowing Cam Newton to play hurt Weeks 1-2 when he clearly wasn’t healthy. That might’ve cost Newton his season and the team any realistic chance of making the playoffs. Rivera has also made some head-scratching decisions when it comes to playing time. The ongoing lack of snaps for first-round pick Brian Burns is the worst of it.

In Sunday’s loss to the Saints, Burns played just 22 defensive snaps. That’s 30 fewer than Mario Addison and Bruce Irvin and the same number as veteran DT Kyle Love. Fans aren’t the most rational people on the planet, but in this case they are right to be upset about Burns’ dwindling snap count.

We can’t share most of the tweets due to all the swearing, but here’s a few PG-rated ones that sum up how they’re feeling about it.

What’s most frustrating about this is Burns is actually producing.

In the limited action he sees on the field defensively, Burns continues to make an impact. He stripped Matt Ryan on a two-point conversion last week and his consistent pressure on Drew Brees late in the game helped give Carolina a chance at an upset.

Now that Burns’ wrist appears to be healthy, there’s no excuse for him not to be on the field at least as much as any other EDGE defender. Whatever Rivera’s reasoning may be, it falls well short of the importance of developing young talents like Burns – especially when they’re performing well.

Team owner David Tepper seems to be getting restless based on his recent comments. He already has more than enough reason to move on from Rivera at the end of this year. Keeping Burns on the sidelines this much checks yet another box.

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Panthers vs. Saints: 7 questions about their Week 12 matchup

While the team’s 2019 playoff hopes are effectively over, this is still a critical game for the franchise.

The Panthers don’t appear ready to face a team like the Saints, who have dominated Carolina and the rest of the NFC South for three seasons running. Nevertheless, they’re next on the schedule. While the team’s 2019 playoff hopes are basically finished, this is still a critical game for the franchise.

There are a ton of questions about where the Panthers are going and how they’ll manage their most important assets as the regular season winds down. Here are seven we will be keeping in mind on Sunday.

1. Will the Saints close the door on the division again?

Sean Payton, Drew Brees
Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans comes into this matchup with a significant lead over Carolina in the division race. A win would push their lead over the Panthers to four games with only five left to play in the season. With both the Falcons and the Buccaneers out of the picture, that means the Saints can effectively clinch their third straight division title on Sunday. On the flip side, the Panthers have a chance to play the spoiler. Their odds aren’t great. At the moment, they’re 9.5-point underdogs.

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Brian Burns earns top Pro Football Focus grade for Panthers Week 11

Brian Burns earns top Pro Football Focus grade for Panthers Week 11

The Panthers hit a home run when they picked Brian Burns in the first round of this year’s NFL draft. Now all they have to do is remember to play him.

Burn’s snap count has been declining ever since Bruce Irvin returned from his groin injury early in the season. This past week, he only played 16 defensive snaps. Nevertheless, Burns made an impact. He stopped the Falcons from scoring on this two-point try by stripping Matt Ryan.

For his efforts, Burns earned the highest grade of the week for the Panthers from Pro Football Focus, followed by Gerald McCoy.

Burns is one of several young Carolina players who deserve to be on the field more down the stretch.

As for the offense, right tackle Taylor Moton earned the highest grade this week at 74.0.

Again this calls into question coach Ron Rivera’s personnel decisions. Moton was taken out of the game in the first quarter to get him “settled down,” according to Rivera. Daryl Williams replaced him in the lineup and immediately gave up a sack.

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Brian Burns has the fastest edge pass rush get off in the NFL this year

The Panthers have two of the fastest pass rushers in the NFL this year when it comes to average time to get across the line of scrimmage.

The Panthers have two of the fastest pass rushers in the NFL this year when it comes to average time to get across the line of scrimmage.

According to Next Gen Stats, nobody is doing it quicker than first-round pick Brian Burns, who is averaging 0.72 seconds. That’s .03 seconds better than anyone else. Carolina’s veteran linebacker Bruce Irvin is also among the league leaders – he comes in at No. 5 with a 0.76-second average.

Brian Burns
via Next Gen Stats

That initial burst off the line of scrimmage has helped Burns get to 4.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hits.

However, things have been slowing down for Burns the last month or so of the season. Starting in Week 4 when Bruce Irvin made his debut in the lineup, Burns saw his playing time begin to dwindle. After playing 44, 39 and 56 snaps from Weeks 1-3, he saw his defensive snap count drop to just 38 against the Texans.

Burns compounded the issue in that game by slamming his fist into the field after a partially blocked punt (he was frustrated he didn’t block it out right). He has since undergone surgery and hasn’t made as much of an impact while wearing protection on his wrist.

Things bottomed out last week when Burns only saw 11 snaps against the Packers.

While it’s good the Panthers have a plethora of quality pass rushers like Irvin and Mario Addison, their success shouldn’t come at the cost of playing time for guys like Burns, who represent the future of the defense.

Ron Rivera needs to put his first-round pick on the field more if he’s serious about staying in the playoff race and sticking around in 2020.

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