Interview with the Enemy: Carolina Panthers

Walker Clement with Cat Scratch Reader joins us for week 2 of our Interview with the Enemy series.

The New Orleans Saints have their first NFC South matchup of the year on Monday Night Football when they face off with the Carolina Panthers. I reached out to Walker Clement with SB Nation’s Panthers site, Cat Scratch Reader, to do a quick interview on this week’s game.

This is the second edition of our weekly interview with the enemy, so if you enjoy it, make sure to check back every week. You can also check out some more of Walker Clement’s work here.

So without further ado, here’s this week’s Interview with the Enemy:

LH: Bryce Young experienced some expected growing pains, but he also showed some flashes in his NFL regular season debut. What did you take away from his Week one performance and what do you want to see from him on Monday Night?

WC: Young showed up as advertised: a poised and accurate passer who played with patience and intelligence. Unfortunately, his patience was on such display because his receivers failed to get meaningful separation on most plays, resulting in a couple of sacks and a lot more throw aways. This Panthers passing offense is a long ways from being a threat to anybody, but that does not yet seem to be a failing on Young’s part.

As for what I want to see from him, specifically, is growth in his deep accuracy. All of his deep pass attempts were wildly off target, miscommunicated with his receivers, or both. Both of his interceptions came on deeper targets, as well, but those were more the result of excellent safety play meeting a rookie quarterback. I’m less worried about his decision making (until rookie mistakes become an experienced reputation) and more interested in seeing his accuracy improve on the rare occasions when a Panthers receiver breaks free down field.

LH: Outside of the run game, the Panthers defense played really well last weekend. They held Ridder to 115-yards, and they sacked him four times. The Saints will be without Kamara and could be without Kendre Miller. Do you think the run defense will bounce back this week now that they aren’t playing the most prolific rushing team from last year?

WC: Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier are one hell of a combination in the Falcons backfield. Y’all are going to have fun with them. Robinson, in particular, looks like he is going to be a nightmare for the entire NFC South. Like, imagine if Alvin Kamara had actually been good.

I think a lot of where the Panthers run defense suffered last week was with Frankie Luvu, an incredible linebacker, playing more outside than inside linebacker while most of the Panthers depth on the outside sat on the bench. We still don’t know a whole lot about Ejiro Evero’s new defense, but I think the more our best players are playing in their best positions, the better the team is going to look in every phase of the game.

LH: Staying on the defensive side of the ball, with Jaycee Horn out, how do you think the defensive backs will fare against the Saints WR trio of Olave, Thomas and Shaheed?

WC: CJ Henderson and Troy Pride have all of the potential in the world. I, however, no longer have every confidence in their abilities to meet their ceilings. This game could get rough if the Panthers receivers can’t get any more separation this week than they did last, while at least one of Olave, Thomas, and Shaheed are able to get open every play.

It’s telling that Reich said the team was looking for outside help at corner while Horn is out but is happy to keep his eyes on the roster to replace left guard Brady Christensen who was a surprise IR addition this week with a torn bicep.

LH: Hayden Hurst and Miles Sanders led the Panthers in receiving last week. Do you think that trend will remain the same or do you think any of the Panthers receivers will step up and become Young’s number one target?

WC: CJ Henderson and Troy Hill have all of the potential in the world. I, however, no longer have every confidence in their abilities to meet their ceilings. This game could get rough if the Panthers receivers can’t get any more separation this week than they did last, while at least one of Olave, Thomas, and Shaheed are able to get open every play.

It’s telling that Reich said the team was looking for outside help at corner while Horn is out, but is happy to keep his eyes on the roster to replace left guard Brady Christensen who was a surprise IR addition this week with a torn bicep.

LH: DraftKings Sportsbook has the over/under for the game set at 40 points. Both teams struggled to score last week, but do you think the offense can bounce back and cash the over or do you think defense will reign supreme and the game will hit the under?

WC: I wouldn’t bet the over on a Panthers game with real money until they score multiple touchdowns multiple games in a row. This was an offense that looked as anemic in the season opener as they looked in the preseason and a defense that may actually be good. That said, the Panthers tend to defy expectations at every turn. I would also never bet real money on this team because of evidentiary reasons. This is a team where emotions and some form of self directed schadenfreude are as predictive as any statistical metrics or analytics.

This is still the NFC South, new coaches and quarterbacks be damned. Y’all know what it’s like here.

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Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.