Rivera, Allen and Panthers humbled in 29-3 loss to Falcons

As for the Panthers’ immediate future, it’s bleak.

Last Sunday left a clear conclusion for the struggling Atlanta Falcons: they had finally figured something out. A defense that had managed a measly seven sacks over their eight games nearly matched that total, taking Drew Brees down six times while holding his normally potent offense to zero touchdowns in a shocking 26-9 win.

This week, Atlanta figured something else out: The Carolina Panthers are nothing to be afraid of with Kyle Allen at quarterback.

Carolina helped the visiting Falcons keep their good times rolling in Week 11, cowering in an embarrassing 29-3 thrashing—their third loss over their last four games.

Once again, the supposed successor to Cam Newton had a considerable hand in the defeat.

Allen was simply overwhelmed throughout the afternoon, with each of his career-high four interceptions all coming off unforced mental errors. Those started right away, when he seemingly tried to avoid a sack on the offense’s first drive and spiked the ball . . . into the hands of Falcons linebacker De’Vondre Campbell.

Allen threw two more picks before the half, one in the end zone on a route that cornerback Marcus Trufant ran for DJ Moore and the other on an errant overthrow, again, to Moore. Both came with the Panthers inside the Falcons’ 25-yard line.

In a humbling revelation at the break, with his team down 20-0, head coach Ron Rivera seemingly figured out exactly what his opposition had. Rivera, who may have traded in his riverboat for a broken-down bus on Sunday, outwardly expressed his concern over Allen’s play to Fox sideline reporter Jennifer Hale.

“This isn’t a timing issue with the line or receivers, this is a bad decision issue on Kyle,” he said as he threw his quarterback under whatever was left of that broken-down bus. “He’s got to address it.”

Rivera was right.

Allen’s moxie wouldn’t be enough to spark a Super Bowl LI-esque comeback, as he capped off the outing with another bad choice on another bad throw in another bad spot, inside Atlanta’s 25-yard line. He finished the day having completed 31 of his 50 tries for 325 yards and a 47.5 passer rating, lower than that of Falcons running back Kenjon Barner (one-of-one, three yards).

Carolina’s defense didn’t provide much resistance, either.

Wideout Calvin Ridley tore up cornerback Donte Jackson for much of their matchup, reeling in all of his eight targets for 143 yards and a touchdown. While they did clean up their historically porous run defense – allowing just 54 yards on 26 Atlanta rushes – the Panthers forced zero turnovers and sacked Matt Ryan (21-of-31, 311 yards) just three times.

But, again, the moral of this story is what the Falcons, Rivera and the rest of the football world should have figured out by now. Allen is not the answer for Carolina. He’s a passable backup – not someone that’s worth betting your future on.

As for the Panthers’ immediate future, it’s bleak. At 5-5, the playoffs are very likely out of reach in a heavily contentious NFC conference.

Much like Rivera did by opting for a 31-yard field goal down 26-0 in the fourth quarter instead of taking a shot at the end zone, it may soon be time to take a knee on the season and see what third-round pick Will Grier has to offer.

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6 Panthers who need to step up over the last 7 games

If they’re going to defy those odds and make the postseason this year, they need these six individuals to step up over their final seven games.

Going into Week 11, the Panthers have just an 18% chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.

If they’re going to defy those odds and make the postseason this year, they need these six individuals to step up over their final seven games.

QB Kyle Allen

The problem: accuracy

After seven starts, we know more about what Allen is and isn’t at quarterback. He is a relentless competitor and excellent teammate who has said all the right things and taken blame for his mistakes since Cam Newton’s injury. However, Allen has also been erratic in the pocket and has missed too many open receivers. Allen is completing just 61.5% of his passes this year. That’s more than six points lower than Newton’s completion percentage from 2018. While he seems to have a strong rhythm established with D.J. Moore and Christian McCaffrey, Allen is often out of sync with Curtis Samuel and Greg Olsen. Working on timing with those two might help boost his accuracy.

