Jump to content

  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

wharton, star, and newton...3 performances of note (pff)

nosuchthingasapanther

By nosuchthingasapanther,
in Carolina Panthers

Recommended Posts

nosuchthingasapanther Explorer

nosuchthingasapanther

Posted
Posted

pff article...

 

 

 

Wharton’s Return

Shuffling the O-line is not an idea unfamiliar to NFL teams as the ‘next man up’ mantra has become commonplace and depth and versatility are now drawing even in importance with a solid starting five. The Panthers are in the midst of one of these situations now with guards Garry Williams and Amini Silatolu both on the shelf with knee injuries. Chris Scott has moved to fill in on the right after briefly doing the same on the left and Travelle Wharton has come full circle to once again find himself starting on the Panther O-line.

A year away (on I.R. with Cincinnati in 2012) must have done him good as Wharton, in his first start of 2013, posted the best grade for a Carolina O-lineman this season. The early portion of his career predates us, but the +3.7 is the top mark we’ve seen for him since one game in 2009 and, given it was built partly on five notable pull blocks, it’s safe to assume he’s feeling good and in fine playing shape now.

 

Falling Star

After a hot start to his rookie campaign, Panther first-round defensive tackle Star Lotulelei (-2.3) had fallen into a bit of a flat run before suffering his first significantly down game this week. Matching -1.2’s in his run defense and pass rushing grades each marked season lows and his first grades in the red so far.

Kept off the pressure sheet as a pass rusher for the first time, Lotulelei was also moved around a bit by the Vikings’ interior as both guard Brandon Fusco and center John Sullivan got the better of him at points. In the end, it wasn’t a day he was needed to make an impact – and the entire Carolina D-line was held quiet, so he wasn’t alone in it – but the trend is worth keeping an eye on as his season moves forward.

 

Cam Cruising

In as nondescript a three-touchdown day as you’ll see, Cam Newton (+0.8) quietly completed 20 passes and never had to push for a victory that came without much fight. He rarely found himself under pressure (eight drop-backs out of 29) and took what was there through the air the rest of the day – including the sole strike of distance, a well-placed ball on Brandon LaFell’s uncovered 79-yard touchdown up the right sideline.

Hitting an open Steve Smith for a short TD in the first quarter and watching Mike Tolbert rumble in with a shovel pass late in the third, Newton also got away with a dropped interception into Jamarca Sanford’s belly and his bullets found Brian Robison’s arms too long at the line of scrimmage three times. The standard dose of plays with his legs rounded out the effective, if unremarkable, afternoon.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pantherj Grand Master

pantherj

Posted
Posted

Wharton looked slow earlier in the season, but now he seems to be up to speed, well by Wharton standards.

 

I hope Star isn't hitting the rookie wall already... nah too soon.

 

Could we please have the Vikings Cam for the rest of the season. We'd probably win the SB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mr Mojo Risin Mentor

Mr Mojo Risin

Posted
Posted

Wharton looked slow earlier in the season, but now he seems to be up to speed, well by Wharton standards.

 

I hope Star isn't hitting the rookie wall already... nah too soon.

 

Could we please have the Vikings Cam for the rest of the season. We'd probably win the SB.

Really impressed with Wharton as well, and as for Star don't read to much into it he has been playing 3 tech next to cole who has been playing in stars spot.  Also remember DTs usually take a year or two to finally make a consistent impact give star this year he will likely be up and down, but put another offseason of lifting and conditioning under his belt and he's going to be a beast

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SIGCHI222 Newbie

SIGCHI222

Posted
Posted

Dwan's ass has to get healthy to help these middle linemen have a descent rotation.  Cole, Alexander on occasion, Kraken on occasion, KK, Star.  It has to be a team effort and Dwan is sitting on his one year deal and it is pissing me off.  Unless his hammy is torn in two, get your ass out there Edwards.

 

Has anyone named Edwards on this team, not let us down?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SmashNDash Newbie

SmashNDash

Posted
Posted

Throwing my football knowledge out there, but without looking at the stats, I"m guessing Star fell off since the Vikings were probably using the most run heavy formations we've seen all season.  With Cassell back there, they weren't going to come out in spread or passing attacks like Seattle, Buffalo and the Cardinals ran alot of, so Star was probably being double teamed quite a bit, and getting gassed out since Dwan wasn't there to spell him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • spydaman27
      2025 season

      By spydaman27 · Posted

      I just rewatched all the highlights from after Bryce being benched. The Bryce hate needs to calm down a little bit. He showed a ton of potential the back half of the year. Same with Legette. They both made great plays when it mattered and a few mistakes when it counted. If we didn’t have a historically awful defense last year we could have ended even a bit better. Going into a brand new season we should be optimistic at least before game one. 2015 no one expected to go anywhere and the team steam rolled the league. I’m not saying that will happen, but hopefully we made strides to improve on the end of last year. Bryce put both Super Bowl teams in a battle last year and if we had a better D we could have taken them both. So at least look forward to the season and not past the season until it at least begins. 
    • Proudiddy
      Jabrill Peppers Available

      By Proudiddy · Posted

      I’m not mad at Moehrig.  He’s great at what he does.  And to be honest, a lot of my favorite safeties in our history were box-first type guys - Maxie, Minter, Mike Mitchell, Chris Harris…  they’re first and foremost objective was to put people on their backs and coverage was secondary.  There is a place for that.  There is a definite need for that.  Physical guys that set the tone.  So cool, we have that in Moerhig. But what we have lacked for the vast majority of our existence is a true free safety that cleans everything up on the back end.  Sometimes they come in the form of a JOAT, like Peppers.  I think he would be a fantastic compliment to Moehrig’s strengths and weaknesses.  If we don’t go after him, I certainly hope Ransom is given the chance to grow and develop in real-time with real game reps, because what he did in preseason was very encouraging to see.  I hope he can grow into that roaming center fielder with a little bit of an edge to him as an enforcer as well.  He has the tools.  In the meantime, adding Peppers would only help.
    • Navy_football
      Everything revolves around Bryce This Year

      By Navy_football · Posted

      Option 1 is most likely. Even if he kills it this year, it wouldn't be prudent to rush an extension for one good season. If you have to pay him more because you waited another year, then he earned it. And that's OK. Adjust accordingly. 
×
×
  • Create New...