The State of Special Teams in Carolina
Head coach Matt Rhule wants to place a heavy emphasis on improving the Panthers special teams units this season. Luckily, there is a good chance that he will see some significant improvement in this area in comparison to last year. One of the biggest stories about the special teams units came from Graham Gano's injury, which sidelined him for all of 2019. Gano was replaced by undrafted rookie Joey Slye, who surprised many fans by breaking a franchise record last season. He converted eight field goals with at least 50 yards. He also made 78.1% of his field goals and 88.6% of his extra points.
Special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn understood that this places Carolina at a huge advantage. Here's what Blackburn had to say, via the Panthers' website:
"The battle, as far as that's concerned — in reality, we're in a very, very plus situation because we've got two very capable kickers with really talented legs," Blackburn said. "There's plenty of teams around the NFL right now that'd be very excited to have the competition we have going."
He seems very optimistic about having two highly skilled kickers on the roster.
"I think it'll play itself out regardless, as most things do in training camp at all positions. There's always competition and guys that come out of the woodwork that you may not have realized early on that they were going to be here, and it's going to be the same thing in this competition. We're going to have plenty of time to get there as we go when we get back to the facility — whenever it is — and we can work. We'll focus on it at that point."
According to Blackburn, Rhule has prioritized special teams when it comes to his approach to the rebuild.
"He has shown through his words and his time commitment and his process and even his team meetings talking about special teams, showing clips and how things correlate to special teams – offense and defense. That doesn't always happen. Just the meetings he's had with me – the interview process was a multiple-tiered interview. You could tell he knew what he was doing. You could tell he knew what the verbiage was and that he was into it. And bringing (assistant special teams coach) Ed Foley along as well – another coach who's been around and coached it and has had success. There's just so much knowledge in that group, and they're going to give the devoted attention, time in practice, preparation and he's going to demand that we be great. (Special teams) is not a transition, it's a big-time play that can change ballgames."
Even though the offense is likely to improve, punting will remain as a huge factor for the Panthers. Michael Palardy is back for another year. He averaged a solid 46 yards per punt, which is great for flipping the field. This will be very important, considering that the Panthers are in a offensive-heavy NFC South.
Blackburn also discussed the role of new acquired free agent Pharoh Cooper as a returner:
"I think he's proven. He's shown himself. Obviously, he's a talented returner and receiver. We have him back there; we have other guys that can do. DJ Moore can still return; Christian McCaffrey. We've got guys. We've got guys around. We've got young guys that can return. That's another exciting part is all these returners that have the capabilities and talent to do it."
Special teams is one of the most underrated areas in football simply because of the fact that it can change the momentum of a game just like that. Matt Rhule understands this and has allowed appropriate changes to be made in order for these units to improve.
The Panthers faced some key losses, including former special teams captain Colin Jones, but they will likely feature some fresh talent from the all-defensive 2020 draft class. Don't be surprised to see some familiar faces on defense make plays on special teams as well.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook - @PanthersOnSI
Twitter - @SI_Panthers and Jason Hewitt at @jasonhewitt50
