Can Jeremy Chinn stop Kyle Pitts? Scouting key Panthers vs. Falcons matchups
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Panthers at Falcons
Expanded coverage of Carolina’s Week 8 game
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Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn embraces his upcoming matchup with Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts. After Thursday’s practice, Chinn didn’t shy away from questions about Atlanta’s new weapon.
“I see it as an opportunity,” he said.
Chinn walked a delicate line of playing coy yet extruding confidence.
Pitts versus Chinn pits two of the league’s bright young playmakers against each. It’s the first of what should be several meetings for these two new division rivals.
Atlanta selected Pitts No. 4 overall in the 2021 draft. As a late second-round pick in 2020, Chinn didn’t come in with first-round expectations but quickly established himself as a versatile defender in Phil Snow’s system.
Competing against a 6-foot-6, 240-pound hybrid tight end is exactly what the Panthers drafted Chinn to do. Let’s examine this matchup more closely along with other key positional battles ahead of the Panthers’ Week 8 game against Atlanta.
Pitts is unlike any receiver Chinn has faced
Last week versus Miami, Pitts caught seven of his eight targets for 163 yards. He lined up out wide like a receiver and made multiple highlight plays. With 36 seconds left until half, Dolphins safety Eric Rowe lined up against Pitts isolated slightly above the numbers. Atlanta had a bunch formation to quarterback Matt Ryan’s left.
At the snap, Ryan peaked right. Then immediately shifted left and dropped a high ball for Pitts, who cruised by Rowe. Pitts fought off a defensive pass interference call and made a 39-yard one-handed grab.
Then in the second half he set up Atlanta’s eventual game-winning field goal. Again split wide, Miami put two-time Pro Bowl corner Xavien Howard on Pitts. Didn’t matter. He won at the line of scrimmage with a swift inside jab and stacked Howard behind him. Ryan dropped another dime, good for 29 yards.
Chinn hasn’t faced an athlete like Pitts yet. Carolina defends tight ends well. They rank 19th in yards allowed versus opposing tight ends. However, Pitts is coming off back-to-back 100-plus yard receiving games.
There probably isn’t a defender that can stop Pitts one-on-one. But combining Chinn’s ability with Snow’s scheme should keep Pitts from notching a third triple-digit outing.
Stephon Gilmore’s return
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore will make his 2021 debut Sunday against Atlanta. On Friday, coach Matt Rhule said he’ll wait until after Saturday’s practice to decide whether cornerback Stephon Gilmore will play versus Atlanta or not. From a team-building perspective, reps for Gilmore help the Panthers defense eventually take shape.
They traded for him with the expectation he’d be an every-down cornerback, still capable of shutting down one side of the field. Expect Gilmore to play a limited number of snaps. He hasn’t played since Week 12 of the 2020 season. And against the Falcons’ wide receivers Carolina doesn’t necessarily need him.
That’s because it has been a slow start for standout receiver Calvin Ridley. Against Miami, he secured only four of his 10 targets for 26 yards and a touchdown. He’s far off his 2020 pace when he finished with the league’s fifth-most receiving yards (1,374). Through five games, his 281 yards are puzzling.
Ridley requested a mental health break during Week 5 and didn’t play against the Jets. Still, one missed game doesn’t explain his limited production when available. Ridley leads Atlanta in targets (52) but only has 31 catches.
Behind Ridley, Panthers defensive backs don’t have much to worry about. No other Falcons receiver has more than 103 yards through six games. Atlanta tries to win with its tight ends and running backs.
Dual-threat receiving running back Cordarrelle Patterson is second on the team in receiving yards. The Falcons use him mostly in the backfield, but he runs plenty of patterns. In man coverage he’ll likely draw linebackers Jermaine Carter or Shaq Thompson.
With Thompson returning from a foot injury, Carter will probably take more snaps and draw coverage responsibilities against Patterson. That matchup favors Atlanta.
DJ Moore and Robby Anderson versus a healthy Falcons secondary
The Panthers’ passing offense has a prime opportunity to establish itself as an explosive unit against Atlanta. The Falcons’ pass defense ranks 30th, according to Football Outsiders DVOA metric.
Just as Carolina has struggled to find consistency in its passing offense, so has Atlanta in coverage. Cornerback A.J. Terrell returned to practice on Friday after not playing last week due to a concussion. He is their No. 1 guy and will likely line up often against Moore. Rookie Avery Williams sat out the past two weeks with a hamstring injury but did not show up on the final injury report.
The Falcons will be without slot cornerback Isaiah Oliver, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4.
Moore and Anderson have both struggled with drops this season. They have an advantage in this matchup, assuming they continue to run clean routes and trust their fundamentals catching the ball.
Williams has only played in two games this season, totaling 53 snaps. Fifth-year veteran Fabian Moreau stepped in for Williams but hasn’t been a stopper. He’s allowed four touchdowns, 222 yards and nearly a 70% catch rate on 232 coverage snaps.
Whether it’s Moreau or Williams, Anderson is set up for a season-best performance. Sending double coverage at Moore makes sense for Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees. The Panthers haven’t had a counter for it. Anderson winning versus the Falcons inexperienced and unproven No. 2 options will be vital on Sunday.
This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Can Jeremy Chinn stop Kyle Pitts? Scouting key Panthers vs. Falcons matchups."
