Football is an amazing game, both for the players and for the fans. Sometimes though, like today, we are reminded that the NFL is at times a thirsty Leviathan that feeds on our dreams of greatness and will at times drag you down into the very depths of the abyss. As Saints fans were are all too familiar with the injury bug and how ruthless the realities of the game we love can be. That is why I have a certain amount of empathy (but no sympathy) for what Panther fans have to be feeling right now. The loss of Kelvin Benjamin is a big one for the team. Not only was he their ONLY proven receiver, but he was quickly becoming a major matchup that the team could use to its advantage to push forward what is otherwise a subpar offense.
Benjamin tore his ACL at practice today and is now out for the 2015 Season. The impact to the Panthers is devastating. The key pieces to their offense are now Jonathan Stewart (who is never healthy), rookie Delvin Funchess (Nick Toon basically), and Greg Olsen. Olsen remains quietly one of the best tight ends in the NFL and will continue his strong play in my opinion, but the rest of the cast is floating somewhere between slightly above average to outright poor. They also just signed QB Cam Newton to a massive new extension and you have to believe that losing one of his key weapons will hurt him. I still think Newton will be a dangerous matchup if for no other reason than his running ability, but it was Benjamin’s range as a receiver that allowed him to step it up last year.
Newton has never been anything close to what anyone would call a ‘precise’ passer, brilliantly talented sure, but his consistency and precision have always been lacking. In some ways the loss of Benjamin to the Panthers would be like losing Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston, and Brandin Cooks all at once for Brees. Not from a numbers standpoint (not even close), but from an impact standpoint its comparable. While the Saints offense is an equal opportunity show (at least its supposed to be) that functions based on Drew hitting whoever the open man is and taking advantage of his poise and accuracy…the Panther’s is not. The Panther’s offense functions on a strong running game, including Newton, and a deep passing game predicated on Benajamin’s ability to beat his man one on one using his tremendous size and range.
I am honestly wondering where they will find comparable production, and considering the state of the NFC South in general the Panthers chances of repeating as champs for a second time in 3 years (you get an asterisk for 7-8-1 sorry guys…didn’t ‘win’ anything) just took a major hit.
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