Panthers offense striving for consistency in pass protection

[Sir Purr]

But in the losses to the Raiders and Buccaneers in Weeks 1 and 2, Bridgewater was sacked a combined six times, and the Panthers allowed 15 pressures. In the current three-game losing streak, the Panthers have allowed eight sacks and 23 pressures.


"When we protect the quarterback, we've been really good. When the quarterback's been under duress, we haven't been the offense that we want to be," head coach Matt Rhule said. "It's not one of those things that I can say it's improved or it's not improved. It's just been up by game."


There are myriad factors in this, starting with the offensive line. The unit isn't the only one involved in pass protection, but it clearly has a significant effect. Carolina has started four different offensive line combinations in eight games, including a different group of five in each of the last three contests.


"You want to trust all your players, but you want to have continuity on the offensive line," Rhule said. "So much of it is not just physical, it's mental, it's communication, it's passing things off. And to me, to have that level of consistency, you need to have tremendous communication and a feel for each other. And that hasn't quite shown up at the level we'd like it to show up at."


Center Matt Paradis and right tackle Taylor Moton have been the only linemen to start each game. Paradis thinks the issues don't have a straightforward correction.


"If it was that, we would've fixed it already," Paradis said. "The recipe is there, and no matter what defenses are going to throw at us ... we need to be able to adjust and protect. And that starts with myself and the O-line."


Added Bridgewater:


"One of our keys to victory each week is win the line of scrimmage. And that includes burning the blitzes that teams may bring and just protecting the quarterback. So if we can just do those things, like coach said, the games will be much smoother."