Week 15 WIN against the NY Giants - Stats & Analysis

[Nate Dogg]

Just now, KB_fan said:

Nice job by Oher.  I wonder how many sacks Bell had allowed by Week 15?  Anyone know?

Joe Person ‏@josephperson 3h3 hours ago

The sack Michael Oher allowed vs Giants was his first since Week 6 and just his fourth allowed this season, per @PFF.

Not sure but I wouldn't be surprised if he allowed 4 in a game.

[KB_fan]

Jason Gray of the WSJ is giving Cam lots of love:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/carolinas-perfect-cam-newton-may-be-better-1450657292

 

Such a great headline too:  "Carolina's Perfect.  Cam Newton May be Better"

Better than perfect.  Love it!

 

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The fact that the Cam Newton discussion has moved on to celebrations is a signal of something more important, which is: Newton has won. Think about it. People no longer roar over whether or not he is NFL ready or NFL mature (whatever that means) or prepared to lead or captain or anything like that. Forget about the five passing touchdowns and the 100 yards rushing Sunday: In the final minute of that near-disaster, (It had been a chippy game, with Panthers cornerback Josh Norman and Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. tangling all afternoon) Newton did exactly what you want a great quarterback to do, which is to seize control of a listing ship and calmly steer it to shore. He did it with passing and running and nearly every one of his weapons and he actually made it look reasonably easy, even though it was not. Nothing about winning a game on the road in the final minute is easy, just as nothing about taking a team 14-0 is easy. Newton is 26 years old and this season’s NFL MVP, and it isn’t even close. The celebrations get howls because there’s nothing left to howl over.

I asked Newton if it had been fun, that final drive, in that hostile Jersey stadium, and he looked at me like I was from Jupiter and said no, it was not fun. Fun for others to watch, maybe, but not fun for him. “I got a couple gray hairs,” he said. Newton was asked about a 16-0 season, and he said what you’re supposed to say when you’re 14-0, which is that you’re focused only on getting to 15-0. He was perfect, as are the Carolina Panthers, with two more regular NFL Sundays to play. You can sit down or stand up, but you have to respect it.

 

 

[KB_fan]

Sweet, others are beating me to research I've been planning to do.  Here are the gorgeous "#GINNSANITY" stats compiled by @TN05 in another thread. 

Yes, you read that right.  Ginn has more TDs this year than Megatraon & Julio Jones.  Go Teddy Go!

 

First 11 games - 30 catches (2.7 per game), 445 yards (14.8 YPC), 4 TDs
Last 3 games - 13 catches (4.3 per game), 285 yards (21.9 YPC), 6 TDs

Receivers Ted Ginn has more TDs than:
*Antonio Brown
*Sammy Watkins
*AJ Green
*Larry Fitzgerald
*Calvin Johnson
*Julio Jones
*TY Hilton
*Demaryius Thomas

[Oldschool Leroy]

Very noteworthy that Cam is the only QB to get into that elite "straight wins in a regular season", club with Brady and Manning. Whew, are we blessed to have that CAT!!

[KB_fan]

Here are the top 5 PFF grades for Panthers & Giants yesterday:

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/12/21/pro-car-nyg-grades/

 

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Carolina Panthers

– What can we say about Cam Newton (+4.3) that hasn’t already been said? This was far from his best effort, but still mightily impressive, as he had himself a five-touchdown game that featured his usual brand of composure and chain moving. Where he struggled somewhat was going downfield, where he completed just the one pass out of seven (though there was one drop), but he more than made up for that with the damage he was able to do with his legs. Showing that if you take one weapon in his arsenal away, the MVP candidate will just double down on another to hurt you.

– No denying what the marquee matchup was, as Josh Norman (-5.9) battled Odell Beckham Jr. (-5.5) in what was more than just a feisty affair. Looking solely at Norman, he won’t be happy with his performance, during the play and after it. He missed three tackles, allowed Beckham to beat him deep twice (one was dropped, one throw was off target) and was flagged for two unnecessary roughness penalties of his own. While this did feel like an anomaly to his excellent season and discussion will center on the theatrics of their battle, there’s no denying Norman was given his toughest test in coverage on the year.

