Kevin Avery

Knowledge with Kevin: Week 3 Arizona Cardinals (Part 2)

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Panthers defense vs. Cardinals offense: 

The biggest threat to expose the defense will be the match-up of the personnel groupings and alignments that Panthers head coach Ron Rivera uses and calls against the high tempo/no huddle “Air Raid” passing attack using 10 and 00 personnel by Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury. The term Air Raid basically means an all out pass heavy attack from all angles. 10 personnel means 1 RB 0 TE 4 WR and 00 personnel means 0 RB 0 TE 5 WR. During the Rivera era our pass defense has largely been the nickel zone heavy sub-package 4-2-5 which is 4 DL 2 LB 5 DB. The 5 DBs are typically 2 outside CBs 1 nickel CB and 2 safeties which match-up perfectly against 11 personnel of 1 RB 1 TE 3 WR. The Cardinals offense leads the NFL in no huddle usage at 54% of their plays. The chess match will be how the Panthers game plan to defend the 4th and 5th WR of the Cardinals during a face pace.

4MR Solution: 

  1. The Panthers defensive front must quickly disrupt the Cardinals offensive line blocking schemes with a combination of stunts and slants that allows quick penetration. Their starting five combined for a 59.7 overall grade this preseason. So whether the Panthers use a “30 front” or a “40 front” the interior defensive linemen must dominate early and often to disrupt the rhythm of rookie QB Kyler Murray.
  2. The Panthers secondary playing more press man-to-man coverage at the line of scrimmage on the Cardinals receivers is a high risk yet high reward approach. This “Air Raid” philosophy is largely timing routes where the ball is thrown before the receiver makes his cut to catch the ball. The WR group consists of future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald in his 16th season, former Panther Damiere Byrd, Christian Kirk, Keesean Johnson, Michael Crabtree and Andy Isabella. The ability to throw these players off their routes by just a couple of seconds can lead to multiple sacks and turnover opportunities. Also the defensive front getting their hands up on those quick 3 step drops to batter down passes will be a key part to slowing this offense down.
  3. The Panthers using more of their “Dime” sub-package of six DBs would allow us to have a CB on those 4th and 5th WRs on the field. As talented as the Panthers LB core is there should not be any situation where they are lining up in the slot to cover.  This season we have seen more of the “30 front” dime package of 3 DL 2 LB and 6 DB. However it would not surprise me to see some “40 front” dime looks with 4 DL 1 LB and 6 DB. The current NFL pattern of various spread offenses is growing and it is important for Rivera to adapt defensively by using more DBs to counter with rather than relying on his LBs.
  4. Speaking of LBs it will be the jobs of Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson to contain and tackle effectively QB Murray and RB David Johnson in the running game. Both are capable of making huge gains on the ground when given the chance. The defensive front must maintain run gap discipline and run fit responsibilities at all times.
  5. A veteran loaded defense lead by Rivera must control the tempo and the line of scrimmage against a rookie head coach and a rookie QB playing in their 3rd NFL game. The film shows plenty of opportunity for multiple sacks and numerous turnovers. With a 10 day rest this Panthers defense should be licking their chops to get at this offense. 

Knowledge with Kevin: Week 3 Arizona Cardinals (Part 1)

