Carolina Panthers OT problems too much to overcome
The Carolina Panthers have one need that trumps all of the others on their roster, and it’s painfully obvious that Dave Gettleman and the organization must go hard after sweeping offensive line upgrades at offensive tackle. Cam Newton battled through injuries in an up-and-down season that featured some subpar performances, but it also featured some truly spectacular displays- particularly at the beginning of the season- that didn’t receive enough praise.
With better blocking in front of him, Newton could string together more of those huge performances, and better blocking would also help him avoid more crushing hits that may start to take their toll on him in the future. The most readily apparent explanation for why better blocking is needed can be found in the numbers from yesterday’s expected playoff lost to the elite Seattle Seahawks defense. Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas are the big names, but the Seahawks pass rush, as we saw, is just as dangerous as their secondary.
Mike Remmers seemed serviceable during the regular season, but he’s a street free agent, who was absolutely dominated by O’Brien Schofield and the elite Michael Bennett yesterday. Schofield played one of the best games of his career, putting Newton on the turf twice, though neither hit was a sack. Per Pro Football Focus, Remmers was responsible for seven of the pressures on Newton, though he was far from the only issue on the Panthers offensive line.
Left tackle Byron Bell has always been difficult for Panthers fans to watch, because whether it’s at left tackle or right tackle, Bell has consistently proven that he isn’t good enough to start in this league. I think he’s an ideal swing tackle and has some value as a versatile OT backup, but he was always destined to fail against Cliff Avril, who had one of the Seahawks two sacks, added another QB hit, and finished with seven pressures on the Panthers franchise passer.
Sacks are always misleading, and I know I’m only one of thousands of people who tries to harp on this at every chance. If you are one of those people who mostly uses sacks to evaluate a pass rush or offensive line, then you might have come away with the erroneous conclusion that the Panthers offensive line protected Newton decently well, allowing just two sacks. However, they allowed him to be hit eight times, and, more importantly, surrendered pressure 27 times, per PFF.
No quarterback can succeed in that kind of an environment, especially if that quarterback has been in clear pain over the past several weeks due to fractures in his back from a car accident. Newton averaged just 6.8 yards per attempt and threw two picks against the “Legion of Boom” yesterday, but he didn’t really have a chance behind that line. His guards held up well, and it’s clear that Trai Turner was a great pick, while Andrew Norwell looks like a good find at the other guard spot.
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Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about his tackles, and their struggles were exacerbated against the NFL’s most consistent and explosive 4-3 DE duo (that’s saying something, since the Buffalo Bills are also excellent at DE). Again, the Carolina Panthers have to find a viable long-term replacement at both offensive tackle spots, because they came into the season with a clear liability on either side.
Remmers seemed decent when he first joined the team as a starter in Week 13, but his play deteriorated in the final games of the regular season, culminating in yesterday’s troubles at the hands of Bennett, Schofield, and the Seahawks elite D. The Seahawks failed to get much interior pressure, but their strength is clearly found at the DE spots and strong-side linebacker Bruce Irvin, who notched a sack and was a consistent thorn in the literal sides of the Panthers offensive line.
There are a myriad reasons as to why the Panthers could not defeat the Seahawks yesterday, and I’m sure many ‘Hawks fans will say, “Yeah, well, the main thing is that they just weren’t good enough to compete with us.” That’s a valid point, but I thought the Panthers would have made this a closer game. Their pass defense had major issues defending Russell Wilson and the deep ball, and the secondary is another huge need for the Panthers.
But offensive tackle has to be the biggest need, because their offense seemed to take a step back despite the fact that Kelvin Benjamin, Greg Olsen, Philly Brown, Newton, and Jonathan Stewart all played well. With better tackle play, the Panthers offense could be quite solid next season, especially if Stewart can keep it up and Benjamin can make more strides.