Chansky’s Notebook: Panthers’ Poor Start

It’s what’s inside that counts for the Carolina Panthers.

The state’s pro football team is off to a worrisome 1-3 start after going 15-1 last season and advancing to the Super Bowl. Cam Newton is on concussion protocol and perhaps should have been since being hammered in the head by the Denver Broncos on opening week. And Josh Norman keeps ragging on his old team’s porous secondary play from his new home in Washington.

So what’s up anyway? As they used to say with a different meaning, it’s all up front that counts. The Panthers are getting poor play from both interior lines, which lead to less protection for Newton on offense and fewer turnovers on defense.

Obviously, opponents have studied what made Newton so great last year and have game-planned to stop him from controlling play on the field when the Cats have the ball. That has led Newton to feel less comfortable in the pocket and running for his life instead of running when he sees a seam. And Newton seems to get less respect from both the defense and the officials when he does take off to run.

He is bludgeoned like a running back, knocked out of the game in Atlanta Sunday while making extra effort to reach the goal line. Newton is not known as a give-it-up quarterback prone to sliding at the end of his run, which makes it illegal for the defense to hit him. And the refs seem to regard him more as a runner and ignore some plays that come very close to helmet-to-helmet hits.

On defense, the Panthers are not the same team that led the NFL in turnover ratio last year, constantly giving the ball back to the offense with great field position. Instead, they have five interceptions versus seven for their opponents and lost one more fumble than the other team after four weeks.

Their statistics are not bad and far better than a typical 1-3 record. The schedule is tougher and doesn’t preclude a Panthers turn-around. But it cannot happen without Cam and better protection for him when he does return and, definitely, more turnovers by the defense. That’s what made Carolina so great in 2015.