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Panthers offense vs. Cardinals defense:
The biggest threat to disrupt the offense’s production will be the match-up of EDGE defenders Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs vs. TACKLES Daryl Williams and Taylor Moton. Since 2015 Chandler has had 12.5, 11.0, 17.0 and 13.0 sacks with 90 QB hits. Suggs during his last four seasons played has had 12.0, 8.0, 11.0 and 7.0 sacks with 71 QB hits. They are capable of causing major headaches.
4 MR Solution: 
  1. Better consistent fundamental play by Williams and Moton themselves is the first part. Also having help from TEs and/or RB chip blocks on every passing play to slow down and neutralize outside QB pressures. Also a huge redemption performance by C Matt Paradis is equally as vital for success. Expect the Cardinals to try to exploit both A gaps around him with DT stunts and LB blitzes. 
  2. The Cardinals defense ranks 31st in total yards per game with 458.5 and gives up the 4th most rushing yards per game with 149.0. All Pro CB Patrick Peterson is out due to suspension. So there will be plenty of opportunities for WRs Moore, Samuel and Wright to have multiple big plays receptions.
  3. Detroit Lions rookie TE TJ Hockenson (6 catches 131 yards 1 TD) and Baltimore Ravens 2nd year TE Mark Andrews (8 catches 112 yards 1 TD) made huge plays repeatedly facing the Cardinals LBs. If the Panthers feature TEs Greg Olsen, Ian Thomas and Chris Manhertz in the passing game they can take turns having big impact plays. 
  4. Tampa Bay did a large amount of what is called “Green Dog Blitzing”. A green dog blitz is a defensive technique where a defender rushes the quarterback after his man coverage assignment stays in to pass block. A linebacker or safety assigned to a running back or tight end in man coverage will often green dog blitz when he recognizes that offensive player blocking another pass rusher. This helps the defense get pressure on the quarterback even if the offense protects with six or more blockers, by adding a late rusher that the blocking scheme often cannot account for. This was the main way they limited RB Christian McCaffrey. The best way to counter this is to have either FB Alex Armah or RB Jordan Scarlett lined up in the backfield as well so that they can stay in to block which frees him to run routes.
  5. If the Cardinals “copycat” Tampa Bay’s defensive game plan of stacking the line of scrimmage with defenders to stop McCaffrey and leaving our WRs in one on one coverage then expect our passing game to put up big plays and results. This will then allow the reemergence of the Panthers vaunted run game.
 
 
 
 

Rush Review: Who Are These New Guys?

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When the Carolina Panthers announced their 53-man roster on this past
Saturday by the 4:00 pm EST deadline, many fans were mostly pleased with
the players that made the team.  However, there were some surprise cuts
made 24 hours later; and a trio of mostly unknown players claimed off the
waiver wire were now added to the roster. Needless to say, this lead to some
head-scratching reactions throughout the Panthers Nation. Let’s investigate
what happened and the reasons why general manager Marty Hurney made
these decisions.

Who was released and why: Twitter accounts by Carolina Panthers related
sources flooded the newsfeed with the news that the team had released WR
Torrey Smith, RB Elijah Holyfield and CB Kevon Seymour. Each one of the
players had fans divided in opinions all summer long over if they should be on
the final roster or not.

Smith was looking to bounce back as a reliable deep threat in the Panthers
offense from an injury filled 2018 season. Hurney said the decision to cut
Smith was “…very difficult because he is a classy guy and a proven leader on
the team on and off the field.” He also said that the team wanted players at the
5th and 6th receiver to be able to contribute on all four phases on special
teams. This was not something that Smith could not provide in his 9th season.
His release had zero impact on the salary cap because his 2019 salary of $3M
was not guaranteed.

Holyfield was an undrafted rookie RB from University of Georgia that became
quickly popular with fans as the longshot player to be backup to RB Christian
McCaffrey. When the roster was announced that RBs Jordan Scarlett and
Reggie Bonnafon also made the team, it was puzzling why the position was
four players deep. Despite his 2 TD performance at Chicago and a few nice
plays here and there, it was clear to see his best efforts could justify keeping a
roster spot at a loaded position.

Seymour spent a large part of training camp and preseason missing from a
hamstring injury. He had already missed the entire 2018 season with both
shoulders injured. Despite having a very strong performance in the final

preseason game vs. Pittsburgh it was not strong enough to lock in a place in
the defensive backfield.

Who was signed and why:  When it was announced that the Panthers claimed
DB Natrell Jamerson and WRs Brandon Zylstra and Ray-Ray McCloud off
waivers, it sent a vast majority of Panthers fans scrambling to find out who
they are and what they can do.

