Welcome back to the 2018 edition of Step UP or Step OUT Carolina Panthers T-Shirts , a series on CSR that is intended to look at players who are playing well and highlight a few that need to step their game up. Think of it as a heat index for the Carolina Panthers; guys who are playing well are stepping up and those who aren’t need to improve their game or. . . step out.This week we’ll look at some guys that were a big part of the huge comeback last week against the Philadelphia Eagles. The others mentioned, need to play better or maybe just step out of the way and let someone else take over before we play the Baltimore Ravens.Steppin’ UPCam Newton“Drip” Level: Lindley Falls after Hurricane FlorenceYour reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week absolutely has to be in this category this week. After essentially fitting an entire football game into less than one quarter statistically and leading a three score comeback, Cam Newton could not be hotter right now if they literally had him do player intros on fire. This past week was yet more proof why the coaches need to trust Cam to be more aggressive, and potentially use the up tempo offense a lot more, as his success rate in the those situations continues to be astronomical.Eric ReidHeat Rating: Atomic Fireballs marinated in actual hot sauceNote to other opponents. Please make Eric Reid mad. It makes him an incredibly dangerous football player, both in the sense of literal danger and skillful danger. Just ask Zach Ertz:A lot of people are debating Eric Reid’s conduct this week, but no matter which side of that issue you land on, you cannot deny he played brilliantly on Sunday, and was robbed of a game ending interception in a shady replay scenario. I’m not saying the booth was ordered to ensure Eric Reid couldn’t win the game for Carolina on a knee, but I am saying the whole thing went down pretty fishy. From a pure football standpoint, there is no question this team is better now with Reid in the house.Torrey SmithHeat Rating: Two piping hot pop tarts right out of the toasterTorrey Smith caught a lot of flak preseason for a salary that many people thought hard to justify. We still aren’t seeing many field stretching plays for the Panthers, and that is something we would like more of, but in the meantime, Smith is making himself very useful. This week was the second week in a row that he played a major part in a team comeback, making a crucial catch and run to extend the Panthers chances to do the improbable.Steppin’ OUTMike AdamsCold Rating: Get your cryogenic freezer ready.Mike Adams has been the definition of an up and down player for the Panthers this season, and while I would say anything at all that the team gets out of him that is positive at his age is very welcome, we need more reliability. Right now, the Panthers are getting cremated by every tight end in the league, and the combination of Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz was just the latest to punish us. Things are definitely better when the linebackers get to stick on them https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/hats , but if you see Adams in coverage, you know he’s probably about to get out-muscled. He also dropped a would be game sealing interception after Eric Reid was robbed of his.Chris ClarkCold Rating: A warm reception that gets chillier as the evening wears onChris Clark has cooled down from his early season point of “better than we could have expected” to “pretty much what we expected.” That’s still good enough when you’re talking about a guy who didn’t have a team in week 1, but he is definitely part of the reason why we are having a hard time taking deep shots. Clark is mostly getting out-muscled on a down to down basis, and though he is doing a good job getting himself between Cam and a rusher, he routinely gets pushed right back into Cam. This was his second straight game with at least five pressures, and really, Matt Kalil would be an upgrade to his current play. I know that is an unpopular opinion, but it’s true.Dontari PoeCold Rating: Getting a batch of not so fresh fries at McDonald’sThe Panthers signed Dontari Poe to be more than just a Star Lotulelei replacement. They paid him as if they were going to get an impact player. Right now, they’ve just got Star Lotulelei in a different wrapping paper. It’s just like the above analogy... you want fries, you got fries, but you’re not getting the ideal thing you ordered. Dontari Poe has been perfectly serviceable as a space eater, but I’m simply not seeing the athleticism that is supposed to be a hallmark of his play. He has been awful in terms of disengaging from blocks, even one on one blocks, and has yet to make a single splash play that I can remember. It’s bad enough that the team is starting to write “it’s coming” articles about him, and I don’t have to tell you that is an awful sign. The Panthers are going to end their season with three straight divisional contests. In a different year this might have been a high stakes finish to the season with risk and reward available at the end of each game in equal measure. Instead, the Panthers are hanging on by the skin of teeth to playoff chances that only the most optimistic of fans are still talking about. Five straight losses