– That makes it two out of three weeks that the Carolina defense has been knocked on the ropes, and given the time of the year it is, there’s a worry that it’s peaked too soon. Luke Kuechly (-0.1) may be having a season for the ages, but this was not a game where he’ll look back as one of his better ones. He caught himself out of position in coverage a couple of times, gambling on where the ball was going and leaving wide open spaces for Giants’ pass catchers. He also didn’t have the best time when linemen got their hands on him, and the result was a big tackle day (13,) but rather average effort.

Top Graded Players:

QB Cam Newton (+4.3)
RG Trai Turner (+4.3)
LG Andrew Norwell (+3.1)
DE Mario Addison (+2.5)
CB Charles Tillman (+2.2)

 

And if you want MORE PFF commentary on the Norman OBJ matchup and their grades, PFF has an article on that:

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/12/21/pro-both-odell-beckham-and-josh-norman-earned-bad-grades-on-sunday/

Here's a snippet with some of the matchup stats:
 

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Beckham and Norman lined up across from each other on 56 snaps in this game, and the only times that didn’t really happen was when Beckham moved to the slot (18 snaps).

What was the outcome? Beckham was thrown at nine times overall (seven with Norman in coverage), catching six of them (four vs. Norman) for 76 yards (30), a TD (one) and two drops (two).

 

 

[KB_fan]

Some nice game analysis today at C-S-R in their Monday Morning Optimist column:

http://www.catscratchreader.com/2015/12/21/10631162/monday-morning-optimist-panthers-giants-nfl

Here's an excerpt:

 

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What I liked ...

Cam Newton

The Panthers had 480 yards of offense on Sunday, and 409 of those directly came from Cam Newton. That's not just prolific, that's extravagant. When you add in his five touchdowns, numerous big plays with his legs and simply his presence over the game then you have a complete picture of why people talk about Newton as the MVP.

It's tough though, it really is. Like him or not, Tom Brady is playing amazing football too and has faced a similar schedule to Carolina. That offense/ team offense ratio is probably a little deeper than MVP voters traditionally look, but Newton will have that first year candidate bump. People LOVE to see new MVP's and this is the first year you can convincingly make an argument for Cam.

In this same vein Russell Wilson is playing extremely well too, but I have a hard time seeing a team that has lost five games getting an MVP vote over Newton or Brady, who have been forced to deal with extraordinary injuries at wide receiver.

Ted Ginn

Got to give credit where it's due. At times Ginn will drop the sure-fire touchdown, but against the Giants he was on point. It wasn't those long, stat-stuffing touchdowns either -- but rather those critical quick catches in traffic that truly defines a receiver's impact to a team. We've seen Ginn in a lot of roles in Carolina, but this might be his most impressive one: The guy who Cam turned to when he really needed a catch.

Greg Olsen

The other part to the offensive domination sandwich was Greg Olsen, who had a heck of a game in his own right. It wasn't eye-popping by Olsen's already ridiculous standards, but rather it gives me a chance to talk about Mike Shula's astoundingly brilliant play call that set up Olsen's touchdown.

This is the kind of play the Panthers can destroy teams with and we haven't really seen it before. Using the threat of Newton's legs in an "and short" situation puts a team's linebackers in no man's land. They can't leave Newton to pick up the first with ease, but closing on him means leaving open a tight end. This was exploited to perfection and it begins with a brilliant playcall from Shula.

 

 

[KB_fan]

I hate ESPN's Total QBR stat, but gotta love how by their measure Cam has elevated his game so dramatically the past 7 games.

 

[KB_fan]

Not a lot of time to Huddle today,  Busy with Christmas preparations...

But here are the links to BBRs Snap Count & Stats & Superlatives.  You've really got to read the Stats & Superlatives.  WOW.

http://blackandbluereview.com/week-15-snap-counts-panthers-at-giants/

http://blackandbluereview.com/stats-and-superlatives-panthers-giants/