Panthers had headset issues in first half vs. Raiders that caused ‘panic’ on play calls
If you were wondering why the Panthers’ defense looked lost at times Sunday, there might be a logical explanation.
Panthers coach Matt Rhule said Monday that the headsets they use to communicate the play calls to the players were not working properly.
The Panthers’ defense gave up four touchdowns to the Raiders in a 34-30 loss in the season-opener at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, and Las Vegas scored on six of their first eight drives.
“I think there might have been 10-12 times where we called the play in and it wasn’t the defense we ran,” Rhule said. “We settled down at halftime and found a way to correct that. But some of those kinds of things that you don’t want to have happen, it’s not OK that it happened, but they did happen, and I thought we grew as the game went on.”
Rhule added that the headset issue caused some panic among his players. He said the Raiders went up-tempo to start the game, and some of the players began to rush. Carolina started three rookies on defense.
Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson said he was the lone player wearing the headset and getting the calls. He described it as a “technology issue,” and called it frustrating.
The Raiders scored on three of their first four drives in the first half and led the Panthers 17-15 at halftime.
“Maybe we’ll have to buy a whole new headset or something like that,” Thompson said. “But at the end of the day, we’re just going to have to go and play ball, and that’s what we’re going to do and get that corrected.”
Other Panthers notes
▪ Rhule said he did not have an update on No. 1 cornerback Donte Jackson’s injury. Jackson suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter and did not return.
“A lot of it will come down to how a guy feels,” Rhule said, adding that Jackson’s status for their game against the Buccaneers would likely depend on whether Jackson could practice Wednesday.
The Panthers are thin at cornerback, but did get a nice contribution from cornerback Rasul Douglas.
The Panthers claimed Douglas off waivers last week from the Eagles. Because of the COVID-19 protocols, he was not allowed in the building until Wednesday. He played 81 percent of the Panthers’ snaps Sunday.
Pro Football Focus, an advanced analytic site, ranked him as having the ninth-best game among 80 cornerbacks, through Sunday’s games. It measured these players against the run and in coverage. According to the site, Douglas was ranked fifth when in coverage. He finished with two pass deflections and a tackle.
▪ Rhule said the five penalties in the second half, as well as the two three-and-outs to start the third quarter, were a big reason why the Panthers got behind by two scores. The Panthers did not have any penalties in the first half.
▪ Rookie defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos, who the Panthers took in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, was expected to start Sunday against the Raiders. He had performed well in training camp, and had taken most of the snaps with the first-team defense in practice.
But it was veteran Stephen Weatherly who got the start.
Gross-Matos played in only 25 percent of the Panthers’ 63 defensive snaps. He made one tackle.
“I think Yetur did some good things,” Rhule said. “He probably needs to play a little bit more, and that’s no slant on Weatherly or anyone else, but we need get him in a little bit more.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 5:04 PM.