is one thing, but to have two of their last three games against the juggernaut that is the 2018 New Orleans Saints will likely be too much for these Panthers.It’s always telling when a fan base thinks they might be able to sneak away with a win in a series if the opposing team rests their starters for one of the games. That’s where the Panthers are as a fanbase. Still, every game is a chance to right the ship and the Panthers have shown nothing if not flashes of talent. To that end, I spoke with Chris Dunnells of Canal Street Chronicles about this year’sSaints and how the Panthers might match up against them.Cat Scratch Reader: The Saints lost to the Cowboys in a surprisingly low-scoring game and then let the Bucs carry a lead into the fourth quarter. Are they starting to stumble towards the end of the season or were those just two weird games?Canal Street Chronicles: It was a combination of things Carolina Panthers Hoodie , but the biggest culprit was that Drew Brees was just “off” for the majority of that Dallas game. He wasn’t able to get back to his usual form until the second half of the Tampa game. The Saints then quickly scored 25 unanswered points in the second half of that game, showing again that they can turn it on on offense.But I would say there were two other contributing factors as well: for one, Terron Armstead missed both games due to an injury. It’s not a coincidence that in the two games where Armstead missed, the Saints run game and pass protection struggled. And second, the Saints wide receiver corps outside of Michael Thomas struggled to get open in those two weeks. The receivers not named “Michael Thomas” are all young, so ups and downs are to be expected. Those two games were “downs.” Hopefully more “ups” are on the way.CSR: The Saints offense gets all the press but the defense has come a long way in recent years from being one of the worst in the league. What’s the story behind their newfound competence?CSC: The Saints had a recent history of missing on early draft picks and expensive free agents. That trend has changed since the 2016 offseason. In 2016, the Saints were able to draft Sheldon Rankins (who has been a world-beater at DT this year), David Onyemata (a key role player in the middle of the Saints defensive line), and Vonn Bell (a young Safety taking more and more reps away from former Panther Kurt Coleman). The 2017 NFL Draft yielded reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Marshon Lattimore, standout Safety Marcus Williams, and the ever-improving LB Alex Anzalone. The 2017 offseason also brought in role players on defense like LB Manti Te’o and another former Panther in AJ Klein. But really it was the 2018 offseason that put the Saints over the age. The Saints traded up to draft Marcus Davenport to rush the passer opposite Cameron Jordan, and they signed LB Demario Davis, formerly of the New York Jets, who is having a Pro Bowl-caliber season. Along with the trade for Eli Apple from the Giants midseason, there has been a huge personnel overhaul on the defensive side of the ball in New Orleans the last three years.CSR: The Saints have struggled to find a true second receiver to pair with Michael Thomas this year. Is that because of a glut of middling talent on the depth chart or because Alvin Kamara demands that much attention in their offense?CSC: For one, Ted Ginn Jr (wow, we sure do have a lot of former Panthers, don’t we?) has been missed on IR. His emergence last year helped the Saints feel comfortable letting Willie Snead go to Baltimore in free agency. If or when Ginn is able to return to the active roster, I expect that to help the entire Saints receiving corps Graham Gano Jersey , including Michael Thomas. The Saints lack a legitimate deep threat that opposing defenses have to respect. That allows defenses to key in on the short and intermediate routes and stick tight to the Saints receivers. For someone with the ball skills of Michael Thomas, this isn’t too much of an issue. But when the rest of the receivers are mostly a group of UDFAs, they can have trouble getting separation.CSR: When is Drew Brees going to retire?CSC: That’s the rub, isn’t it? I’ve gone on record saying that if Drew is able to win a second Super Bowl this year, I think he calls it a career this year. At the same time, if the Saints fall just short (like they did last year), but he believes that second Super Bowl to be within sight, he might stick around just a little longer. Betting money says Brees calls it quits by the end of the 2019 season, but there’s a non-zero chance 2018 is his last run. CSR: The Saints offense has scored 40 points or more six times this season. The best offense the Panthers have faced this year hung 52 points on them. What is your prediction for the score on Sunday?CSC: Well, that 52-point affair came when the Steelers were playing at home. Talk to me again in three weeks and we’ll see what number I throw out there. But this week, playing in Carolina, outdoors, likely in the cold, I’d be utterly shocked if the Saints hung a 50 burger (or even scored 40+). Instead, I’d look for the Saints to still have a solid bounce-back performance on offense from the previous two weeks, scoring 35ish points, covering the spread, holding the Panthers to under 20
