When analyzing strengths versus weaknesses of an upcoming game, matchups can sometimes look like a black hole. In other words, one team has been ineffective in an area that the other hasn’t yet found success in on the opposite side.The Steelers head into Sunday night’s prime-time affair ranked 30th against the run. Two rookies gashed them in Week 1 while the Browns gained 191 yards on the ground. Last week, the Ravens rushed for 157 yards.Meanwhile, the Panthers are 25th in rushing after totaling 116 yards against the Bucs and 62 versus the Lions. Carolina failed to establish a strong rushing attack in either game, but considering the matchup, they could get jumpstarted this week.Here’s a closer look at some positive and negatives from the Panthers’ ground game the first two weeks.
Ironically, Jonathan Stewart was the only active back on the Panthers’ active roster that wasn’t on this week’s injury report. While Stewart’s 2.5 yards per carry in Week 2 suggest he showed poorly, that stat doesn’t tell the whole story. He ran hard every time he touched the ball, but he often had to create space on his own. The one time he had a nice-sized hole, he picked up 22 yards:
NFL.com
The rush above comes out of a bunch formation against a stacked box. Fullback Richie Brockel and tight end Greg Olsen seal off the edge, which allows offensive linemen to get to the second level. Stewart shows the burst of a former first-round pick as he darts through the opening. But don’t discount his decisiveness at the line. Stewart didn’t dance. Instead, he followed his blockers and went full speed ahead.Once in the open field, Stewart displays great balance while eluding the first tackler, and then he powers through others inside the 10-yard line.That’s a closer look at just one play, but Stewart showed off positive attributes on nearly all of his 16 touches. When he didn’t have success, it often included factors outside of his control:
NFL.com
Like the previous example, this rush come out of a bunch formation — two extra blockers against a stacked defensive front. But the results are much different. Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley shoots into the backfield immediately after the snap. Such instantaneous penetration dooms a run from the start.To his credit, Stewart shows incredible strength to stay on his feet while he shrugs off Fairley. He has enough physical ability and drive to keep the play alive, but the initial breakthrough is too much to overcome. The time he spent shedding a tackle behind the line of scrimmage allows another wave of defenders to greet him.
While it’s unlikely the Panthers will add a Pro Bowl lineman by Sunday night, they could help Stewart by using certain formations.Many of the their unsuccessful running plays in Week 2 came out of bunch formations — the back was behind the quarterback, with multiple extra blockers in line or the backfield. Those tight personnel groupings should help a power ground game, but spreading things out can create some favorable numbers:
NFL.com
The screenshot above is from Week 1 in Tampa Bay. Running back DeAngelo Williams lines up in the shotgun next to quarterback Derek Anderson. The Panthers also keep one lead blocker — Olsen — in the backfield. That gives them eight players in the box, including the quarterback (a relevant factor with a running threat like Cam Newton).Because the Panthers send out three receivers, the Bucs’ have to take three defenders away from the line of scrimmage. A single high safety lines up deep to protect against a long pass, but he’s too far away to factor against the run. Only seven guys remain in the box, which give the Panthers an advantage before the snap:
NFL.com
When Williams takes the handoff, proper blocking leaves him with only one man to beat (highlighted defender). We don’t know the call’s specific instructions, but it appears Williams can choose to either take the defender straight on, or he can try to outrun him.The blocking to the left of Williams is superb. Left tackle Byron Bell uses his athleticism to redirect the defensive end, while Olsen seals off the edge. Williams outruns the defender and heads through the hole:
NFL.com
When a team can unpack the box, they gain an immediate advantage. With fewer bodies to block, the offensive line can attempt to create bigger holes, and the backs have a chance to use their physical gifts with more space.
Let’s look at one more formation. The Panthers gave this a few tries against the Lions:
NFL.com
The image shows two clear paths for Stewart:
NFL.com
One missed block — left guard Amini Silatolu lost his balance and wound up on the ground — kept Stewart from what could have been a nice-sized gain.
It will be interesting to watch which formations the Panthers run out of against the Steelers. They can still use guys like Stewart and Tolbert to pound the ball, but creating more space out of shotgun formations could help Carolina’s run game get back on track.
