Four Days Until Kickoff: Four Views from Inside the Panthers

The Green Bay Packers (10-3) will host the Carolina (5-8) in a Saturday night clash at Lambeau Field. Let’s get to know the foe with an insider’s view of the team.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers (10-3) will host the Carolina (4-9) in a Saturday night clash at Lambeau Field. Let’s go behind enemy lines with Schuyler Callahan of SI.com’s All Panthers.

1. You had a story on Monday about coach Matt Rhule stating his belief that Teddy Bridgewater is the right guy at quarterback. So, two parts: Is Bridgewater the right guy? And is Rhule?

I think the jury is out on whether or not Bridgewater can be a franchise quarterback. I know most fans aren’t on board with him, but I think there’s some upside. He’s only played three games with Christian McCaffrey, the offensive line is bad and the defense is young. Once he gets some more help, I’ll be able to make a better judgement.

As for Rhule, I think he was the perfect hire for the Panthers. He rebuilt Temple and Baylor from the grave to championship-caliber teams in three years at each stop. He knows how to build a winning culture and winning attitude, and he gets the right guys to help set up a turnaround. It’s going to take some time, but I firmly believe this is going to be a home-run hire for Carolina. He has the blueprint to rebuilding teams and I expect that he’ll do the same although he’s now in the NFL.

2. Christian McCaffrey is an excellent all-around running back but there’s a belief that paying big money to running backs is a bad idea. Green Bay is wrestling with that with Aaron Jones. Sure enough, McCaffrey’s missed a big chunk of the season with injuries. How much have the Panthers missed him and, in retrospect, was that a bad contract or is it just one of those seasons?

I think it’s just one of those seasons when the injury bug just follows you around all year. McCaffrey told us last week that, prior to this year, he only missed one game in his entire career and that was during his college days at Stanford. He’s been a durable back for his size and takes extremely good care of his body.

In terms of his contract, I think the Panthers did the right thing. To be honest, he’s not your typical running back that will pound the ball 25 or 30 times a game. He can line up in the slot, catch passes out of the backfield, and even return kicks and punts if needed. Carolina views him as more than just a running back, and it’s fairly easy to see why. I know paying a lot of money to running backs is quite risky but, when you pay $60-plus million to a guy that is not only an elite running back but elite receiver, that’s a bargain. You may be paying an extra $20 million to have one elite guy at each spot. With McCaffrey, you’re only paying big bucks to one guy.

Mike Davis has done a tremendous job filling in for him, but he doesn’t provide the explosive plays like McCaffrey can. Davis is more of a ground-and-pound, between-the-tackles bowling ball. He’ll fight and scrap for every yard he gets but McCaffrey can hit gaps much faster, which leads to the big plays.

3. What’s Carolina’s formula for springing an upset on Saturday?

For the Panthers to win, they’re basically going to need to play flawless football. Turnovers, penalties, third-down defense and scoring touchdowns instead of settling for field goals in the red zone have been problematic throughout the season. Not only will they need to clean up those four areas but they will have to find a way to create some takeaways, as well, to give the offense more opportunities.

4. I’ve now appointed you the general manager. With a third consecutive losing season, how do you get the Panthers back to contender status? Considering the number of one-score losses, are they maybe not so far away?

The Panthers are not as far away from being a contender in the NFC South as many would think. As you mentioned, the Panthers have had seven one-score losses. To do that without your best player and an extremely young and thin defense is impressive.

Carolina used all of its 2020 draft picks on defense. If I were them, I’d draft defense-heavy again. The offense is set at the skill positions. The offensive line needs some retooling, and spending a top-10 pick on an offensive tackle would be a great place to start. The second order of business would be to re-sign right tackle Taylor Moton, who may be having the best season of any right tackle in the league. Finally, I’d look to add some a couple veterans on the defensive line that won’t cost a fortune. Doing those few steps could get Carolina to an 8-8 record in 2021, with the hopes of taking a big leap in 2022.