You know when you punch numbers into a calculator and out pops a number you don’t expect, so you then hit ‘AC’ and redo the math? That’s what happened to me while sitting in a Berkeley coffee shop Monday afternoon.
Shaq Thompson’s lack of playing time was certainly noticeable during the Panthers’ loss to the Raiders on Sunday, and it was confirmed when official snap count totals revealed the linebacker played only 17 of a possible 54 snaps. So the natural assumption was the Panthers must not think much of Thompson’s development.
Then I did the math.
First, here are his snap counts on defense this year:
| Opp. | Def. Snaps | Possible |
|---|---|---|
| DEN | 18 | 58 |
| SF | 30 | 65 |
| MIN | 34 | 55 |
| ATL | 52 | 67 |
| TB | 50 | 73 |
| NO | 72 | 73 |
| ARI | 6 | 71 |
| LA | DNP | |
| KC | DNP | |
| NO | 25 | 76 |
| OAK | 17 | 74 |
| Total | 304 | 612 |
304 out of 612 equals 49.7 percent. And that includes Week 8 when he sprained a knee early in the second quarter against the Cardinals.
Now, want to know how much he played on defense as a rookie? 34.3 percent.
Why Klein?
Thompson’s lack of work against the Raiders was so curious because A.J. Klein was asked to play every snap in place of Luke Kuechly. Oakland then did a good job getting its talented receiving corps in one-on-one coverage, most notably on tight end Clive Walford’s 12-yard game-tying touchdown and on wideout Michael Crabtree’s 49-yard catch that set up the winning field goal.
“We should have had more population around that throw in terms of helping A.J.,” defensive coordinator Sean McDermott explained Monday, hinting that safety Tre Boston should have been closer to the play.
And to be fair to Klein, he did have solid coverage on both plays, especially considering he was nearly 50 yards downfield on the Crabtree grab. But many were left wondering why the Panthers kept Thompson, who’s more of a natural fit in pass coverage, on the sideline.
“They came out and they gave us some four-wides and some five-wides personnel groupings,” coach Ron Rivera said. “We had to go right into our nickel package which kind of put us in a tough spot.”
That meant using the smaller nickel duo of Leonard Johnson and Robert McClain instead of Thompson. Yet that doesn’t explain why the Panthers didn’t employ a Thompson-Thomas Davis tandem like they did a handful of times when Kuechly missed three starts last season.
Why not use Thompson or Davis at middle linebacker?
“Thomas is a player that feels at home with that weak linebacker spot,” McDermott said.
Added Rivera:
“What’s happening is the way we use Shaq as far as playing not just the outside linebacking position, but he’s also playing what we call the Buffalo position,” Rivera said. “He’s doing double duty in terms of learning, so we put a lot on his plate to begin with.”
Slow But Steady
For his part, Thompson wasn’t willing to publicly question his role.
“When my number is called, I just go out there,” he said. “If not, I will be on special teams.”
Against the Raiders, Thompson played just four fewer plays on special teams than he did on defense. So as a snapshot, it was a peculiar way to use last year’s first-round pick as he heads toward the finish line of his sophomore season. But a closer look at his season-long playing time shows Thompson’s development, while still not on a fast-track, is at least inching forward.
“It’s a challenge at times to sometimes play two positions, let alone three,” McDermott said. “It’s something that we talk about and vet out on our end.
“But we feel confident with A.J. We feel like we’ve won with him, and at the end of the day, we’re always trying to put the best 11 on the field.”