Lea: Darnold looked fine, Slye may need to go, rookies shine
Posted August 21, 2021 10:11 p.m. EDT
Charlotte, N.C. — Ah! It feels good to be inside of a football stadium again!
The last time I was inside of a football stadium in 2019 when I work in the Triad and tonight I had a chance to come to Charlotte to cover tonight's Carolina Panthers preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens.
As the Panthers are preparing for their 2021 season, the second under head coach Matt Rhule and the first with Sam Darnold being QB1, I wanted to post my impressions of the team from my perspective in the press box. Keep in mind, this is just the preseason and most of the Panthers starters didn't play more than one series.
SAM DARNOLD
- Sam Darnold only played one series for the Panthers and went 1-2 for 16 yards. His only hook up was a 16 yard pass to Robby Anderson and the other pass was a smart throw away in the Red Zone when he had nothing going on the play. Not much you can take from that one series, but Darnold was well protected and looked comfortable. Only seven plays on the drive which ended as a turnover on downs when Chuba Hubbard couldn't convert at 4th & goal from the one yard line.
JOEY SLYE
- Kicker Joey Slye may be a source of pain for Panthers fans this season. No doubt Slye has a leg on him and can kick the ball as far as he wants to: his problem is accuracy. That's a problem that's reared it's head in the past and that's a problem that can lose you games in the NFL, especially for a Panthers team that often find themselves losing one possession games under Matt Rhule. Slye missed a 37 yard attempt in the first half of this game but made it up by making a 41 yarder in the second quarter. It wouldn't surprise me if the Panthers signed someone to give Slye some competition, but ultimately it's his job to lose. Matt Rhule did admit that Slye has not produced to the level he's hoped he would, which means Slye needs to shape up or he could get shipped out.
DEFENSIVE ADDITIONS
- The Panthers defense caused two turnovers in the first half, a continuation from Thursday's joint practice with the Ravens when the defense came away with five interceptions. In the first quarter, new Panthers EDGE rusher Hassan Reddick came up with an interception and a 26 yard return before he was tackled. New Panthers linebacker Frankie Luvu forced a fumble which was recovered by Sean Chandler. Both Reddick and Luvu were brought in to help the Panthers defense improve from last season. Both are versatile, can rush the quarterback and drop back in coverage if needed. If these two shine this year for the Panthers, it will be a welcomed sight for a team that couldn't get off the field on third down last season.
WILL GRIER
- Will Grier had a pretty good outing for the Panthers offense, as he played every series int he first half besides the first series when Sam Darnold played. Grier went 11-13 for 144 yards in the first half. Grier only attempted one pass in the second half, which was incomplete, finishing the game 11-14 for 144 yards. This was the best I've personally seen Grier play in a Panthers uniform and he gave me a little more faith in him as a backup. However, he still would need to win the main backup job form PJ Walker. Walker on the other hand went 1-8 for 8 yards. That means both QB's shine when playing with the first and second team guys and don't look so hot when playing with the guys who may not be on the roster next Saturday. Grier didn't look so hot in the second half last week against the Colts.
PANTHERS 2021 DRAFT PICKS
- The Panthers are looking like geniuses with the skill position players they drafted in this year's NFL Draft. The additions of Chuba Hubbard, Terrace Marshall, Tommy Tremble and Shi Smith are sure to give the Panthers some depth at runningback, wide receiver and tight end. In the first half of this game, the rooks combined for 156 of the Panthers 171 yards gained in the first half. After losing Curtis Samuel in free agency, the Panthers will be looking for someone to step up into that third receiver role behind Robby Anderson and DJ Moore and Marshall and Smith could do that. Tremble helps fill out a tight end group that didn't produce last season. Hubbard gives the Panthers a sure backup to Christian McCaffrey that has a similar skill set. All four looked amazing.
RAVENS IN THE PRESEASON
- The Ravens won 20-3 which makes their 19th straight preseason win, which is a strange and mind-blowing stat. The Ravens last lost a preseason game in 2015. In fact, they lost three in a row to end the 2015 preseason and they haven't lost since.
Not much you can take from this game if you're looking to make win/loss predictions for the Carolina Panthers in the regular season. There were some flashes by some new players and some ugly habits rearing their heads from players we're familiar with *cough* JOEY SLYE *cough*. We may see a little more from the number ones in next week's preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but ultimately we won't know how much improvement this team made or lost until the Panthers open up their season at home against the New York Jets on September 12th.
