For Panthers, it’ll take a village to contain Rams defensive force Aaron Donald
Aaron Donald, the NFL’s back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year, can’t just be the offensive line’s problem Sunday.
Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen says it’s as much on the receivers to get open quickly in the season-opener, as it is on the pass protection, in the face of Donald’s exceptional rushing ability for the Los Angeles Rams.
“They’re saying, ‘We’re going to get up in your face and challenge you. We’re going to get our pass rush there,’ ” Olsen said of the Rams.
“As receivers and backs and tight ends, we’ve got to do a good job of getting separation; winning early in the routes and keeping their hands off ya. Giving Cam (Newton) somewhere to go with the ball.”
The Panthers’ offensive line received a makeover this offseason. Former Denver Bronco Matt Paradis was signed as a free agent to replace center Ryan Kalil, who directed traffic for more than a decade. Daryl Williams, returning from a major knee injury, starts at left tackle.
The starting offensive line got less than a full game’s worth of reps together in the preseason (third game against the New England Patriots). There has been abundant scrutiny in the preseason as to how the line will hold up protecting Newton, who is coming off a shoulder injury that required offseason surgery.
“Everyone makes such a big deal out of the O-line, but it’s a complete team effort offensively: Understanding your hot (routes), understanding blitz protections,” Olsen said.
“It’s so much more than the O-line blocking the D-line.”
Donald led the NFL in sacks last season with 20 1/2. He had 11 sacks in 2017. The Panthers must be constantly aware of his presence, but as guard Greg Van Roten described, you can’t become so preoccupied — so psyched-out by the damage Donald can wreak — that it becomes defeatist.
“He’s disruptive, he’s dynamic, he’s explosive — he’s everything you would want in a defensive lineman, and you’re definitely aware of where he is at all times,” Van Roten said. “I wouldn’t say that you change everything you’re doing.”
Van Roten isn’t dreading Sunday; he’s fired up for the challenge:
“I don’t think you should shy away from it by any means. I kind of am excited to go against him.”
Burns ready for ‘everything’
Veteran pass-rusher Bruce Irvin missed Wednesday and Thursday practices with a hamstring injury. If Irvin can’t play versus the Rams, it figures to accelerate usage of rookie Brian Burns, who had four sacks in the preseason.
What is Burns ready for in his first regular-season NFL game?
“He’ll be ready for everything,” Panthers defensive coordinator Eric Washington asserted Thursday. “When we put him out on the field in any situation, we expect and we’ve been preparing him, to compete and to be successful and productive.”
Burns, the 16th overall pick, immediately impressed in training camp for his quick first step and long arms. And what gives Washington so much conviction he’s ready for a heavy load, if that’s what Sunday entails?
“Being able to document the development from the day he first arrived up until today; seeing the incremental progress he’s made with his technique, with his assignment discipline, with the speed of his rush,” he said.
One thing the defensive coaches are correcting about Burns is his tendency to get up-field so much that he overshoots the quarterback.
“The most useless place on the football field for a rusher is behind the quarterback,” Washington said. “It puts a lot of stress on our coverage.”
If Irvin is out, the Panthers will go deeper into their pass-rush options, which could put another rookie, Christian Miller, on the field. Washington wants Miller, the Panthers’ fourth-round pick, to not be so structured in his approach that he misses opportunities to pressure quarterbacks.
“Rushing the quarterback is not paint-by-the-numbers,” Washington said. “There is a huge improvisational trait that you have to have. You have to be able to feel things, react to things and respond based on what’s happening.
“If you are a color-inside-the-lines guy, you’re going to struggle a little bit. Christian is starting to get out of that a little bit. I’m starting to see him understand when he can take his shots.”
Injuries
In addition to Irvin and offensive lineman Greg Little (concussion protocol), the Panthers listed offensive guard Trai Turner as limited participation on the injury report.
Coach Ron Rivera indicated Turner suffered a slight groin injury in practice, so the Panthers took the precaution of limiting his reps.
This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 6:31 PM.