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Scouting the Saints: Three Things Panthers Fans Need to Know

What to watch when New Orleans visits Charlotte on Monday Night.

Matt Alquiza

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The Saints come to town on Monday in the second half of an NFC South back-to-back for the Panthers. New Orleans won an ugly, sloppy, messy, game in week one against Tennessee. Here are three things to watch when the Saints come marching into Carolina.

The Saints have legitimate weapons on offense

The word underrated doesn't have much meaning in the 24-hour, Twitter-centric news cycle we live in these days, but I truly believe the Saints pass catchers aren't rated properly by the NFL as a whole. Outside, Chris Olave is an absolute stud. The second-year wide out broke out in Week 3 last year in his first game against Carolina and has refused to slow down since. On the other side, Michael Thomas looked back in Week 1. The veteran who has battled injuries since breaking the single-season reception record looked as healthy as ever against Tennessee.

Olave and Thomas make for a solid pairing, but it’s the other two weapons in the passing game that make the Saints offense as dangerous as any. Second-year slot receiver Rashid Shaheed can play. He lined up all over the field in the Saints' week one victory and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. schemed up plays for him specifically. Shaheed’s third quarter touchdown that gave New Orleans the lead for good was a thing of beauty.

Shaheed possesses blazing speed and is already Derek Carr’s preferred deep target.

The fourth and final weapon on the Saints' offense is tight end Juwan Johnson. Johnson was hailed across the fantasy football landscape as a sleeper tight end following his 500-yard, seven touchdown third season last year and Carmichael was creative in getting him touches in week one.

Johnson is isolated on a defensive back here and he cooks him. The quickness in the route stem is elite for a tight end his size and as the fourth option in a passing offense, you can’t ask for much more.

The Saints offense is about as opposite as you can get from the Falcons. Next Gen Stats keeps track of a stat called Intended Air Yards. This stat shows the average distance a quarterback aims to throw the ball down the field. Desmond Ridder averaged three intended air yards per target, the shortest in the league. Pretty much everything he did in the passing game was short of the sticks and the Carolina defense was rarely tested vertically. Saints quarterback Derek Carr’s intended air yards was 12.4, the furthest in the league. Ridder attempted one pass 15+ yards downfield. Carr attempted 13.

The New Orleans passing game is going to be a challenge for Carolina to keep up with. The Panthers' unproven secondary is going to be under fire all night on Monday. CJ Henderson, Donte Jackson, and Troy Hill will be the starting corners in the absence of Jaycee Horn. That trio has their work cut out for them against a strong Saints passing attack.

With all of that said, Derek Carr is a mistake-prone quarterback. He has shown a propensity throughout his career to make big-time mistakes and shift games due to his poor decision-making. His interception in the red zone took on Sunday away a scoring opportunity from the Saints right before the half.

The Saints offensive line is a big weakness

The weapons won’t matter as much if Carolina can get to the quarterback. According to multiple outlets that grade out offensive line performance, New Orleans’ line was the worst in the league on Sunday (Monday Night’s Bills/Jets thriller is unaccounted for). Check out the table below.

The advanced statistics tell one story, but the film matches. Left tackle Trevor Penning had the worst day of all five linemen. Play after play in the first half he was beaten by Arden Key which limited Derek Carr’s time to throw. According to Sports Info Solutions, Penning had 14 block blocks on 62 snaps, more than double any other player in the league.

The Saints got creative in giving Penning help as the game went on which gave Carr more time to throw. However, if Justin Houston or Brian Burns can get isolated on Penning, it might be a long day for Carr. The Saints' left guard, center, and right guard, all were credited with four blown blocks each, meaning the Panthers' interior defensive line can impact the game as well.

Good news for Derrick Brown.

Ejiro Evero said this when discussing Brown’s performance last week: "Derrick was stout. Derrick showed some rush. And the best thing I thought he did was hustle to the ball. You saw him make the play on the screen on third and long. I don't think he gets enough credit for that. He plays really, really hard. He's always chasing the ball. For a man that big to play that many plays and play with that effort is pretty special."

Brown was matched up with Falcons All-Pro guard Chris Lindstrom last week and he dominated the matchup. I wouldn’t consider myself well-versed in interior defensive line play, but you know domination when you see it. See below.

If the pass rush for the Panthers gets home, the Saints' vertical offense could get neutralized. The Saints’ offensive line may be a weakness, but their unit on the other side of the ball has the potential to cause Carolina problems.

The Saints’ pass rush is fearsome

Cameron Jordan needs no introduction. He has tormented Carolina’s rotating door of offensive tackles for over a decade now. The all-time sack leader for the Saints is still lacing up his cleats and impacting games at 34 years old. Jordan was credited with half a sack and three hurries on Sunday. It’s his running mate on the opposite side of the formation that really opened eyes against Tennessee though.

Carl Granderson fits the tweet that goes around with the bar graph that has “talent” really high, and “recognition” really low. Hopefully, you know what I’m talking about. If not, see below.

He was an absolute menace on Sunday. Check out these two plays.

The stats match the film. Granderson was credited with eight pressures, tied with Myles Garrett for second most in the league. He turned those eight pressures into 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits.

Like their offensive weapons, the depth is as impressive as the stars at the top. Rotational end Tanoh Kpassagnon was credited with six pressures and two quarterback knockdowns on 26 snaps. Rookie defensive tackle Bryan Bresee only played 25 snaps but was in the backfield often and contributed half a sack in his NFL debut.

Thankfully for Carolina, their offensive line held up against the Falcons defensive line.

Unfortunately for Carolina, some reshuffling needs to happen following the season-ending injury to Brady Christensen.

This game will be won in the trenches. Whoever wins the line of scrimmage will win the game, and it will be a fun battle to track on Monday night at the Bank.

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Matt Alquiza
MATT ALQUIZA

Matt is a resident of South Carolina who grew up in Charlotte, and attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Matt has been writing for All Hornets and All Panthers since 2020.

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