Are you afraid of the Eagles? I don’t see any reason to
believe that the Panthers can’t secure a win against all of our remaining
opponents Authentic
Shaq Thompson Jersey , though surely they will lose a few. When
thinking about which game I fear the most, like last year, I think about the
Philadelphia Eagles. The main concern by then will be a healthy Carson Wentz.
Assuming he continues to play without setbacks, he’ll be in a groove by week
seven and the fact he missed all that preseason time will no longer be relevant.
Any rust to shake off will have been shook. Wentz was amazing in 2017 and there
is no reason to think he won’t duplicate that success this year. The Panthers’
corners will have to continue their current level of good play, and the pass
rush will have to hold up its end of the bargain to get Wentz off his spot.The
second reason I’m worried is the Fletcher Cox effect. Even with the offensive
line playing well right now —having successfully neutralized Geno Atkins in Week
3— the Panthers will be in trouble. A better interior line than this one (that
featured Andrew Norwell last year) could not stop Cox. Pressure in Cam Newton’s
face has proven to be far more detrimental in the past than edge pressure. That
isn’t even accounting for all of the Eagles’ talent on the edge of their
defensive line.The final reason I don’t like this matchup is the presence of a
talented and involved tight end. Zach Ertz is a big part of the Eagles’ offense,
and so far this year the Panthers have struggled to defend other tight ends like
Austin Hooper in Atlanta and Tyler Eifert in Cincinnati. Ertz is a step above
those two. The Panthers will need to focus a lot of attention on him to
neutralize that threat.However, despite the reasons above I fully believe this
Carolina Panthers team is capable of winning against anyone. If both sides of
the ball play up to standard, they can win, but it will definitely be a tight
contest to the end. Well, it turns out that maybe Panthers four-time All-Pro
middle linebacker Luke Kuechly may have a minor flaw in his game.Who knew?The
27-year-old Kuechly, considered one of the best players in the league at his
position, said after Sunday's practice his pass rushing ability needs to improve
"by leaps and bounds."And Panthers coach Ron Rivera was quick to agree."Yes, he
does" need to improve Authentic
Donte Jackson Jersey , Rivera said. "Like Cam (Newton) likes to
tell you, 'Superman has his Kryptonite.'"Kuechly has been akin to Superman for
the Panthers defense over the past six seasons.He has 818 tackles and 15
interceptions during that span, and has staked his claim as the most productive
middle linebacker ever to play for the Panthers —with a realistic chance to go
down as one of the NFL's all-time bests along with Ray Lewis, Jack Lambert, Dick
Butkus and Mike Singletary.Rivera has repeatedly said Kuechly is like having a
coach on the field with his ability to call out an opponent's play call to
teammates before the ball is ever snapped. He's seemingly always around the ball
and his mistakes are few and far between.Getting to the quarterback has rarely
been one of Kuechly's strengths.He has 10陆 career sacks, including just one last
season. By comparison, Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner — whom Kuechly is
often compared to in the NFC — has 15陆 sacks during that same span.Kuechly is
working with new linebackers coach Steve Russ to improve his explosiveness and
ability to penetrate the line of scrimmage, a skillset that could potentially
elevate the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year to a whole new level."Coach
Russ has a planned attack for (improving) that and hopefully it will translate
into a game," Kuechly said.Kuechly joked that he has to get better at pressuring
the quarterback because his longtime buddy Thomas Davis, the team's outside
linebacker, "beats me in that (category) every year — and I have to try to get
him back."This may be Kuechly's year to get the best of Davis, who will start
the season serving a four-game suspension for testing positive for a banned
substance.It's not anything new for Kuechly to target an area to improve. For
the past couple of years Kuechly spent extra energy working on his pass coverage
skills, an area in which he has shown noticeable improvement.Of
course Womens
Greg Van Roten Jersey , the biggest concern for Kuechly will be
avoiding another concussion. He has sustained a concussion in each of the past
three seasons, causing him to miss 10 games.The Panthers simply can't afford to
lose him.His speed and ability to chase down ball carriers from sideline to
sideline still amazes Rivera, who played linebacker for nine seasons for the
Chicago Bears and won a Super Bowl in the 1985 season.Rivera said he's "seen
everything" from Kuechly, but pointed to a play he made last week in practice
that caused the coach to pause the game film and replay it in slow motion
several times. As Rivera describes it, Kuechly was chasing down a ball carrier
to the outside when a blocker stepped in his way to cut him off.But that didn't
keep Kuechly from making the play though."The position he was in, he should have
been cut off," Rivera said. "But he made a step in and the blocker came down
with him and he jumped around him and accelerated to the outside and made the
play. It's one of those where you just sit there and go, 'Wow.'"While the focus
this summer will be on improving as a pass rusher, Rivera said Kuechly remains a
special player."He has that kind of ability and I think a big part of it is just
how smart he is as a football player," Rivera said.