5 Quick Observations on 1st Half of Panthers vs Bills
/#Panthers #TheresNoTime pic.twitter.com/LUKAsu1otT
— Cat Chronicles (@Cat_Chronicles) August 9, 2014
1) Panthers' front seven is still boss: Carolina's front four ate em up all night. Kawann Short played particularly well. Hardy grabbed a sack after Dwan Edwards tied up Buffalo's interior line. Ealy looked motivated to prove he belongs. All of this, and Charles Johnson didn't play. Watch out opposing QB's, Jack Bauer is right--there's no time!!
2) Barner got all the reps at halfback: It looks like the Panthers coaching staff is high on Kenjon Barner again. He got nearly every carry in the first half and was back there returning kicks. He did have a dropped pass, which came in a little hot but was a catchable ball. Even with the added weight, you can tell he is still going to get muscled around out there if he can't use his speed to get it done.
3) Carolina's secondary left something to be desired. Antoine Cason didn't have the best start, getting burned and picking up a flag for illegal contact. Josh Thomas continues to rack up penalties, and Norman is talking trash still. The Bills marched the ball down the field on the first possession, only to be stiffled by that front seven. We'll need to see this unit improve before the season starts.
4) Kelvin Benjamin is going to eat defenses up. I was wrong on this guy on draft night...I admit it. KB is legit. If Derek Andereson wouldn't have been a scaredy cat, you would have seen Kelvin Benjamin add a great 3rd down conversion to that nasty 30 yard touchdown catch he made on Stephon Gilmore, who even interfered on the catch. KB landed on the ball, while making a crazy awesome catch. This guy is big, tough, and AWESOME. Basically, all those cats who questioned Benjamin's hands just made something up to talk about!
5) Panthers offense is going to be better than most people expect. Derek Anderson led this offense effectively tonight. Yes, Derek Anderson converted a third down by running, threw a 30 yard TD to Benjamin, and proved that with Cam back there, and DeAngelo Williams...oh and Mike Tolbert, the Panthers aren't going to roll over this year. This offense looks as if it could be better than last season's!!
By: the Professor