Patriots vs Panthers: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Carolina
There would be no Joe Webb magic this week.
For the first time this preseason, the Carolina Panthers walked away on the short end of the stick, as the New England Patriots hung on for a 17-16 win behind the arm of backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Ironically, the Panthers’ one loss might have come following the most inspiring performance from the starters. After the now sadly customary first two drives without a first down, the Panthers offense moved the ball well.
The team ended up bringing the ball into the red zone three times, but Corey Brown’s drops prevented Carolina from converting those into touchdowns. That was ultimately the difference in the game: The Panthers settled for field goals in the red zone, while the Patriots found the back of the end zone.
The Panthers defense picked off Tom Brady twice to keep Carolina in the game despite the offense's ability to score, but it ended up not being enough. Brady bounced back with a touchdown just before halftime in the hurry-up offense, and then Garoppolo took over. Garoppolo put up a 116.3 quarterback rating on mostly sure, solid stuff, leading the Patriots on two scoring drives in the fourth quarter to win the game.
Carolina's rushing attack couldn’t get anything going, with only 84 yards on 27 carries. That put the burden on the passing attack to keep up, and the receivers couldn’t do their part. Brown, Greg Olsen and Jerricho Cotchery all had drops, and Joe Webb didn’t complete a pass on the night.
Still, on the whole, the team seems to be moving in the right direction. Cam Newton was accurate, the secondary haunted Brady, and they remained in the game until the very end against the defending champs—a far cry from their 30-7 drubbing in the equivalent game last season.
Grades
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Position | Grade |
QB | B |
RB | C |
WR | D |
TE | B+ |
OL | C |
DL | B |
LB | B |
DB | B+ |
Special Teams | B |
Coaching | B |
Quarterbacks: Forget the drops for a moment. After some early jitters, Cam Newton was mostly on target, finishing 17-for-28 for 160 yards and a touchdown. Derek Anderson’s one drive was very good as well, completing 80 percent of his passes for 49 yards. Joe Webb didn’t complete a pass, but his offensive line didn’t give him much protection, and he did avoid some sacks with his legs.
Running Backs: As a unit, the Panthers ran for just 84 yards on 27 carries—or 3.1 yards per attempt. The longest run of the night was 11 yards, with both Jonathan Stewart and Fozzy Whittaker hitting that number. Stewart and Cameron Artis-Payne, the first two backs up, combined for just 27 yards on 13 attempts—a far cry from where the team was last season.
Wide Receivers: This unit can only rank so high thanks to Corey Brown’s nightmare of a night. Outside of Brown, Jerricho Cotchery and Ted Ginn combined for seven receptions for 68 yards, and Brenton Bersin had a long gain as well. However, the multiple touchdowns left on the board by Brown soured the evening.
Tight Ends: Greg Olsen was the leading receiver on the day with six receptions for 51 yards. He received the most targets by far of any player on either team—it’s clear he’ll be Cam Newton’s top target yet again.
Offensive Line: A step backward after two solid starts for the offensive line. Cam Newton was sacked twice and Joe Webb was under almost constant pressure. Michael Oher had an illegal use of hands penalty, which brought back a 22-yard completion to Greg Olsen, Brian Folkerts had multiple holding calls and both Daryl Williams and Mike Remmers false-started. It wasn’t a disastrous day or anything, but it was far from the relatively clean days the Panthers had enjoyed up to that point.
Defensive Line: Another day, another sack for Kony Ealy, who brought down Tom Brady in the first quarter. The Panthers will need that to continue, as Ealy’s now the best and only option to start at defensive end across from Charles Johnson. The Patriots earned 3.8 yards on the ground against the defensive line, which isn’t great but isn’t a disaster, either.
Linebackers: Luke Kuechly led the team with six tackles, and A.J. Klein and David Mayo were right behind him. Shaq Thompson received his first NFL start and, while he wasn’t always perfect, made some very solid tackles in key situations as the game went on.
Defensive Backs: Charles Tillman and Kurt Coleman both picked off Tom Brady in the first half, keeping the Panthers in the game. Both Josh Norman and Teddy Williams also looked fairly solid at cornerback, breaking up passes. All in all, they allowed 202 yards receiving on the night.
Special Teams: Maybe the best night they’ve had all preseason. Graham Gano made all three field goals, chip shots though they may have been. Fozzy Whittaker’s one kickoff return was good for 33 yards, and Ted Ginn averaged 16.5 yards per return on his two punt returns. Brad Nortman left two of his three punts inside the 20-yard line. The coverage units had some issues—the Patriots’ one kickoff return went for 30 yards, and Chris Harper did some work as a punt returner—but all-in-all, it was a solid night.
