Panthers at Vikings Depth Chart Preview 2020
Nov 27, 2020 22:13:22 GMT -6
Oracle Bone Diviner, legendsofthenorth, and 1 more like this
Post by Danchat on Nov 27, 2020 22:13:22 GMT -6
The 4-7 Vikings face off against the 4-6 Panthers in what will be Teddy Bridgewater's first start against his former team. Will the Vikings drop another home game against a bad team, or will they take down the Panthers with ease?
Line: Vikings -3.5
Injury Report
Panthers
G/T Daley Out
CB Jackson Doubtful
HB McCaffrey Questionable
G Miller Questionable
LT Okung Questionable
S Franklin Questionable
DE Haynes Questionable
LB Whitehead Questionable
WR Zylstra Questionable
Vikings
RG Cleveland Out
TE Smith Jr. Doubtful
DE Brailford Out
WR Thielen (COVID)
*My Thoughts*
After a 3-3 start, the Panthers have fallen down into the dregs of the NFL, as expected. They let go around 80-85% of the snaps played in 2019 and hit the reset button on the entire team. They gave a 3 year deal to Teddy Bridgewater, and so far he's played as expected. He's provided a very high completion rate and a very good 7.7 Y/A, but he's melted against good defenses and has thrown a few back-breaking interceptions. He should have little problem targeting his talented WR corps, which is very similar to Dallas' grouping. D. J. Moore is an explosive deep threat who's averaged 18.8 yards a catch and was a close comparison to Justin Jefferson in my draft previews. Robby Anderson has, to nobody's surprise, benefitted from getting out of New York and has already caught 71 passes, but has not been beating DBs deep as he used to. Curtis Samuel is a dangerous 3rd receiver who is a weapon used in many running plays and has 557 yards from scrimmage and 5 TDs. Not bad for a 3rd receiver! They've gotten absolutely nothing from their TE group, as Ian Thomas has flopped very hard. Both he and Manhertz have been poor blockers.
Normally I would have led off talking about Christian McCaffrey, but he's been hurt all year. He's not expected to play but he might due to the questionable tag. He's the NFL's best receiving back and could give Kendricks a run for his money, but if he does play he won't be 100%. Mike Davis has been a very competent back in his stead, as PFF ranks him at #12 in among HBs. He's already compiled 754 yards from scrimmage, including 49 catches. Carolina's O-line has been a major problem so far, as they've dealt with injuries and poor play. RT Taylor Moton is the anchor of the unit, and one of the best NFL players you've probably never heard of. LT Okung is still a solid blindside blocker, but has been dealing with injuries constantly. He's not a guarantee to play, and Little playing in his stead would be a big downgrade. The guards are both decent run blockers, but very weak pass protectors. Paradis has not lived up to his contract, but he's at least been a quality pass protector after he had a poor year in 2019.
Carolina's defense has been a poor unit, but they've only given up the 17th most amount of points. Offenses have passed and run on this unit very well, but they have the 10th best redzone defense when it comes to stopping TDs. The unit's main strength is their pass rush. DE Brian Burns is breaking out as a top-notch pass rusher - he's got 6 sacks and 3 FFs to his name, and has an elite pass rushing grade from PFF. They've also gotten a combined 8 sacks from Gross-Matos, Obada, and Haynes. This unit has been very vulnerable to running attacks, and with the 7th overall pick Derrick Brown disappointing hard in his rookie year, they have missed Kawann Short very badly. Kerr is a decent run stopper, but they don't have an pressure-makers in the interior.
The LB group is ripe for the picking - Shaq Thompson is the best player on the unit, but is having a poor year in coverage. Whitehead and Chinn have been getting crushed in the run stopping department. Whitehead's best days are past him, and Chinn was a safety at South Illinois last year, and needs more time.
Similarly to the Vikings, the Panthers ran out a green secondary. With no Donte Jackson, Rasul Douglas, a waiver pickup right before opening day, will be their top CB. He's played rather well for the position he's been put in, but he should be no match for Jefferson if forced to play 1-on-1. 4th round rookie Troy Pride Jr. has been beaten on 75% pass thrown his way, earning the rare Abysmal rating to start his career. Nickel CB Corn Elder has played very well for the snaps he's been out there. Tre Boston has been an elite coverage FS before, but he's rating among the league's worst right now. And even at his best he couldn't tackle. Burris has been a quality coverage SS, but has been terrible at making tackles.
Prediction: Panthers 30, Vikings 24
This is another hard one to pick. Both teams are bad and beat up by injuries. If Thielen does not play, I like the Panthers' chances of selling out to stop Dalvin Cook, who normally they wouldn't be able to stop. Teddy and the Panthers offense should have no trouble carving the defense up with no pass rush to face. I acknowledge that I am probably overreacting to the loss to the Cowboys, but I foresee the Vikings losing another easy home matchup.
