Panthers vs. Eagles: Breaking Down Philadelphia's Game Plan

Whether Mark Sanchez taking over at quarterback for the 6-2 Philadelphia Eagles is good or bad, it couldn’t hurt his or the team’s chances if head coach Chip Kelly dialed up a few extra handoffs this Sunday.

Ease Sanchez into the offense. Don’t ask him to win the game. Limit his opportunities for negative plays. Lean on an offensive line that finally has its most decorated starters back in the lineup and healthy.

	YDS/GM	YDS/ATT	40+	TD
Stats	131.9	4.8	4	11
Rank	26th	32nd	32nd	31st

Not to mention, take advantage of a porous Carolina Panthers run defense.

It was just last season when Carolina finished with the No. 2 rushing defense in the NFL. Only one running back eclipsed 100 yards in a game all year.

Eight weeks into 2014, four backs have gone over the century mark against the Panthers, including two in one game. Not surprisingly, Carolina is ranked 26th versus the run. Worse still, the unit is dead last in yards per attempt.

GM	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
Wk 6 vs. NYG	22	149	6.8	0
Wk 8 @ ARZ	21	83	4.0	0
Wk 9 @ HOU	24	117	4.9	0

Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s ground attack has really started to round into form in recent weeks. All-Pro LeSean McCoy went over the 100-yard mark himself in two of the Eagles’ last three games.

It was that push on the ground led by McCoy that helped ice a Week 9 win over the Houston Texans. The Birds reached pay dirt twice in the second half to solidify the 31-21 victory, the first on a four-play, 70-yard drive—all called runs—and the second an 80-yard, eight-minute march that featured nine handoffs to six passing plays.

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In addition to McCoy’s resurgence over the past month, plus the threat of Darren Sproles sparking the offense, all of a sudden Chris Polk is in the mix as well. The third-year back carried eight times for 50 yards and scored the only touchdown of the trio at Houston.

No doubt, their combined success pounding the rock benefited Sanchez greatly in the win.

Both phases of offense are benefitting from the improvements up front in recent weeks. Second-year right tackle Lane Johnson returned from his suspension in Week 5. Dynamic center Jason Kelce played for the first time in four games this past Sunday. Now, All-Pro left guard Evan Mathis is off the injured-reserve list and back on the roster.

Unfortunately, veteran right guard Todd Herremans is out for the remainder of the season, per Reuben Frank for CSNPhilly.com. Still, all the main players—including stud left tackle Jason Peters—are in place.

It’s not that Sanchez played poorly against Houston, but there were a handful of careless mistakes that could’ve proved costly. He also made more than his share of those in his previous stint as a four-year starter for the New York Jets.

GM	CMP%	YDS/ATT	TD/INT	RATING
63	55.2	6.5	70/71	71.9

Say what you want about the circumstances surrounding his tenure there, but Sanchez committed 93 turnovers in 68 career regular-season and playoff games as a member of the Jets. There’s enough blame to go around, but more often than not, ultimately ball security falls on the quarterback.

Protecting the football becomes a lot easier when the quarterback isn’t dropping back 60 times, constantly putting the ball in the air up for grabs. And the sooner the Eagles stop turning the ball over, the easier these games are going to get.

Not only that but also with Carolina’s run defense clearly struggling, a game plan taking advantage of that weakness just makes sense. This is why you pay McCoy, why you trade for Sproles, and why you stash Polk on the roster.

If the Panthers are served a healthy dose of all three, it’s hard to imagine their offense being able to keep up.

Newton Is on His Own

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Let’s face it: Carolina doesn’t have anybody on offense who truly scares a defense. You can argue Cam Newton does, but with few if any legitimate weapons surrounding him, the fourth-year signal-caller's numbers have regressed.

	PTS	RUSH/GM	PASS/GM	TO
Stats	19.7	94.7	226.6	12
Ranks	25th	26th	21st	t-15th

As a result, so too have the Panthers. With just one win in their last seven games, the club’s record has fallen to 3-5-1 for the season. In those seven games, the offense has managed to produce fewer than 20 points in five of them.

Newton’s completion percentage (57.4) and yards per attempt (7.0) are the lowest of his professional career. The lack of consistency in the passing attack has no doubt hurt the quarterback on the ground as well, his 4.5 yards per rush are almost one full yard lower than his career average of 5.4.

Frankly, the only thing a defense like Philadelphia’s needs to do special against Carolina—in theory at least—is prevent Newton from getting his wheels going.

After all, it’s not like he’s going to dismantle the Eagles through the air.

PLAYER	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
G. Olsen	45	539	12.0	5
K. Benjamin	40	589	14.7	5
J. Cotchery	28	375	13.4	0

The Panthers' leading receivers are Kelvin Benjamin, a raw first-round rookie and feature receiver out of necessity, and Greg Olsen, a good-not-great tight end who serves as Newton’s security blanket. Benjamin may have future Pro Bowler written all over him, and Olsen certainly keeps defenses honest. However, neither strikes fear into the secondary.

Not even the Eagles’ 22nd-ranked pass defense.

Philadelphia’s secondary may have some major issues, but it’s not necessarily big, plodding wide receivers like Benjamin the unit is having trouble matching up with. Speed is the skill that’s killed cornerbacks Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher and safety Nate Allen in 2014.

Mel Evans/Associated Press

John Brown against the Arizona Cardinals. DeSean Jackson versus Washington. Even Allen Hurns for the Jacksonville Jaguars. A majority of the receivers who have burned the Eagles for big gains were more the quick-twitch athletes than the jump-ball types outmuscling smaller defensive backs.

Yet there simply isn’t much explosion to be found in Carolina’s offense, from Benjamin and Olsen, to prehistoric wideouts Jerricho Cotchery and Jason Avant, or even out-of-their prime dual-threat backs such as Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. Nobody here scares you.

Except for Newton, of course—and the trick there is to keep him in the pocket.

For a lot of teams, that might be easier said than done. The Eagles can match Newton’s speed up front, though, particularly with interior linebacker Mychal Kendricks. It was only a preseason game, but we’ve seen Kendricks spy Newton before, in 2013.

Newton tried scrambling for a first down when he encountered Kendricks one-on-one in space. The quarterback tried to break down the defender, but Kendricks closed quickly and made the solo tackle in the open field, stopping Newton well short of the sticks.

It's one example, but Kendricks has the athletic ability and instinct for this role.

GM	CMP%	PASS YDS	RUSH YDS	TOTAL TD
Wk 7 @ GB	54.8	205	41	1
Wk 8 vs. SEA	54.5	171	24	0
Wk 9 vs. NO	35.7	151	43	1

And if he isn’t allowed to roam the field unchecked, Newton will take sacks. The former No. 1 overall draft pick has been taken down in the backfield 21 times already this season, in addition to losing four fumbles.

He won’t throw many picks—just five interceptions on the season—but he’ll spend a lot of time hoping someone gets open or trying to flee the pocket.

Again, this is provided the Birds defense doesn’t allow Newton to mosey around Lincoln Financial Field like he owns the place, or Stewart and Williams aren’t running like it’s 2009. Philly’s run defense hasn’t exactly been impenetrable, entering the week ranked 20th in the NFL for the season.

Newton and his band of castoff targets in the passing game aren’t likely to lead the Panthers to victory, though. The Eagles should certainly dare them to try.