Some Scouting for Carolina

[ColdFront_USAF]

Hey guys, just watched the Carolina/SanFran game a few times and wanted to share some of my thoughts on why I think we stand a fighting chance in this game. Keep in mind this was just the condensed view on NFL GamePass, as the time zone I'm currently in makes it really difficult to watch live games, so take my armchair coaching with a grain of salt.

 

Anyways, there are a few things I saw that led me to believe the Panthers didn't have as much control over the game as the score would indicate.

 

• Boneheaded penalties from the 9rs

This was hard to watch. It seemed like every time they got anything going, someone would do something really really stupid and get flagged for a huge loss. If the season opener vs the Jets was any indication, it looks like McDermott's squad is going to leave the stupid penalties behind with Rex and his genius defense. The only penalties that seemed to have an impact were a few holding calls (looking at Incognito) which is just a part of the game, it's going to happen.

 

• Cam looked like EJ Manuel

No, really. Watch the game, and tell me it didn't look like a bigger EJ for much of the game. He made a few athletic plays here and there, but otherwise looked scared in the pocket and missed some wide open receivers by what looked like miles. He even tried forcing the ball into tight coverage multiple times and was lucky to have the ball bounce off the defenders instead of picked off. If he has a repeat of this kind of performance, the Bills will punish these mistakes way harder than the sorry 49rs defense.

 

• The few things that did work for San Francisco can be done better by the Bills

It was hard to find many positives about the offensive performance from the Hoyer-led group, but a few of the things they did well seem to be our strengths as well. Namely, throwing the ball to the outside and running the ball. The vaunted panthers defense had a few gaping holes opened up, allowing Hyde to run for some solid gains every now and then. McCoy is looking as good as ever, and will most likely punish them harder than Hyde could. Even Tolbert the Tank Engine could fit through some of those holes and pick up solid yardage when relieving Shady.

 

The out routes also seemed to work well. Tyrod has always been better when throwing away from the middle of the field, and that seemed to be the Panthers week area. It makes sense, as it keeps the ball far away from Kuechly, who can take over a game by himself if you try to challenge him to often. I don't see Tyrod trying to push his luck with Kuechly's coverage, and just play to his strengths by throwing it outside and away from danger.

 

 

All this being said, there are a few things the Bills will need to focus on in order to have a chance at getting to 2-0 on Sunday.

 

• Keep Cam contained

This one is obvious to anyone who has seen him play. Even if his throwing is rusty, we have to be disciplined up front and prevent him from taking off.

 

• Christian McCaffery

This guy had a stupid amount of touches last week, and may be in store for another big game. We have to find a way to limit his impact both on the ground and through the air.

 

• Play keep-away with Luke Kuechly

I actually don't think this will be a huge problem, as there is literally no other coach in the NFL that has as much knowledge on this guy than our head coach. McD coached him for quite a few years, and will know exactly how to abuse his weaknesses or avoid him as much as possible.

 

So there are my opinions on why we might actually win this game, or at least put up a good fight. I'd love to see what the rest of you guys think, I'm always open for criticism. Go Bills!

[richardb1952]

Concerns;

* Bills offensive line Vs Panthers defensive line in passing game

* Panthers tall receivers

* Containing Cam

* Lack of pressure by Bills defense on passing downs.

 

Win or lose, I believe it will be a hard fought game on both sides. Do not believe the Bills will beat themselves, which is a big change from years past. Should be a good test and a great game.

[FriendofACoach]

Panthers have a great defensive line and LB corps. If Buffalo can run it well enough to force Carolina to overload the box and then continue to run with success against the single high safety look, that will be key.

[Marty McFly]

Good work. If we can get a wr who seperates and gets open on the deep routes we could beat them deep with a few big plays. Goodwin got open and he dropped it, we dknt have much speed at WR but someone has to beck e the deep threat if we wanna be good this year