Panthers mailbag: Was passing on Rams’ blockbuster trade offer for Brian Burns a mistake?
The Carolina Panthers are searching for answers following their embarrassing 42-21 blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. And they’re not alone.
Panthers fans are frustrated with the team’s two-game losing streak. The defense has given up 79 points during that stretch, and a pair of defensive assistant coaches lost their jobs on Monday, partly because of the ineptitude of the supposed strength of the team.
Naturally, fans want to know what’s up with the Panthers’ recent woes and their future. That’s why The Charlotte Observer opens up its weekly mailbag to answer their questions.
Every week, we will take a select trio of questions from our beat writers’ weekly AMAs (ask me anything) on Twitter and expand on answers given to the best questions.
Below are three questions selected for this week’s mailbag:
From @Cleeson1005 on Twitter: Should the Panthers have taken the (Brian) Burns deal?
The Los Angeles Rams offered the Panthers a 2023 second-round pick, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 first-round pick for defensive end Brian Burns before the trade deadline, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Obviously, GM Scott Fitterer turned that deal down, and social media is screaming that the Panthers should have taken the trade.
However, Fitterer’s decision on a potential Burns trade had to be nuanced.
Fitterer isn’t guaranteed anything in the future, and he and interim head coach Steve Wilks are basically competing for their jobs at this point. Trading the Panthers’ top defensive player for a trio of future picks doesn’t really help either of them now.
And even if Fitterer was guaranteed next offseason, he wouldn’t be able to spend the worthwhile part of the deal if he were to be dismissed in the near future.
Still, a GM’s job is largely about taking care of the team’s long-term needs, job security or not. And while some are rushing to the conclusion that Fitterer kept Burns around for self-preservation, there’s a logical in-house reason to hold onto to Burns for the long haul.
Burns plays arguably the second-most important position in the game. He is the best of the Panthers’ few proven homegrown talents, and Burns is already — at just 24 — a team leader. Burns has produced nine sacks in each of the past two seasons, and he already has six sacks through nine games this year.
Trading Burns now would be depleting a rough roster even further. And with the front office perceiving the defense as the team’s strength, trading away the unit’s best player, even for a strong return, could be detrimental to the squad’s long-term growth and locker room morale.
By not trading Burns, Fitterer is telling everyone that the Panthers aren’t interested in bottoming out. However, even with Burns, that outcome seems likely. So, given that the Panthers are probably going to have a top-five pick this offseason anyway, trading Burns to create a massive hole for an eventual boon isn’t particularly advantageous.
Had the Rams offered a 2023 first-round pick — which they didn’t own — this would be a completely different conversation.
If the Panthers move on from Wilks, a head coach is probably going to be more enticed by a Pro Bowl defensive end than extra first-round picks in 2024 and 2025.
Coaches and GMs are impatient and want to win now. Panthers owner David Tepper is in a similar boat with his “over the hump” desire, so trading Burns would have been antithetical to that approach.
The Panthers have seven picks in next year’s draft — including two second-round picks — and adding an eighth, even on Day 2, doesn’t make Carolina suddenly a more intriguing destination, especially with the absence of a Pro Bowl pressure-cooker like Burns.
A new head coach — especially a young offensive mind — will want to make sure the defense has established pieces that can help him win with complementary football. Burns is one of the pieces that Fitterer and company have clearly identified as a building-block draw for a potential head-coaching candidate.
Draft picks, especially in early rounds, are appealing, but front offices have to deliver in the evaluation process to make them actually worthwhile. Established talent is important for a new head coach because he can count on those players right off the bat.
With all that said, the Panthers declining the Burns trade wasn’t an outright mistake. While it’s easy to understand the other side of that argument, Fitterer was smart to keep Burns after restocking his draft picks with the Christian McCaffrey trade.
The McCaffrey trade actually helped Fitterer stick to his guns on Burns because he was able to lean on a worthwhile package of picks already in his possession.
From @Sportsnfamily on Twitter: How come (Ben) McAdoo is still the (offensive) play caller?
Well, a quick look at the coaching staff is really the answer here. Wilks is a defensive-minded head coach, and McAdoo is the only experienced NFL play-caller on the offensive staff.
While wide receivers coach Joe Dailey called plays at New Mexico and Liberty during his college coaching career, McAdoo is the only guy around with a background in scheming against NFL defenses.
McAdoo’s run in Carolina has led to a lot of fan frustration. The play-calling has been inconsistent, and at times, detrimental to the unit’s success. But, a lot of the Panthers’ woes on offense seem to be based around a lack of efficiency in execution.
Wilks is already trying to lead the team from an over-arching perspective, and having McAdoo, a former NFL head coach, at offensive coordinator stops him from spreading himself too thin. It’s not an ideal situation — and yes, there should be some accountability — but right now, there’s no legitimate answer for a potential McAdoo replacement.
Remember, it’s not like Wilks picked his current staff, so there’s no reason for him to have a superficial belief in a position coach’s prowess for play-calling. In fact, one could argue that some of the position groups have under-performed mightily compared to expectations, namely quarterback and wide receiver.
James Campen, the offensive line coach, is probably the best option if Wilks’ hand is forced. Campen was the run game coordinator for the Green Bay Packers in 2018, and his unit has probably performed the best compared to expectations this season. Still, moving Campen could dilute the success of the offensive line, and that’s not beneficial to the offense.
From @BornToGetRun on Twitter: How does a decent Panthers defense get pushed around by a bad OL and allow 5 TDs to one guy?
The issues for the Panthers against the Bengals were nuanced. Like the offense, it felt like the defense came out flat against Cincinnati. There was trouble with tackling, coverage and overall energy throughout the game.
The game plan appeared to be — from the outside looking in — focused on mitigating the passing attack with man coverage. So, the Bengals spread out their receivers and ran in space, testing the defense’s overall ability to contain with leverage. The defensive line and linebackers then got consumed by blockers.
With defenders focused on their individual assignments, running back Joe Mixon was able to consistently find holes in the box.
Mixon went on to score four rushing touchdowns and produce 153 rushing yards. He also grabbed four passes for 58 yards and a passing touchdown. The five total touchdowns were a franchise record.
Despite the Panthers’ decision to focus on the pass, quarterback Joe Burrow is a top-tier passer who was able to make some really impressive throws to wideouts Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins.
Burrow isn’t the type of quarterback to shy away from man coverage, and he took what the defense gave him when faced with zone looks.
The matchup against the Bengals was a perfect storm for the Panthers’ defense. Facing an elite quarterback, the Panthers were limited with what they could do against the run, and the Bengals made them suffer.
The play-calling wasn’t the biggest problem, as execution issues — especially with establishing leverage against the run — seemingly popped up in major moments, leading to big gains.
Burrow, Mixon and the rest of the offense dominated the Panthers’ defense, which looked overmatched and disinterested throughout the majority of the bout.
This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
