CHARLOTTE – The Panthers know they need to improve in the passing game, and that means getting a lot of moving parts moving at the same speed. And so far, they haven’t.
Carolina stands at 31st in the league in passing offense, averaging 161.3 yards per game through its first three games. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is 31st in completion percentage at 51.9 percent. They’re 31st in the league in third-down conversions, a 27.0 percent clip.
While Mayfield is part of the puzzle, there are plenty of opportunities for growth across the field. Making that jump isn’t a one-person job, and it is a job that takes a level of synchronicity where the quarterback and wide receivers are constantly aligned mentally, and in step on the field.
Wide receivers coach Joe Dailey dug into the root of building chemistry between a quarterback and wideouts, explaining how each receiver on the field has to have his steps timed and centered with Mayfield. In practice, they’re getting into details, where it’s a game of inches, and spatial awareness is vital.
“The uniqueness about our system is that the quarterback’s footwork and the wide receivers’ footwork are in sync,” Dailey said. “Our shoelaces are tied together. … Understanding when you get to a certain landmark, where the football is going to be, where my eyes and hands need to be.
“The exactness and detail just come into executing the proper footwork and understanding where the ball location is going to be and where my eyes and hands need to be.”
Dailey said there’s a focus on recreating in-game speed in practice and that it’s vital to creating rhythm.
“It’s the accumulation of reps over time,” Dailey said. “Visually in the classroom, on the field walking through it, jogging through it, full speed, and then game day. The fastest you’ll play is going to be on game day, and how you can accumulate as many game day-like repetitions prior to ever getting there is what really leads to that execution.”
Head coach Matt Rhule said everyone involved in the offense has a role to play in improvement, from himself and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo to the offensive line and wideout group. Rhule compared it to the way Carolina’s defense challenged itself in Week 3 to finally create a turnover; this week is the offense’s time to tune in on the passing game.
“As you’ve heard me talk about the passing game, it’s everybody,” Rhule said. “It’s never on one guy. It’s on the coach. It’s on the line to protect. It’s on guys to get open and make tough catches. I think everybody is really honing in on, ‘Hey, what can I do?’
“It’s like I talked about with turnovers last week, if you talk about something a lot, sometimes guys start to get tense about it. We’ve got to cut loose a little bit.”
The Panthers’ group of receivers have yet to break out, and their two primary targets – DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson – have flashed at times, but without any level of consistency.
Anderson connected with Mayfield for a 75-yard touchdown in Week 1 against the Browns. Remove that play, and Anderson has accumulated 73 yards on eight catches. Moore brought in a 16-yard touchdown against the Giants in Week 2, but his 88 yards on seven catches through the first three games are his fewest in a three-game stretch since the first three games of his rookie year in 2018.
Last week against the Saints, Anderson and Moore combined for two catches for 16 combined yards, while former Jaguar Laviska Shenault Jr.. impressed in his Carolina debut. Shenault’s 90-yard game, on two receptions, made him the Panthers’ second-most productive wideout on the season.
Shi Smith has tallied 36 yards on four catches in his second year, while fellow second-year wideout Terrace Marshall Jr. and former Browns receiver Rashard Higgins have yet to see a target this year.
Moore and Anderson are historically strong pass catchers in Carolina (Moore’s one of just two players in the league with three straight seasons of 1,100 yards or more), and McAdoo said creating opportunities for them is a priority.
“They just need to keep working hard,” McAdoo said. “I need to do a better job getting the ball to them. They’re doing everything that we’re asking them to do, so I need to do a better job getting the ball to them, and we need to find more completions.”
There’s a need for the receivers to create separation, which McAdoo said he focused on during Monday and Tuesday meetings with the offense and staff.
Schematically, Dailey said there’s an emphasis on flexibility in finding the open receiver.
“There are so many plays that we go into the game thinking, ‘Hey, we’re going to target X, Y, and Z, and you feel really comfortable about it,” Dailey said. “Football is chaotic. Things don’t happen the way we planned them. So that’s why you have contingency plans.”
Moore echoed the sentiment.
“Getting open is getting open,” Moore said. “Open is one yard, 0.5 yards. Open is open in this league. Quarterback, if he doesn’t see it that way, it’s cool. They go on to the next read; the next person is open. That goes for everybody in our room. Everybody can get open.”
Moore said he also sees improvement as moving faster and keeping a line of communication when issues arise.
“(It’s) just doing everything faster,” Moore said. “Better speed, just getting out there. If it’s pressure, just get open faster. If it’s something that you need to work on (with Mayfield), just talk about it.”
McAdoo said the passing offense “took a pretty good step” in practice this week, but he also sees the offense as a constant work in progress. Dailey said it’s “inevitable” that the passing offense will eventually get rolling.
Rhule saw a more locked-in energy as receivers got open during practice this week, and now he’s looking for those reps to translate to the game.
