Sir Purr
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Can Kyle Allen get back on track?
After winning his first five games as a starter without throwing a single interception, Kyle Allen was brought back down to earth against the 49ers. The second-year quarterback threw the first three interceptions of his NFL career in what ended up being his worst performance of the season.
“He just said, ‘I should have known better,’” Rivera said of Allen. “He took it out on himself, but in a very calm way. You know, ‘I should have known better,’ ‘I saw this,’ ‘Hey, I learned from it, coach,’ so that all I can appreciate. He is who he is.”
Allen has always been described as the definition of cool – never getting too worked up, always staying calm. That wasn’t the case last Sunday, as he was forced to play from a significant deficit for the first time in his career. If the Panthers hope to get back to their winning ways against the Titans, Allen will need to channel that inner peace once again.
Getting separation from Tennessee’s physical secondary
An important part of getting Allen back in his groove will be having his wide receivers get open, which has proven to be quite challenging against the Titans’ secondary.
Second-year head coach Mike Vrabel has instilled a physical brand of football in Tennessee, and it shows in the team’s defense. The Titans’ D only gives up an average of 16.9 points per game (4th) and the group has recorded 22 sacks (T-10th) and eight interceptions (T-5th).
“They’re aggressive by nature,” Rivera said. “They play a lot of man coverage. They’re physical, they’re touchy-handsy, they’re always touchy, pushy, shoving. There’s an element to that that I don’t think people quite understand. When you’re a physical team and you try to do things physically, you send a message, and he’s (Vrabel) got an aggressive team.”
Critics of the Panthers have said that wide receivers Curtis Samuel and DJ Moore have underperformed so far this season, but Rivera and offensive coordinator Norv Turner said they’re pleased with the duo’s progression.
An easy way for the two to silence the critics would be by turning in an explosive outing against the Titans.