At a time when the NFL is changing kickoff rules to give offenses better field position, the Panthers are the best team in the NFL at pinning their opponents deep: The average line of scrimmage after the Panthers’ kickoffs this season has been the 21-yard line, ranking Carolina No. 1 in the league.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is preparing to face the Panthers on Sunday, and he spent an inordinate amount of his film study time this week trying to figure out how the Panthers do it so well.
“It’s impressive,” Vrabel said. “I sat there and looked at it for two hours last night. Impressive. They’ve got good players, they’ve got great speed. They change the scheme up on you. And so that’ll be critical that we’re able to protect the guy with the ball. They’re flying. And it starts with the kicker, kicks a good kick, dirty kick. So, he’s had the returners sometimes confused. He’s kicking them when he kicks them deep. They’re right at the goal line, forcing you to return them, or last week a couple times they touched it, took a step back and then had it on the 20 yard line. So, they’ve done a fantastic job. Credit to their staff and to the players.”
Vrabel’s use of the word “dirty” in discussing the Panthers’ kickoffs has led to some misleading headlines and social media posts suggesting that Vrabel was accusing the Panthers of somehow cheating to gain an advantage on kickoffs. That is not what he was saying. Vrabel was asked to define the term “dirty kick” and he made clear that it’s a term he uses to describe a kick that lands in the landing zone and is difficult to return.
“One that’s on the ground in between the 20 and the goal line,” Vrabel said when asked what a dirty kick is. “Sometimes it one hops and they can return it, sometimes it kicks and goes sideways and we’ll have to be prepared for that wherever they kick it.”
Vrabel knows his return team has to be prepared for the best kickoff unit in the NFL on Sunday.
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