Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
PFF has now graded Adam Thielen as a top-two offensive player for the Panthers in three of the team’s first four games.
How did the Carolina Panthers grade out in yesterday’s 21-13 defeat to the Minnesota Vikings?
Here are the best and worst marks from the team’s fourth straight loss:
With WR Justin Jefferson and the Vikings coming to town, Panthers CB CJ Henderson has quite the task ahead of him in Week 4.
It’s been three weeks up and three weeks down for the Carolina Panthers, who are very much down at an 0-3 mark. The same can be said about their opponents on Sunday, who also come into the weekend with an 0-3 record.
So if the Panthers want to get one up on the Minnesota Vikings, here are four key matchups they’ll have to get the better of.
Andy Dalton, in his first start for the Panthers, earned the offense’s highest overall grade from PFF.
There were plenty of numbers put up in Sunday’s matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks. But none of them translated into the number that actually mattered—at least for the team that’s now 0-3.
Now, let’s take a look at some of Pro Football Focus’ tallies for the Panthers in the 37-27 loss:
According to PFF, Panthers CBs fell flat in their first game without Jaycee Horn this season.
Were this week’s Pro Football Focus grades as ugly as the game we got out of the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints last night?
Let’s take a look at the best and worst marks for the Panthers in their 20-17 loss:
Saints WR Chris Olave will be a tough matchup for the Panthers, especially with CB Jaycee Horn sidelined. So, who has to step up on Monday night?
The Carolina Panthers fell into an unfortunate start to their 2023 season, tripping on a 24-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday. But this time, they’ll be looking to chalk up a win in their second divisional matchup.
So, for that to happen, here are four smaller matchups they’ll need to lock up against the New Orleans Saints on Monday night:
According to Panthers OC Thomas Brown, Chandler Zavala is likely to stay at RG—even with the season-ending injury to LG Brady Christensen.
The Carolina Panthers seemingly have a natural fix to replace Brady Christensen. But, according to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, that fix is becoming a natural elsewhere.
Brown spoke with reporters before Thursday’s practice and was asked about moving rookie Chandler Zavala to left guard in place of Christensen, who will miss the remainder of the season with a biceps injury. But he said Zavala, who manned the left side in college, will likely be staying right where he is.
“A couple reasons why,” Brown said of the choice to keep Zavala at right guard. “One, just obviously the continuity of what he’s already built there so far.”
The fourth-round pick played a steady left guard for North Carolina State University between 2021 and 2022. In fact, he played the first of those alongside current Panthers left tackle Ikem Ekwonu.
But, with usual starting right guard Austin Corbett beginning the campaign on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, Zavala seized the opportunity there. His first NFL game, at least by Pro Football Focus’ measures, was a bit of rough one—having allowed eight pressures of quarterback Bryce Young in Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Per head coach Frank Reich—Cade Mays, Nash Jensen and Justin McCray are the team’s options to replace Christensen.
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Rookie Chandler Zavala will start at RG for the Panthers in Week 1.
One of the Carolina Panthers’ biggest competitions of the summer has officially come to a close.
Head coach Frank Reich named Chandler Zavala the team’s starting right guard on Wednesday. The rookie will get the nod in his first career regular-season outing on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
The opportunity arose this summer, with regular starter Austin Corbett having to recover from offseason ACL surgery. Corbett, as a result of being placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, will miss at least the first four games of the 2023 campaign.
Zavala—who beat out the likes of Cade Mays, Nash Jensen and Justin McCray—started the last two preseason games at the position. In a combined 43 offensive snaps, he—per Pro Football Focus—allowed just one pressure against 24 pass-rushing opportunities.
Right guard will be a change of scenery for the fourth-round selection, who manned the left side for North Carolina State University in the last two years.
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Matt Corral will have one last chance to prove he’s worth a roster spot, for either the Panthers or another potentially interested party.
Which Carolina Panthers should you be focusing on in the team’s 2023 preseason finale?
Here are four players who should be of particular interest on Friday night:
With Cade Mays still recovering from a neck injury, the Panthers will start rookie Chandler Zavala at RG in Friday’s preseason finale.
There may be a changing of the guard at the right guard competition for the Carolina Panthers.
Head coach Frank Reich, just a few days before the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions, spoke to reporters following Wednesday’s relatively light practice. He confirmed that rookie Chandler Zavala will, for the second straight exhibition outing, get the starting nod at right guard.
Zavala, who had been dealing with a hamstring injury for much of the summer, got the honors on the first-team unit in last week’s matchup with the New York Giants. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed zero pressures on eight chances over a total of 21 offensive snaps.
But if you ask him, he could’ve been even better.
“I performed like . . . I was okay, like for not being in pads for eight months,” Zavala said of his debut on Sunday. “Just the second day in pads, I did okay. But I can do a lot better.”
With perceived favorite Cade Mays still recovering from a neck injury and still not in pads, the spot may be Zavala’s for the taking this week.
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Should Panthers fans be panicking about their offensive line’s flat preseason performances?
Yes, the Carolina Panthers are only two weeks into preseason play. So starters are not fully delving into offensive schemes and know that this is not make-or-break time for the upcoming season.
But with that being said, is what we have seen out of the potential Week 1 starting offensive line concerning? There is little question about that.
Just about everyone on the front not named Taylor Moton was, at the very least, somewhat of a liability against the talented defensive lines of the New York Jets and New York Giants.
Starting with the interior, both guard spots—manned by Brady Christensen on the left and either Cade Mays or Chandler Zavala on the right—were often beat during the pair of outings. And while, again, the offensive schemes aren’t in full swing, there isn’t much of a way to scheme being physically dominated by the likes of Quinnen Williams and Dexter Lawrence.
Austin Corbett, who’s on the road to recovery from an ACL tear, returning sooner rather than later would obviously help meld that interior. But it’s still rather troubling, especially given rookie quarterback Bryce Young’s particularly small and short stature, that the group is having difficulty meshing. Interior pressure is hard to deal with, and having big men in the face of Young down the middle is going to lead to some very unproductive offense.
Much has also been made of left tackle Ikem Ekwonu’s performances, and there is a good reason for that. While head coach Frank Reich has expressed confidence in the 2022 sixth overall pick, Ekwonu has seemingly regressed from his rookie campaign.
As opposed to the better part of his first pro season, he’s looked jumpy and a bit uncomfortable dealing with speed. The hits he has allowed on Young so far have been ugly, even if one of them was a ‘communication issue.’
Does all this mean Panther fans should wave the white flag on the season and their young offensive tackle? No, of course not.
This team is still growing together, and offensive lines take a while to gel when new players are thrown into them. Having Corbett back will help from a performance and leadership standpoint and Ekwonu still clearly has all the potential he had when he was selected last spring.
Putting your trust in offensive line coach James Campen and one of the best staffs in the league to fix this also seems like a wise bet. Truly, we will find out rather quickly in the regular season whether this offensive lines has been situated.
And if not, it could be a long and painful season for Carolina’s new franchise quarterback.
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