Panthers vs. Eagles
Panthers
Can the O-Line give Cam enough time in the pocket?
It probably goes without saying, but there’s a positive correlation between QB Cam Newton’s time to throw in the pocket and his Passer Rating. The counter argument to this would be that Cam had his highest passer rating of 108 with his second shortest time to throw (2.60 seconds). Philly is second best in the league at covering tight ends, so TE Greg Olsen probably won’t see the second most targets on the team like he did last week. As for WR Devin Funchess, the Eagles rank 14th against team’s primary wide receivers, so he could end up with a very similar results to last week’s eight targets, 74 yards and touchdown. The rest of the Panthers receivers is where the offense gets interesting, as last week rookie WR D.J. Moore caught four passes for 59 yards and ran for 18; he also fumbled twice in the game, so it’ll be interesting to see whether they treat him more as a #2 WR or just an auxiliary piece.
Should there be any concern for McCaffrey?
RB Christian McCaffrey looked more like his 2017 self than the remodeled 2018 version in last week’s game against the Redskins, but that’s more due to the game scripting that comes from being down 17-0 than negative regression for the running back. The Eagles run defense is coming into this game ranked 12th in the league, but the Panthers still boast the third best rushing offense in the NFL. In the case that the Eagles get out to a lead like they did in their Thursday night game against the Giants, there’s at least comfort in knowing McCaffrey will fare well against the league’s 20th ranked defense against RBs as pass catchers.
Yes, what about this “vaunted” defense?
Carolina has struggled against tight ends, coming in at #25 at covering them in the passing game. This poses a huge problem for the Panthers defense facing one of the league’s best in TE Zach Ertz. Ertz has seen at least nine targets in the games QB Carson Wentz has started this year, and I’m sure this game will be no different. With WR Alshon Jeffery appearing to be back to full form, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on the defense to keep the Eagles out of the red zone because of their multitude of big bodied weapons.
Boom, Bust, Sleeper
Boom: RB Christian McCaffrey
Bust: TE Greg Olsen
Sleeper: WR D.J. Moore
-Alex Drennan
Eagles
Well well well. Seems like a good ol’ evisceration of the bumbling New York Giants was all this team needed to get back on track! Man whispers in ear What do you mean Carson Wentz has looked good in very game and it was only a matter of time before things came together?! Anyway, with the rest of the football world picking up on Wentz steady greatness, Ertz steady greatness, and the serviceability of Jalen Mills, the Eagles are seemingly back to being NFC contenders. That being said, the Birds host a strong Panthers team which saw it’s star TE Greg Olsen return for their extremely tight loss to the Washington Redskins last week. How will the Birds studs perform this week against a highly touted Carolina defense? Let’s find out…
It’s the Carson Wentz Showwww. Starring, CARSON WENTZ.
Crown breathes in deeply BOOOOOOOOO! Ok ok ok. Look actually good paragraph titles about a star QB whose name starts with a W don’t just grow on trees ya know! My literary futility aside, Carson Wentz has been nothing if not consistent in his return from an offseason knee reconstruction which now seems like it was years ago. Considering his stellar performances prior to this game, and left tackle Jason Peters playing through a biceps tear (!!!), Wentz should shine in this one. But what about the Panthers ‘vaunted’ defense?! Oh, well a quick look under the hood of their passing defense shows that despite being 7th ranked in terms of yards allowed this season, the Black Cat™ passing D has allowed a mediocre 20th ranked 7.6 yards per passing attempt. Throw in an offense in the Eagles’ that will be leaning more and more on the pass, in addition to some poor slot corner play and no one to be found that can match up with Alshon Jeffery on the Panthers’ side, and you have the recipe for a big game from Carson Wentz.
Soaring Eagles
In case you didn’t read the paragraph above, here’s a quick news flash for ya: the Panthers passing defense isn’t actually good. Cool huh? That means #1 Eagle receiver Alshon Jeffery and rock-solid (mostly) #2 Nelson Agholor should EAT in this matchup. Perhaps the only constraint that might be put on the Eagles’ receivers is too much production going through the team’s stud TE’s Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. Believe it or not, even with incredible middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, the Carolina defense has allowed the 5th most fantasy points to TEs this season. While I’m a bit skeptical that this will constitute HUGE games for the Eagles’ TEs, it should result in a rock-solid line as always for Ertz and possibly even a TD or two between he and Goedert.
Running Ragged
Another week has gone by and Howie Roseman has yet to address the glaring lack of running back talent and depth in the Eagles’ backfield; that means lots of fun times for true-talent-backup Wendell Smallwood, and steady work for talented complementary back Corey Clement. Once again, the Carolina defense isn’t quite as efficient as they might appear by their total rush yards allowed, as they rank 7th in rush yards allowed as well, but a poor 23rd in terms of yards allowed per rush attempt. That being said, I don’t expect this Eagles team to rush all that much unless they take a solid lead (which they very well might), however when they do run they should find decent success. Look for a very solid day from Corey Clement while Smallwood fails once again the leverage a healthy amount of touches into anything more than a decent flex play.
D, D, Defense!
Things could go a couple different ways for the Eagles D in this one given the Panthers’ offensive makeup. On one hand, this Panthers team lacks a game-changing group of receivers, however they do possess one of the best receiving backs and tight ends in the league in Christian McCaffery and Greg Olsen respectively. While I don’t expect Olsen to present too much of a hassle as the Eagles D has been phenomenal at containing opposing TEs, McCaffery poses a HUGE risk to gain chunk yardage and score plenty in this one. Oh, and the Panthers have a monstrous running back at QB in Cam Newton. Look for the Eagles D to post a respectable 2-3 sacks, and maybe force a fumble or INT here or there, but remain only just inside the top 12 or so defenses for this week.
Predictions!
More recently, my colleagues on the site have lobbied for boom/bust picks in our predictions rather than my grandiose, often-wrong fleshed out predictions, and I’m certainly game (so I’m not wrong as often!). So, here are my Birds Boom, Bust, and BSleeper™ picks for the game:
BOOM: Alshon Jeffery
BUST: Zach Ertz
Sleeper: Dallas Goedert
-Alex Silverman
good calls on Edelman and Gronk, Mr. Bevins….I see Brady getting it out quick to Edelman, and of course White, to avoid that Bears rush. Why did we let go of Hicks, dammit? lol
Can you guys add the “Game Previews” (and maybe Waiver Wire) as a section under the main navigation bar under articles? I love to read these but sometimes it’s hard to find. Thanks!!