Any thoughts?
Line: Vikings -3.5
Injury Report
Panthers
G/T Daley Out
CB Jackson Doubtful
HB McCaffrey Questionable
G Miller Questionable
LT Okung Questionable
S Franklin Questionable
DE Haynes Questionable
LB Whitehead Questionable
WR Zylstra Questionable
Vikings
RG Cleveland Out
TE Smith Jr. Doubtful
DE Brailford Out
WR Thielen (COVID)
*My Thoughts*
After a 3-3 start, the Panthers have fallen down into the dregs of the NFL, as expected. They let go around 80-85% of the snaps played in 2019 and hit the reset button on the entire team. They gave a 3 year deal to Teddy Bridgewater, and so far he's played as expected. He's provided a very high completion rate and a very good 7.7 Y/A, but he's melted against good defenses and has thrown a few back-breaking interceptions. He should have little problem targeting his talented WR corps, which is very similar to Dallas' grouping. D. J. Moore is an explosive deep threat who's averaged 18.8 yards a catch and was a close comparison to Justin Jefferson in my draft previews. Robby Anderson has, to nobody's surprise, benefitted from getting out of New York and has already caught 71 passes, but has not been beating DBs deep as he used to. Curtis Samuel is a dangerous 3rd receiver who is a weapon used in many running plays and has 557 yards from scrimmage and 5 TDs. Not bad for a 3rd receiver! They've gotten absolutely nothing from their TE group, as Ian Thomas has flopped very hard. Both he and Manhertz have been poor blockers.
Normally I would have led off talking about Christian McCaffrey, but he's been hurt all year. He's not expected to play but he might due to the questionable tag. He's the NFL's best receiving back and could give Kendricks a run for his money, but if he does play he won't be 100%. Mike Davis has been a very competent back in his stead, as PFF ranks him at #12 in among HBs. He's already compiled 754 yards from scrimmage, including 49 catches. Carolina's O-line has been a major problem so far, as they've dealt with injuries and poor play. RT Taylor Moton is the anchor of the unit, and one of the best NFL players you've probably never heard of. LT Okung is still a solid blindside blocker, but has been dealing with injuries constantly. He's not a guarantee to play, and Little playing in his stead would be a big downgrade. The guards are both decent run blockers, but very weak pass protectors. Paradis has not lived up to his contract, but he's at least been a quality pass protector after he had a poor year in 2019.
Carolina's defense has been a poor unit, but they've only given up the 17th most amount of points. Offenses have passed and run on this unit very well, but they have the 10th best redzone defense when it comes to stopping TDs. The unit's main strength is their pass rush. DE Brian Burns is breaking out as a top-notch pass rusher - he's got 6 sacks and 3 FFs to his name, and has an elite pass rushing grade from PFF. They've also gotten a combined 8 sacks from Gross-Matos, Obada, and Haynes. This unit has been very vulnerable to running attacks, and with the 7th overall pick Derrick Brown disappointing hard in his rookie year, they have missed Kawann Short very badly. Kerr is a decent run stopper, but they don't have an pressure-makers in the interior.
The LB group is ripe for the picking - Shaq Thompson is the best player on the unit, but is having a poor year in coverage. Whitehead and Chinn have been getting crushed in the run stopping department. Whitehead's best days are past him, and Chinn was a safety at South Illinois last year, and needs more time.
Similarly to the Vikings, the Panthers ran out a green secondary. With no Donte Jackson, Rasul Douglas, a waiver pickup right before opening day, will be their top CB. He's played rather well for the position he's been put in, but he should be no match for Jefferson if forced to play 1-on-1. 4th round rookie Troy Pride Jr. has been beaten on 75% pass thrown his way, earning the rare Abysmal rating to start his career. Nickel CB Corn Elder has played very well for the snaps he's been out there. Tre Boston has been an elite coverage FS before, but he's rating among the league's worst right now. And even at his best he couldn't tackle. Burris has been a quality coverage SS, but has been terrible at making tackles.
Prediction: Panthers 30, Vikings 24
This is another hard one to pick. Both teams are bad and beat up by injuries. If Thielen does not play, I like the Panthers' chances of selling out to stop Dalvin Cook, who normally they wouldn't be able to stop. Teddy and the Panthers offense should have no trouble carving the defense up with no pass rush to face. I acknowledge that I am probably overreacting to the loss to the Cowboys, but I foresee the Vikings losing another easy home matchup.
Any thoughts?
... and neither is this Chris guy.