Jamerson is a 5-11, 201 lb. defensive back who played for the University of
Wisconsin from 2014 – 2017. After playing as a WR his freshman year, he
switched to playing CB his sophomore and junior season seasons and then
switched to playing safety his senior year. That year, he had 32 tackles (61
career), 3.5 tackles for loss (5.0 career), 1.5 sacks, 2 INTs with 1 returned for a
TD and 10 pass deflections (14 career).  He also showed kickoff return
abilities with 38 returns for 784 yards with a 20.6 yards per return and 1 TD
return.  He was the defensive MVP in the 2018 East-West Shrine Game. During
the 2018 NFL combine he ran a 4.4 time in the 40-yard dash, 25 bench reps,
35.5 inches vertical jump and a 10 foot broad jump. His draft profile stated his
strengths were: speed, football IQ, solid tackler, man coverage skills and
special teams. The weaknesses are covering big receivers and hesitant at
times when tackling downfield. The New Orleans Saints drafted him 5th round
in the 2018 Draft but waived him on the final roster cutdown. He was
immediately picked up off waiver by the Houston Texans and played in 10
games, which yielded seven tackles and one pass deflection. In December
2018, he was waived but was quickly picked up by the Green Bay Packers in
which during his time there only made three tackles. He was waived this past
Saturday.

Zylstra is 6-2 and 220 lb. wide receiver who played at Concordia College in
Moorhead, MN from 2013 – 2016. In 29 games, he had 120 catches for 1932
receiving yards with 16.1 yards per catch along 18 TD catches. He was also
one of the top track and field athletes at the school who broke records. He
went to North Dakota State’s Pro Day in 2016.  He had a 4.6 time in the 40-
yard dash, 1.64 seconds in the 10-yard split, 2.75 seconds in the 20 yard split,
7.19 time in the three cone drill, 34 inches in the vertical jump, 10 ft 8 in broad
jump and 16 bench reps. After going undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft, he
signed a two-year contract with the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL.  In the
2017 season, he led the league in receiving with 1687 yards. This led to

getting a 3 year rookie contract with the Minnesota Vikings in January 2018.
He played on all 4 special teams’ units in 16 games last season. He was waived
this past Saturday.

McCloud is 5-10 and 190 lb. wide receiver and punt returner who played at
Clemson University from 2015 – 2017. In 39 games, he had 127 catches for
1226 receiving yards with 9.7 yards per catch along with 4 TD catches. He also
had 18 carries for 106 rushing yards with 5.9 yards per carry. He also
returned 25 punts for 303 yards with 1 TD returned.  After his junior season
he declared for the 2018 NFL Draft. At the combine, he ran a 4.53 time in the
40-yard dash, 13 bench reps, 34.5 inches vertical jump and 9 ft 5 in broad
jump. The Buffalo Bills drafted him in the 6th round.

Summary: Hurney said that Jamerson will play both CB and safety on defense
along with all four special teams including gunner on the punt team. Zylstra is
also being brought in to play all the special teams’ units along with being an
option as a possession receiver. McCloud is going to get a legitimate shot to be
the returner on both punts and kickoffs and can be used as a slot wide
receiver as well.

Rush Review: Buffalo 27 Carolina 14

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The Carolina Panthers came out with low energy and poor execution on their first couple series on both sides of the ball to be down by 10 points very early in the first quarter and never recovered in a 27-14 home loss against the Buffalo Bills at Bank of America Stadium on this past Friday night.

It was announced an hour before kickoff that QB Cam Newton, TE Greg Olsen, RB Christian McCaffrey, LB Luke Kuechly and LB Shaq Thompson were sitting out this game to minimize unnecessary risks at this point during the preseason. This opened up opportunities for key rotational players and depth guys to make an impact. However, watching this game over again was bitter and head scratching as numerous fundamental mistakes repeated themselves. The remaining expected starters on offense and defense played the first three series yet could only muster a few good plays here and there as their on performance lacked intensity and effectiveness. This energy just seemed to carry over to the 2nd and 3rd units for the remainder of the game. All three phases of the team took their turns at disappointing the hometown crowd who had been eagerly awaiting a solid showing. The dominating playmaking that the Panthers had in the two joint practices leading up to this preseason game did not transfer over to the actual game.

