Norv Turner didn’t seem like the most likely candidate to help jumpstart the Panthers’ offense. His traditional style of offense didn’t appear to show the innovation needed to coach a unique talent at the quarterback position like Cam Newton, but the Panthers offense has made magic so far this season.
According to Football Outsiders DVOA metric, Carolina had the 17th ranked offense in 2017 — something that shouldn’t happen with a dual-threat quarterback as good as Cam Newton. After bringing in Turner as offensive coordinator, the offense has improved to No. 5 this season season.
Having a former MVP at quarterback in Cam Newton obviously helps, but the Panthers are doing a good job of calling plays that accentuate the talent they have on offense. One of the big ways they’re doing it is through the use of ball fakes and motions that distract defenders.
This is something that they’ve been doing all season, and it was on full display in their Week 8 game against the Baltimore Ravens. Here are three ways the Panthers got loose for big gains through deception against that stalwart Ravens defense.
Carolina likes to run plays away from where the offensive line is going
One of the easiest ways to fake defenses out is to call plays that quickly get them out of position using the offensive line. On this play in the first quarter, the Panthers are throwing a bubble screen to rookie D.J. Moore, but first they fake a run to the left to get the Ravens’ front seven out of position.
Before linebacker C.J. Mosley (#57) recognizes where the ball is going, Carolina has two blockers on three Ravens defenders on the right side of the field. This is supposed to leave Moore with a one-on-one opportunity in the open field against safety Eric Weddle.
Mosley rotates over and gives Baltimore an extra defender on the screen pass, but Moore gives a great individual effort to churn out some extra yards for a first down.
Carolina uses a lot of orbit motion to get playmakers in space
Orbit motion is one of the trademarks of Carolina’s offense this season. The Panthers will motion a player behind the quarterback and the running back to draw the attention of the defense.
Watch how the Ravens defenders flow with the orbit motion run by Christian McCaffrey. They’re expecting a potential screen pass to him, but Carolina comes back in the opposite direction and threw a pass to Moore, who was wide open in the space vacated by Baltimore’s linebackers.
Moore isn’t a natural route runner and struggles at getting open that way, but he is a terror with the ball in his hands. This is one way to get easy chunk plays with him.
Carolina also uses orbit motion to set up triple-option looks that we often see on Saturdays in college football. The Panthers start with Moore in the slot before motioning him into the backfield behind Newton and McCaffrey.
The motion puts eight defenders in the box for Baltimore, making the option read extremely easy for Newton. Handing the ball off doesn’t make sense because the Ravens have more defenders than the Panthers do blockers. Keeping the ball himself doesn’t make sense either, because Ravens linebacker Matt Judon has a free release toward him at the line of scrimmage.
That leaves Moore as the best option to take the ball on this play. The pitch was poor, but luckily the ball bounced right into his hands. All Moore had to do was outrace a 36-year-old Terrell Suggs to the sideline before he was off to the second level.
Cam Newton forces defenses to defend one extra guy
Newton’s running prowess has made him one of the more difficult quarterbacks to defend since he came in the league in 2011. One of his signature plays is the bootleg.
Most quarterbacks aren’t keeping a bootleg for themselves because most of them simply don’t have the athletic prowess to run away from defenders — Newton does. Carolina fakes a power play with McCaffrey, but Newton keeps the ball on the backside of the formation and runs in for a touchdown.
All of this helped them run through the Ravens’ top-ranked defense for a 36-21 thrashing.
The Panthers have a real chance to establish themselves as Super Bowl contenders if they can keep their momentum going on offense. If the season ended today, Carolina would be the No. 5 seed heading to Chicago to take on the Bears. That’s the same spot they were in for last year’s playoffs, but their offense in 2018 gives them a chance to be in an even better position.
The Panthers are finally making offensive plays to help them win games, and they’ve already scored 30 points three times in seven games, something they did five times in all of last season. Carolina’s new and improved offense gives them a chance to make a serious playoff push toward one of the top seeds in the NFC.