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Ron Rivera says there’s ‘no magic fix’ for Panthers’ run defense problems

Speaking with the media today, head coach Ron Rivera said there’s no magic fix, according to Jourdan Rodrigue at the Athletic.

For a team that prides itself on stopping the run, the Panthers have done an awful job of it this season. Only three NFL teams have allowed more rushing yards per game and the problem seems to be getting worse with each passing week.

On Sunday, the Packers ran all over Carolina, averaging six yards per carry and scoring three touchdowns on the ground. There were other factors in the loss, but that was by far the biggest one.

Speaking with the media today, head coach Ron Rivera said there’s no magic fix, according to Jourdan Rodrigue at the Athletic.

Rivera says the team – coaches and players – need to be accountable for issues defending the run for the last three weeks. Says there is no “magic fix” but it is a point of emphasis – especially stopping big plays. Adjustments in Q4 were a bright spot.

— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) November 11, 2019

Losing Kawann Short to injured reserve was always going to be a big deal for this defense, even if it didn’t show early on.

You can’t blame Rivera for Short’s absence, but he hasn’t done enough to make adjustments in the two months since he’s been out. One thing he should consider is abandoning his 3-4 looks, which aren’t working when it comes to stopping the run. The front seven (especially inside linebacker Luke Kuechly) seem to constantly be out of position.

Switching back to a 4-3 may or may not fix things, but Rivera has to consider that and anything else that might help.

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Panthers coach Ron Rivera’s inconsistent use of analytics is confusing

Rivera needs to make a choice.

Ron Rivera decided to go for two.

If it had been successful, the Packers’ lead would have been cut to just six points, bringing Carolina that much closer to a thrilling comeback win. Panthers fans would be sharing Riverboat Ron memes and praising the genius and daring of their coach, who understands how the modern game works and isn’t afraid to use analytics to his advantage.

The two-point conversion attempt didn’t work out. So instead, Panthers fans are calling him foolish and worse. The thing is Rivera made the right call – at least if you believe in numbers. That time, anyway.

The result isn’t always going to be there. The process is what matters. The more times you make the correct decision, the more often you will reap the benefits.

That’s what makes Rivera’s inconsistent use of analytics so frustrating.

Rivera set the wrong tone for the game on the very first drive, when he decided to punt on 4th and 3 inside Packers territory. Given the way last week’s win over the Titans went, it was a baffling decision, made all the more confusing by Rivera’s post-game comments when he talked about the decision to go for two, per the Athletic.

“Yes, that was purely analytics, 100 percent. . . If you don’t get it there, you get an opportunity to go for two again. We feel pretty good about the play we had called the first time, and we felt good about having the second one up. It’s most certainly something where we went ahead and followed the analytics of it.”

“Following the analytics of it” is what winning teams do, but in the next breath Rivera changed course and talked about his gut feelings and game flow.

Last week, Rivera’s instincts told him to go for it on two separate fourth downs against the Titans. Or maybe it was the analytics. It’s hard to tell when there’s no clear method of operating. In any case, after that win, several players remarked on how much confidence Rivera’s aggressive decisions gave them.

What were they to think when Rivera punted away inside Green Bay’s territory to begin the game?

For all the talk about Kyle Allen’s poise and grit and leadership ability, not trusting him to get three yards there when the analytics say otherwise and Allen’s opening drive looked strong doesn’t inspire confidence and raises questions about Rivera’s own leadership.

The Panthers have an analytics department, which they announced without much fanfare in June. We must assume that Taylor Rajack and whoever else works in that department get paid real money to do their jobs. David Tepper can afford it, in any case. Since the franchise is paying for it, they might as well put it to use on the field.

Rivera needs to make a choice.

Either the analytics trump his gut feelings and the “situation” or they don’t. This mix and mash he’s got going on is only going to lead to confusion and more of those infamous missed opportunities.

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