Coaching: There was a good moment when Ron Rivera went over to the sideline and comforted Corey Brown after his set of drops, and then he opted to leave him in the game after the rest of the starters left so he could get his first catch of the preseason. That’s good handling of a young player who was clearly having issues. Other than that, there’s not much to say about coaching decisions in the preseason.
Corey Brown’s Struggles Continue
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The Panthers were waiting for someone to step up to replace the injured Kelvin Benjamin. The No. 1 receiver listed on the depth chart coming into this game was Corey Brown, and he had a nightmare of a game. With the first-team offense in the first half, Brown was targeted five times and made no catches, dropping multiple potential touchdown passes.
This continues what can only be described as a nightmare preseason for Brown. He’s now been targeted 11 times with only one catch for five yards to show for it and now he has four drops. That’s not what you want out of someone the team needs to step up this season.
The good news is this probably an aberration. Pro Football Focus charted Brown with just one drop on 36 targets last season. He had a drop rate of just 4.55 and didn’t overly suffer from drops in college, so there’s no reason to think he’s suddenly forgotten how to catch a football. Poor stretches do sometimes happen; this could easily be a mental block or other temporary concern.
Of course, there is a reason Brown went undrafted out of Ohio State. He’s not the most talented player in the league, and he won’t be able to fill Benjamin’s shoes single-handedly. It’s going to have to be a team effort.
Other receivers did step up somewhat in this game. Greg Olsen had six receptions for 51 yards, and he’s going to have to continue to be Cam Newton’s top, most reliable target. Jerricho Cotchery, who seemed to be something of an afterthought at the beginning of training camp, had four receptions of his own, and Ted Ginn added three more. If Devin Funchess comes back from his sore hamstring in decent form and Brown can get over the drops, that’s at least a passable receiving corps for a run-first team.
Cam Newton was 17-of-28 passing for 160 yards and a touchdown. You can add a couple more touchdowns if his receivers had been able to hold onto the ball. The offense still struggled to get into the end zone in the first half, and you’d like to see the team start quicker, but all in all, it might have been the best overall performance by the first-team offense this preseason.
That’s a little disappointing because it still involved two drives before the initial first down of the game, but at least the team is beginning to take those baby steps forward. They’ll have to continue that development in the regular season; with the starters likely not playing on Thursday against Pittsburgh, the Panthers offense ends the preseason with just 20 points on 15 drives.
Now, if only Corey Brown could have held onto those passes.
Starting Defense Bounces Back
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The Miami Dolphins sort of had their way with the Panthers last time out. Ryan Tannehill was 12-for-15 for 102 yards and a touchdown, and the secondary allowed seven passes of 10 yards or more. It wasn’t an ideal night for them.
You’d think Tom Brady and the Patriots offense, which is more experienced and talented than Miami's, would be able to build on what the Dolphins were able to do, but that was not the case. Brady threw two interceptions in the first half, with both Charles Tillman and Kurt Coleman taking the ball away. Add in a sack by Kony Ealy, and you have an all-around solid day for the defense.
The Patriots were held to 116 total yards in the first half, all by starters on starters. That’s the second week in a row the Panthers have decreased the amount of first-half yardage allowed, which bodes well.
Yes, Brady and the Patriots have yet to find their rhythm and mojo in this preseason, and yes, they did score a touchdown in the two-minute drill, but holding the Super Bowl champs to just 116 yards offense in a half is still pretty good from the starters on D.
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Rookie Report
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It was a quieter night for the rookies than it has been in recent weeks, as the starters played more of the game. Devin Funchess sat out thanks to his hamstring tweak, and no one else particularly lit up the field.
Shaq Thompson got his first NFL start and finished the game with just two tackles, but at least one of them was a doozy, fighting his way through blockers and tackles to blow up Dion Lewis. His other tackle stopped the Patriots on a fourth down, so it was at a very key point in the game. He also had some of the pressure on Kony Ealy’s sack. It wasn’t a huge night on the stat sheet, and he did miss a tackle or two, but he flashed the strength and versatility that caused the Panthers to use a first-round pick on him.
It was surprising Daryl Williams did not get the start in Ryan Kalil’s absence. Instead, Mike Remmers stayed at right tackle and Brian Folkerts started at center, where he had an iffy day before leaving with an injury. Williams was flagged for a false start in the fourth quarter, but he otherwise looked fairly solid, as he has all preseason.
Cameron Artis-Payne carried the ball six times for 15 yards and a long of seven, which isn’t the best night in recorded history. However, he flashed some nice burst, and it’s important to note his carries were coming early. He’s clearly ahead of Fozzy Whittaker, Jordan Todman and Brandon Wegher on the depth chart now. Getting first-team reps, even if he didn’t end up doing anything particularly special with them, is still good news for his development.
