Lea: Panthers' kicking woes could've been avoided by keeping Gano
Posted September 14, 2021 9:07 p.m. EDT
Updated September 15, 2021 8:22 a.m. EDT
Most Carolina Panthers fans would agree that the teams Achilles Heel in the last eight years was at the Left Tackle position. Since Jordan Gross, the greatest blind side protector in team history retired in 2013, the Panthers have started 11 men at the position.
Byron Bell, Michael Oher, Mike Remmers, Matt Kalil, Chris Clark, Dennis Daley, Greg Little, Russell Okung, Trent Scott, Michael Schofield and one game into this season, Cam Erving.
It looks like the Panthers may be headed in that direction at Kicker after waiving Ryan Santoso, a kicker they just acquired via trade 20 days ago. The only good thing that comes out of this, is that the Panthers don't owe the New York Giants (Santoso's former team) a draft pick since he didn't make it on the 53 man roster past week two. If the Panthers lost that pick, it would only leave them with five picks in the 2022 NFL Draft.
To replace Santoso, the Panthers signed Zane Gonzalez. Who knows if he'll be on the roster by the bye week.
The only reason Santoso was even in the picture is because Joey Slye started this offseason off on the wrong foot (that may or may not be intended as a pun). It was reported that Slye routinely missed kicks in practice and, of course, the missed field goals in the preseason.
Even with such a strong leg, Slye wasn't the most accurate kicker over the last couple of years for the Panthers, missing 14 total field goals and seven extra point attempts in that time. He came into the picture after Graham Gano was placed on Injured Reserve in 2019 and then cut in the offseason before the Panthers 2020 campaign. That's how Slye got the job.
Of course Gano famously made a 63 yard field goal in 2018 to give the Cardiac Cats a last second win over the New York Giants. But that wasn't just luck from Gano's leg. His last two seasons kicking in Charlotte (2017-18), Gano made 96.7% and 87.5% of his attempts respectively. He even had an amazing season for the New York Giants last season making 31 of 32 attempts.
The Panthers tried to get off cheap by cutting Gano and his sure leg. But for a team that was rebuilding, something needed to be a 'sure thing'. And when you had a kicker the caliber of Gano, you literally had nothing to worry about in the kicking game.
Having Gano may have given them a better record than 5-11 in 2020, a season where they lost eight games by one possession.
Having Gano may have meant the team would have attempted a 50 yard field goal in the first quarter against the Jets this past Sunday instead of PUNTING the ball from the Jets 33 yard line. Fortunately for the Panthers, that didn't come back to bite them.
With so many things to worry about like left tackle, Sam Darnold, the secondary and a new coaching staff, Matt Rhule and company shouldn't have to make high school decisions when their team stalls out 33 yards from the end zone. And it's this kicking carousel that could keep the Panthers from climbing back into the top echelon of the NFC. It didn't have to be this way.
Let's hope Gonzalez can at least be serviceable for extra point attempts (Santoso missed on Sunday) and counted on to attempt a standard NFL 50-yarder.
Panthers fans would rather analyze whether Sam Darnold or Cam Erving are long-term solutions at their respective positions. Not wondering if a kicker can, ya know, kick.