“It’s not about getting the ball; it’s about getting open,” Rhule said. “Go get open, and the ball will come your way. I saw the look in Robbie’s eye today; he’s focused. I saw the look in DJ’s eye today; he’s focused. Terrace, he’s focused.
“There are a lot of guys that are ready to go. If we all do that, I can promise you; Baker Mayfield is going to make plays.”
1 / 65
WR – 2 – DJ Moore
Carolina Panthers
2 / 65
DE – 69 – Frank Herron
3 / 65
DT – 54 – Daviyon Nixon
4 / 65
QB – 6 – Baker Mayfield
5 / 65
P – 10 – Johnny Hekker
QB – 11 – PJ Walker
6 / 65
DT – 78 – Marquan McCall
RB – 37 – John Lovett
7 / 65
LB – 7 – Shaq Thompson
8 / 65
CB – 8 – Jaycee Horn
10 / 65
DT – 95 – Derrick Brown
11 / 65
WR – 15 – Laviska Shenault Jr.
Carolina Panthers
12 / 65
K – 4 – Eddy Piñeiro
13 / 65
K – 4 – Eddy Piñeiro
14 / 65
DT – 95 – Derrick Brown
DT – 99 – Matt Ioannidis
Thomas Davis Sr.
15 / 65
CB – 32 – Tae Hayes
Carolina Panthers
16 / 65
T – 79 – Ikem Ekwonu
Carolina Panthers
17 / 65
LB – 40 – Brandon Smith
Carolina Panthers
18 / 65
WR – 2 – DJ Moore
Carolina Panthers
19 / 65
C/G – 60 – Pat Elflein
Carolina Panthers
20 / 65
Carolina Panthers
21 / 65
Carolina Panthers
22 / 65
T – 79 – Ikem Ekwonu
C – 68 – Sam Tecklenburg
Carolina Panthers
23 / 65
Carolina Panthers
24 / 65
WR – 88 – Terrace Marshall Jr.
Carolina Panthers
25 / 65
S – 21 – Jeremy Chinn
Carolina Panthers
26 / 65
CB – 24 – C.J. Henderson
Carolina Panthers
27 / 65
Carolina Panthers
28 / 65
Carolina Panthers
29 / 65
Carolina Panthers
30 / 65
Carolina Panthers
31 / 65
Carolina Panthers
32 / 65
Carolina Panthers
33 / 65
Carolina Panthers
34 / 65
Carolina Panthers
35 / 65
WR – 15 – Laviska Shenault Jr.
Carolina Panthers
36 / 65
WR – 15 – Laviska Shenault Jr.
Carolina Panthers
37 / 65
Carolina Panthers
38 / 65
QB – 11 – P.J. Walker
Carolina Panthers
39 / 65
Carolina Panthers
40 / 65
QB – 6 – Baker Mayfield
Carolina Panthers
41 / 65
QB – 6 – Baker Mayfield
Carolina Panthers
42 / 65
WR – 15 – Laviska Shenault Jr.
Carolina Panthers
43 / 65
WR – 88 – Terrace Marshall Jr.
Carolina Panthers
44 / 65
LB – 57 – Damien Wilson
LB – 55 – Cory Littleton
Carolina Panthers
45 / 65
QB – 6 – Baker Mayfield
Carolina Panthers
46 / 65
DE – 97 – Yetur Gross-Matos
Carolina Panthers
47 / 65
DE – 97 – Yetur Gross-Matos
T – 72 – Taylor Moton
Carolina Panthers
48 / 65
Carolina Panthers
49 / 65
DE – 53 – Brian Burns
Carolina Panthers
50 / 65
DE – 98 – Marquis Haynes
DE – 53 – Brian Burns
Carolina Panthers
51 / 65
TE – 82 – Tommy Tremble
Carolina Panthers
52 / 65
LB – 49 – Frankie Luvu
Carolina Panthers
53 / 65
LB – 49 – Frankie Luvu
Carolina Panthers
54 / 65
Carolina Panthers
55 / 65
Carolina Panthers
56 / 65
Carolina Panthers
57 / 65
WR – 12 – Shi Smith
CB – 36 – Madre Harper
Carolina Panthers
58 / 65
Carolina Panthers
59 / 65
WR – 3 – Robbie Anderson
Carolina Panthers
60 / 65
Carolina Panthers
61 / 65
C – 68 – Sam Tecklenburg
WR – 85 – Preston Williams
WR – 15 – Laviska Shenault Jr.
Carolina Panthers
62 / 65
DE – 98 – Marquis Haynes
T – 79 – Ikem Ekwonu
Carolina Panthers
63 / 65
WR – 88 – Terrace Marshall Jr.
CB – 8 – Jaycee Horn
Carolina Panthers
64 / 65
Carolina Panthers
65 / 65
Carolina Panthers
https://www.panthers.com/news/getting-the-passing-game-in-step