Former NFL scout Matt Williamson writes about the league from an X’s and O’s perspective. Here are his weekly five observations:
Panthers noticeably better with QB Kyle Allen
Yes, Allen sliced up a terrible Cardinals defense, but Week 3 was the best Carolina’s offense has played in awhile. Unlike recent versions of injury-plagued Cam Newton, who will miss more time with a bad left foot, the 23-year-old threw accurately and let his receivers excel after the catch.
The Panthers have a fine set of receivers in Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel and Greg Olsen, who caught six passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns in Week 3. I’m most impressed with Moore and Samuel, who display on tape their big-play abilities at all levels of the field.
Of course the offense runs through McCaffrey, as it should no matter who is behind center. He is a dominant runner (153 yards rushing in Week 3), and Allen generated much of his passing production off play-action using him. With Allen running the show, the Panthers sometimes kept McCaffrey in to block, giving the young QB time to find his other options.
To protect Allen, Carolina also used a high dosage of base personnel for added blocking. Allen isn’t nearly the athlete a healthy Newton is, but he can scramble well and buy time for his receivers to get open. Against Arizona, Allen averaged 8.6 yards per attempt and wasn’t bashful about throwing deep, but he rarely put the ball in harm’s way.
Bottom line: The Panthers (1-2) can win with the second-year QB and sit Newton until he’s fully healthy.
Why I like Jacksonville’s Gardner Minshew
Several things stand out about the 23-year-old rookie from Washington State besides his cool-dude persona, killer retro mustache and supreme confidence. (Never underestimate a confident QB, by the way.) I especially love how Minshew operates in the pocket. He’s calm, lets the play develop and is highly accurate. Sure, the sample size is not huge — 88 passes — but his completion percentage (73.9), second in the league to Dak Prescott’s, can’t be ignored.
On tape, I’m impressed by Minshew’s ball placement. His accuracy was superb the few times he has gone deep. He’s good on intermediate throws, too. And he’s developing a good rapport with wideout DJ Chark, who looks to be in the midst of a breakout season.
The Jaguars would be wise to increase Minshew’s average depth of target, which is low at just 4.0 yards. Surprisingly, not much of Minshew’s production is coming off play-action. Instead, he’s going old school and just standing strong in the pocket and delivering the ball where it needs to be. He has also chipped in with 80 rushing yards. Don’t get hurt, though, kid.
If Minshew keeps this up, Nick Foles can resume his customary role when he returns from injury: backup.
What’s next for Washington’s Haskins
Veteran Case Keenum was a disaster (3 picks, 3 fumbles) Monday night against the Bears. But the Redskins smartly kept the rookie from Ohio State on the bench and a safe distance from a crazy-good Chicago defense and its QB destroyer, Khalil Mack.
Keenum has done some OK things with Washington, but he’s nothing more than a backup. He’s a problematic deep thrower, checks down at an alarming rate and is a turnover-prone passer.
Is Haskins ready? Nope, but he may not have a choice because Keenum could sit in Week 4 against the Giants with a foot injury. As expected, Haskins had an up-and-down preseason. But he has a wealth of throwing talent and surely would aid a deep passing game led by Terry McLaurin, Haskins’ college teammate and a potentially great NFL receiver. (McLaurin averaged 20 yards a catch for the Buckeyes last season.) As is the case in Pittsburgh with the Mason Rudolph-to-James Washington Oklahoma State connection, that college battery could pay off big in Washington.
Also, don’t overlook how valuable running back Chris Thompson (16 catches, 195 yards) is in Washington’s passing game. He could be ideal for Haskins to lean on as he acclimates to the NFL.
No matter what, I’d start the rookie. Washington (0-3) is terrible, so what does it have to lose?
Why Steelers flopped with Rudolph
Unlike the situation in Carolina, the Steelers struggled with their replacement quarterback. With Antonio Brown gone, the strategy for defenses against Pittsburgh is simple: Do everything possible to limit wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster and stack the box to stop Pittsburgh’s rushing game.
The offensive line, often outnumbered in the running game, isn’t playing great and RB James Conner (34 carries for 97 yards) alarmingly isn’t making unblocked defenders miss. In Rudolph’s first NFL start, Pittsburgh’s strategy was extremely conservative. Short passing ruled, and San Francisco defenders simply swarmed to the ball. Clearly, that’s not going to work.
The Steelers need to trust Rudolph, allowing the second-year player to take some shots downfield, something he regularly did in college with Washington. It is noteworthy that Washington played 92% of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps in Week 3 with the disappointing and drop-prone Donte Moncrief benched.
Rudolph wasn’t accurate on shorter throws against the Niners, but he still needs to increase his passing volume if he sees stacked boxes. A positive: Rudolph did a good job looking off San Francisco’s safeties. When he had time in the pocket, he stayed poised and kept his eyes downfield. At least there’s something to build on here for the winless Steelers (0-3).
Nick Bosa is outstanding
One word to describe the Niners’ 2019 first-round pick: wow. Despite fighting a high ankle sprain, he’s a dominant defensive end. San Francisco has a Week 4 bye, so Bosa might come out of the break more spry and explosive, a frightening thought for the rest of the NFL.
Bosa is similar to his brother Nick, a star D-lineman for the Chargers. Both show great get-off, technique, change of direction, closing burst, hand usage, leverage and the ability to turn their excellent speed to power. With DeForest Buckner a dominating interior presence, Bosa and Dee Ford complete the 49ers defensive line. The Niners’ front seven, which abused a high-quality Steelers line in Week 3, is one of the best in the league.