Here are the typical statistical numbers from the game by ESPN:

Matchup
1st Downs 20 18
Passing 1st downs 12 9
Rushing 1st downs 6 5
1st downs from penalties 2 4
3rd down efficiency 6-13 2-13
4th down efficiency 0-0 1-2
Total Plays 63 66
Total Yards 373 258
Total Drives 11 12
Yards per Play 5.9 3.9
Passing 279 155
Comp-Att 21-31 22-42
Yards per pass 8.7 3.4
Interceptions thrown 1 1
Sacks-Yards Lost 1-1 3-30
Rushing 94 103
Rushing Attempts 31 21
Yards per rush 3.0 4.9
Red Zone (Made-Att) 2-4 1-2
Penalties 11-100 7-62
Turnovers 2 1
Fumbles lost 1 0
Interceptions thrown 1 1
Defensive / Special Teams TDs 1 0
Possession 31:40 28:20
Here are the stats that The 4 Man Rush are tracking on offensive personnel groupings and defensive personnel alignments:
12 personnel (1 RB 2 TE 2 WR) was used on five plays with two runs and three passes. QB was under center four times and in shotgun one time.
11 personnel (1 RB 1 TE 3 WR) was used on 43 plays with seven runs and 36 passes. QB was under center two times and in shotgun 41 times.
21 personnel (2 RB 1 TE 2 WR) was used on eight plays with four runs and four passes. QB was under center seven times and in shotgun one time.
22 personnel (2 RB 2 TE 1 WR) was used on two plays which both was runs. QB was under center on both plays.
3-4 base personnel (3 defensive linemen 4 linebackers 4 defensive backs) was used on 19 defensive snaps.
4-2 nickel personnel (4 defensive linemen 2 linebackers 5 defensive backs) was used on 39 defensive snaps.
#WhatARush #KeepPounding

The 4 Man Rush Presents: The 2019 Camp Wofford Awards

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Offensive MVP

WR Curtis Samuel

Every single practice there was always a deep ball or two thrown and caught for a TD by him. Every CB covering was helpless to stop him from going vertical.

Defensive MVP

CB James Bradberry

Had 6 INTs and 16 pass deflections during team drills by our count. Was very disruptive when playing press man coverage. Social media outlet left this out.

Most Impressive Offensive Free Agent

WR Chris Hogan

His route running and his catching abilities have justified his nickname of “Mr. 7 Eleven”. He has definitely secured the #4 spot at WR.

Most Impressive Defensive Free Agent

CB Javien Elliott

After waiting 3rd in line for 1st team reps at “small nickel” he has performed at a very high level. Had 3 INTs and 7 pass deflections. Solid tackler as well.

Nice Start On Offense Rookie

WR Terry Godwin

Had some nervous energy the first couple of days, but then began to show consistent playmaking abilities. Went to Chicago and put on a punt return clinic.

Nice Start On Defense Rookie

LB/DE Brian Burns 

Everything that he showed in college was as good as advertised and then some. Several “sacks” in practice and 2 sacks in 10 reps @Chicago 1st preseason game.

Most Improved Offensive Role Player

FB Alex Armah

Displayed a much bigger role in the offense so far. Has displayed reliable catching ability. Several successful runs as a FB and even RB some.

Most Improved Defensive Role Player

LB/DE Marquis Haynes

Benefited the most by switching to a 3-4 hybrid scheme. Nearly unblockable in practice. Stayed sacking QBs and tackling RBs in the backfield @Chicago.

All Disappointment Team

DT Vernon Butler Jr., C Tyler Larsen, QB Taylor Heinicke, OL Dennis Daley, RB Elijah Holyfield

Butler Jr. got blown out of the play, Larsen got bullrushed too easily, Heinicke was very disappointing, Daley blocks too high and Holyfield has less than 3.0 ypc.

Rush Review: Training Camp Day #15 (Second Joint Practice)

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#1. Today was the final practice of training camp at Wofford College for the 2019 season. There was plenty of speculation among Carolina Panthers fans about if this was the very last time the city of Spartanburg SC will be the summer home for the team. The current contract expired today and there has not been any statement by Carolina Panthers owner Mr. David Tepper or by anyone in the Wofford administration.