David Mayo had four tackles, two of them solo, which tied for second-most on the Panthers behind Luke Kuechly. He was in on the tackle on the play James Develin got injured on, which may be his most noteworthy contribution of the night.
Ron Rivera: 'A Lot of Really Good Things Went On'
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In his post-game press conference, Ron Rivera seemed as pleased as he has been all preseason, shared by his team's official website: "There really were a lot of good things that went on out there. I talked about certain things, being consistent; we were pretty consistent for the most part. We put ourselves in position, now we’ve just got to capitalize."
Preseason wins and losses do not matter, so it’s not surprising the Panthers coach would be pleased despite the loss. Fourth-quarter comebacks by your third-string quarterback, while exciting, don’t tell you much about how the team will play in the regular season. The fact the first-stringers kept up with the world champions and, if not for a few drops by a second-year undrafted free agent, would have won is a very good sign indeed.
"Third downs, we were very good as an offense, very good as a defense," he contineued. "I was very pleased with that. We came out in the second half, drove the ball down, punched the ball in with the first bunch. ... We did the things that we needed to do."
He’s right in that the team still needed to finish drives properly—they settled for field goals rather than touchdowns in the red zone. The secondary had some more chances at interceptions, which they dropped. They are putting themselves in good situations, however, and that’s the first step. Now, they just need to turn those good situations into points on the scoreboard.
Cam Newton: 'Offense Needs to Be Better'
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Cam Newton, on the other hand, seemed somewhat dejected in his post-game press conference. When asked about what he said to Corey Brown after the drops, he opted instead to spread the blame around to the entire offense:
"As an offense, we just need to be better...at times. Looking back, it’s frustrating that at halftime, defense playing their tails off, we just end up with six points. The scoreboard did not tell the outlook of the game, but perception is reality. From afar, looking at the score, you would have thought we were struggling. With the defense playing like they did, we have to find a way to put more points up on the board.
"
He’s not wrong. The Panthers had nine snaps inside New England’s 20-yard line in the first half, and they came away with just six points. That includes a drive on which they went down to the two-yard line. In a regular-game situation, you have to capitalize on those turnovers and put the ball into the end zone.
However, as an offense, they were better this week. The starters had multiple drives that moved the ball well, and when they cleared up their mistakes in the second half, they put together an 80-yard touchdown drive. The score isn’t reality—at least not in a preseason game. This was an efficient offense, minus the drops. If they can get that under control, they should be fine going forward.
Obviously, that’s a major "if," and it would be pleasing if the offense could put together those nice drives without a couple of three-and-outs at the beginning of a game. But progress is progress.
As a side note, it was nice to see Newton spread the blame for the offense around rather than focus on Corey Brown’s drops. It’s his job as the leader of the offense to shoulder that burden rather than pointing fingers and going, “yeah, Corey needs to play better." It’s not unexpected, but it’s still a leadership moment from Newton, matching his on-field actions when he went and consoled Brown after one of his more egregious drops.
Corey Brown: 'Gotta Get Back to Doing What I Normally Do'
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As could be expected, Brown was surrounded by reporters in the locker room after the game, pressed to talk about his poor night. A video shared by Charlotte Vibe contained some of that interview:
"I gotta get back to playing like myself. Just doing the things that I’m used to, catching with my hands. Body catching right now, you know, that’s not what I’m used to doing, not what I normally do. Just got to get back to doing what I normally do.”
Games with drops happen, even to really good players. Kelvin Benjamin had a couple of games last season with multiple drops. Sometimes, you just get in a funk that sees you overthink plays and leads to a paralysis by analysis sort of situation. Still, only one catch all preseason is not something that should inspire confidence in a player who was listed atop the depth chart going into this game.
Ted Ginn, at the moment, looks like the better deep threat. Devin Funchess is the big-bodied replacement for Kelvin Benjamin. Jerricho Cotchery is the sure-handed veteran. If Brown can’t get his case of the drops under control, he’s going to find himself without much of a role to play on a team that really needs wide receiver contributions. His case of the drops could not have come at a worse time. At the moment, he shouldn't start against Jacksonville in Week 1.
Brown didn’t have issues with the ball last year or in college, so you know he’s capable of making tough catches. At the moment, however, he doesn’t even seem to be aggressively going after the ball. He needs to turn things around quickly. Because of the Panthers’ lack of depth at the position, he’s not in any real danger of losing a roster spot, but he is in danger of being buried on the depth chart.
Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the Carolina Panthers. Follow him @BryKno on Twitter.
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