News » The Panthers are in good shape with their special team

s unit heading into the 2019 season thanks to The Specialists."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Keep Sounding PodcastPanthers 2019 NFL DraftCSR Film RoomPanthers 2018 season review: Special teamsNew Christian McCaffrey Jersey For Sale ,5commentsThe Panthers are in good shape with their special teams unit heading into the 2019 season thanks to The Specialists.ESTShareTweetShareSharePanthers 2018 season review: Special teamsThe Panthers’ 2018 season may not have turned out the way they wanted it to, but that wasn’t the fault of their special teams unit. (In fact, they beat the Giants in Week 5 thanks to a 63-yard field goal.) Because kickers and punters are everyone’s favorite topic to discuss, let’s take a closer look at what Graham Gano, Michael Palardy and J.J. Jansen offered the Panthers in 2018.KickerGano was the team’s kicker for the first 12 games of the season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. In those 12 games he was 14-for-16 in field goal attempts (87.5%) and 30-for-33 in extra point attempts (90.9%). One of his misses was from 30-39 yards while the other was from 50+. Gano’s most exciting kick in 2018 was the 63-yarder he nailed in the closing seconds to help the Panthers beat the Giants in Week 5.Gano injured his knee in practice before the Panthers’ Week 14 game against the Browns and was placed on injured reserve two weeks later. Chandler Catanzaro was signed to fill in for Gano over the final four weeks of the season. Catanzaro was 5-for-5 in field goal attempts and 7-for-8 in extra points in his four weeks with the Panthers.Heading into 2019 it’s Gano’s job to lose considering the amount of money the Panthers have tied into the position. I’m sure the coaching staff will bring someone into training camp to ‘push Gano’ during the preseason, but unless he injures himself or completely forgets how to kick a football it’s almost a guarantee that Gano will be the Panthers’ kicker in 2019.PunterPalardy was rewarded in 2018 with a three-year contract extension worth $7.5 million after setting a franchise record for net punting average in 2017.The Panthers will have Palardy’s services until the end of the 2021 season, so it’s safe to say that he will be dropping bombs for Carolina in 2019. While he’s no Brad Nortman, it’s nice that the Panthers have a quality punter who can flip the field if needed for the next few years.Long snapperJansen’s name doesn’t come up very often in discussions about the Panthers Christian McCaffrey Jersey On Sale , and that’s just the way he would like it. Normally, you don’t know who the long snapper is unless he’s really bad at his job, and the fact that you never see or hear anything about Jansen says a lot about how good he is at whippin’ the football back to Palardy. Jansen is under contract until 2020 at just over $1 million per year, so there’s a pretty good chance that he’ll be on the roster for the duration of the contract.What’s next?We shouldn’t expect to see any changes heading into the 2019 season. All three players are under reasonably affordable contracts (well, maybe not Gano... but he’s here whether we like it or not) and provided enough value in 2018 to keep them around for at least another year. Other than the minor issue of Gano being slightly overpaid, the Panthers are in good shape with their specialists. They have a good long snapper, a good punter and a good kicker. Hopefully that continues to be true in 2019 and beyond.Author’s note: Despite what Gano, Palardy and Jansen may have accomplished on the field in 2018 Christian McCaffrey Jersey Sale , nothing will ever top the moment they became The Specialists. Nothing. The Panthers need to protect Cam Newton. Is Kaleb Gary a good fit for them?"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Keep Sounding PodcastPanthers 2019 NFL DraftCSR Film RoomCarolina Panthers Film RoomPanthers 2019 NFL DraftFilm room scouting report on Washington OT Kaleb McGaryNew,20commentsThe Panthers need to protect Cam Newton. Is Kaleb Gary a good fit for them?EDTShareTweetShareShareFilm room scouting report on Washington OT Kaleb McGaryJennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY SportsKaleb McGary grew up in the suburbs of Seattle in Fife, Wash. McGary was rated as the No. 2 prospect in the state according to Scout.com and Rivals. Since 2016, McGary started every game for the Washington Huskies as a right tackle. He was named to the All Pac 12 First Team in 2017 and 2018. McGary tested as an above average athlete at the Combine. He posted a 0.7 sigma, which is in the 72.7th percentile according to SPARQ. McGary has a fascinating story off the field, which I fully recommend checking out. Film reviewMcGary is a massive human. His game is built on being a mauler at the point of attack and moving defenders in the run game. Washington’s offense had a blend of zone and gap runs in 2018. They ran zone 57.2% of the time while gap accounted for 31.1% according to Sports Info Solutions. Note: McGary (No. 58) is the right tackle in each of these clips.McGary understands angles and he is a good mover at the second level. On this run, McGary gets movement on the edge rusher by using his outside shoulder. Then he makes his way to the linebacker to clear the lane for the running back.McGary and the tight end combine to completely wipe out the edge rusher. His punch is so damn strong and I feel sorry for anyone who has to feel it. The impressive part comes after the first punch. McGary keeps himself under control to immediately prevent the linebacker from getting into the backfield. As McGary moves to the second level, he has a firm understanding of angles once he locates his target. His movement is controlled Replica Christian McCaffrey Jersey , but then once he makes contact he turns the linebacker to the side to open the alley.As I mentioned earlier, McGary just moves people. That’s what he does on this run. His footwork allows him to flow and land a strong punch while he’s moving. As a pass protector, McGary shows similar nastiness. Once he gets his hands on the edge rusher, he wipes them out. This comes from his grip strength and hand use to combat any pass rush moves.Washington’s passing offense didn’t require McGary to make many kick slides. As a result, McGary takes a short set where he can get his hands immediately on the defender. His control on the defender is an area that will help him if he transitions to guard.McGary’s kick slide doesn’t look fluid, but as evidenced by his strong testing scores he does move well to cover ground. As the edge rusher attempts to rush the arc, McGary slides to him. Then, as soon as he gets his hands on him he throws him down. McGary allowed five holding penalties in 2018 Stitched Christian McCaffrey Jersey , which could be an area of improvement as he enters the league. On this holding call, McGary’s doesn’t widen his depth enough. He does well to get his hands on him, but if his kick slide had a better angle he likely doesn’t need to commit the hold. Fit with CarolinaMcGary did have a pre-draft visit with the Panthers, which signals their interest in the former Husky. This came as a surprise to me because Carolina already has multiple starting right tackles on their roster. McGary made 47 consecutive starts at right tackle, but he does have positional versatility. Due to his strengths as a run blocker and his limitations on the kick slide, it wouldn’t be a shock if Carolina seems him as a guard. They could see McGary move to left guard while they sort out the tackle positions. McGary has plenty of upside, but he still has work to do to improve his technique as a pass blocker. Carolina should consider him on Day 2 of the draft.