#2. Players who did not practice today: C Matt Paradis (vet day), LB Shaq Thompson (vet day), DT Gerald McCoy (vet day), TE Ian Thomas (rib contusion), CB Kevon Seymour (hamstring), C Tyler Larsen (unknown) and K Graham Gano (sore leg).  LB/DE Brian Burns came out in full pads but after warming up he was told by the medical staff to take the day off and to do work on the sidelines. He has a slight ankle bruise but expects to play in the game Friday night.

#3. Players getting first team reps on defense: S Tre Boston at FS, CB Javien Elliott at nickel CB, LB Jermaine Carter Jr. and DT Vernon Butler Jr. Players getting first team reps on offense: C John Yarbrough and TE Chris Manhertz.

#4. Positive plays made by the Carolina Panthers offense: QB Cam Newton was able to make Bills rookie DT Ed Oliver jump offsides three times in a row. He was then pulled from the field and got a good cussing out from his position coach. RB Christian McCaffrey runs right up the middle of the defense untouched for about 30 yards. On the very next play Newton threw a deep TD pass to WR Curtis Samuel who was covered by Bills CB Tre’Davious White. TE Greg Olsen makes a spectacular one hand catch behind his back from a Newton pass. TE Chris Manhertz makes back to back catches over good coverage by Bills LB Shaq Lawson. QB Kyle Allen connected on a deep ball with WR Torrey Smith for about 40 yards. RB Reggie Bonnafon runs in for a TD on the last play of the day.

#5. Negative plays made by the Carolina Panthers offense: QB Kyle Allen was the second team QB and one of his passes was intercepted by Bills LB Deon Lacey after the ball bounced off the hands of WR Terry Godwin. The offense got a delay of game penalty that caused head coach Ron Rivera to start cussing very loudly. LT Greg Little gave up a quick pressure to Bills LB Jerry Hughes. Newton was picked of by Bills CB Ryan Lewis. Panthers QBs Newton, Allen and Will Grier had about two-thirds of their pass deflected during team drills.

#6. Positive plays made by the Carolina Panthers defense: LB Luke Kuechly got a pass deflection while covering Bills TE Tommy Sweeney. S Colin Jones got a pass deflection while covering Bills WR Ray-Ray McCloud. CB Donte Jackson got a pass deflection while covering Bills WR Robert Foster. CB Josh Thornton got an interception while covering Bills WR Cam Phillips.

#7. Negative plays made by the Carolina Panthers defense: Bills WR Zay Jones had a very acrobatic TD catch from QB Josh Allen. Billls WR John Brown caught a quick slant pass from Allen for a TD. QB Matt Barkley threw a TD to WR Duke Williams. Barkley threw another TD to RB Christian Wade. Barkley threw his final TD pass to WR Isaiah McKenzie.

#8. Positive play made by the Carolina Panthers special teams: During the gunner drills CB Javien Elliott did a juke and swim move to split the two Buffalo Bills blockers and got a free release down the field. This caused a huge uproar from the Panthers sidelines as special team coaches Chase Blackburn and Ben Jacobs raced down to congratulate him along with several teammates.

#9. Negative play made by the Carolina Panthers special teams: During field goal drills K Joey Slye went 5 for 8 on making successful kicks. Those three misses looked bad too. Prior to Elliott’s successful attempt at gunner all of the other Panthers players were stifled by Bills blockers which got their sideline hyped for most of the period.

#10. Panthers G Norman Price was down on the ground for a few moments then helped up by teammates. He was then carted off by trainers. LB/DE Bruce Irvin and Bills rookie OT Cody Ford had to be separated after Irvin took exception to a really low chop block by Ford. WR Chris Hogan also got into a shouting match with Bills DT LT Walton but both players were quickly separated. DL Bryan Cox Jr. was pulled over on I-85 North near Kings Mountain NC which is about 30 miles west of Charlotte NC. State troopers gave him a ticket for speeding from doing 90 m.p.h in a 65 m.p.h zone, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia. The preseason game between these two teams starts at 7:00 PM EST at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte NC.

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