From Rhule to Teddy: Cardinals get to know the new-look Panthers

You may have noticed it’s 2020. If other things in the world haven’t told you otherwise, just look at the Carolina Panthers.

Ron Rivera, head coach from 2011-19, is now leading the Washington Football Team.

Quarterback Cam Newton’s time with the Panthers ended in less-than-clean terms, and defensive leader Luke Kuechly shocked everyone with a sudden offseason retirement. He’s now in Carolina’s front office.

Even tight end Greg Olsen won’t be tormenting the Arizona Cardinals for their Week 4 road matchup this Sunday. Olsen has two chances to do so down the line when Arizona plays his Seattle Seahawks.

Now it’s head coach Matt Rhule’s Panthers team after he departed a cushy situation with the Baylor Bears to pursue an NFL opportunity. He at least had star running back Christian McCaffrey to lean on in his first year as NFL head coach, but an ankle injury has McCaffrey out against the Cardinals.

All that said, here’s a little get-to-know-you on Rhule, his staff and some new key players for a Carolina (1-2) squad coming off a 21-16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Matt Rhule, head coach

Like Kingsbury, Rhule makes the jump to the NFL from the Big 12. In fact, Rhule and Baylor defeated Kingsbury’s Texas Tech Red Raiders in 2018 a day before Kingsbury lost his job and ended up on the market.

Rhule told reporters this week that he sent Kingsbury a text following his Texas Tech firing, feeling bad that he had something to do with the dismissal.

While Rhule spent 2012 with the New York Giants as an assistant offensive line coach, he followed Kingsbury in making a leap to a league he’s relatively unfamiliar with. Rhule called up Kingsbury to discuss making the move.

“He’s one of the guys I called when I was trying to figure out last year if I was going to go to the NFL or not. I gave him a call and said, ‘What’s your experience with it?’” Rhule said. “He was kind enough to let me send a couple of my Baylor coaches out to talk football with him when he first went to Arizona to help us in the Big 12.

“So you know what, every chance I have to see him, I make sure to reach out to him, and like I said, he’s always been really good to me.”

Joe Brady, offensive coordinator

The 31-year-old is one of the fastest-rising coaches in football at any level. His big break came in 2017-18 with the New Orleans Saints, when he spent time under coach Sean Payton as an offensive assistant.

Those two years catapulted him to become the passing game coordinator and receivers coach for national champion LSU Tigers last season, in which quarterback Joe Burrow, the 2020 draft’s top pick, won the Heisman by breaking college football passing records. Now, Brady is leading Carolina’s offensive attack.

“It’s very similar to New Orleans’ offense, especially the first-, second-down stuff,” Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “Obviously, Coach Rhule is an offensive line guy and he’s put his twists on the run game and that’s a little different.”

Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson said the ball gets out of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s hands quickly. The Panthers attack the middle of the field, inside the numbers — think of Saints receiver Michael Thomas’ 11 catches for 112 yards in New Orleans’ 31-9 win over Arizona last year.

Teddy Bridgewater, quarterback

Joseph reminded reporters this week that Bridgewater led the Saints to a 5-0 record last year in place of Drew Brees.

His experience as a backup in New Orleans has made it an easier transition to work under Brady, whose time with the Saints crossed over with the quarterback’s in 2018.

Four years removed from a catastrophic knee injury, the 27-year-old Bridgewater looks everything like the starting quarterback he was developing into back with the Minnesota Vikings.

“The ball’s coming really fast, he’s taking care of the ball,” Joseph said. “Just watching him grow and how healthy he looks, the ball is popping off his hands. He can move around, he can scramble and make plays with his feet. He’s been impressive to watch.”

Bridgewater is completing 74% of his passes and has two touchdowns to two interceptions.

Robby Anderson, receiver

Carolina’s shiny new toy at receiver is Anderson, the big-play speedster who is averaging 2.68 yards per route run, which is tied for the tops in the league with Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins.

Anderson, who came over as a free agent after playing for the New York Jets, has 20 receptions for 278 yards. He’s been an nice addition alongside returning starter D.J. Moore, who himself is off to a fast start with 239 receiving yards.

Mike Davis, running back

In McCaffrey’s place is Davis, who spent 2014-18 in the NFC West with the 49ers and Seahawks.

He has 14 rushes for 47 yards plus 16 receptions for 119 more with a touchdown on the ground and in the air.

Derrick Brown, defensive tackle

The 2020 NFL Draft’s seventh overall pick came off the board just before the Arizona Cardinals selected Isaiah Simmons at No. 8.

Brown was quiet in Weeks 1 and 2 but is coming off his best game as a pro with five tackles, three of which were for losses, against the Chargers last week.

Jeremy Chinn, LB

At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, the second-round pick out of Southern Illinois is leading Carolina with 27 tackles thus far.

A safety turned linebacker, he’s played well alongside veteran linebackers Shaq Thompson and Tahir Whitehead.

He represents another young player being relied upon heavily on the defensive side of the ball.

Chinn, Brown, defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos and rookie fourth-round pick Troy Pride have all earned considerable snaps on a defense that also features one-time Cardinals Tre Boston on the backend and veteran Kawann Short up front.

The defense gave up 34 points to the Raiders and 31 to the Buccaneers in the first two weeks of the year before turning things around last week against the Chargers.

Phil Snow, defensive coordinator

Leading the defensive unit is Phil Snow, who followed Rhule from Baylor — meaning he faced Kingsbury’s offenses in 2017-18.

Snow mostly has college coaching experience — he was on Arizona State’s defensive staff under Bruce Snyder from 1992-2000 — but did coach on the Detroit Lions’ staff from 2005-08.

“We got two similar looks the first two weeks, and then this week, we had a little switch up, and we weren’t as detailed, weren’t as sharp, as we should have been,” Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray said. “And I think this week will be another test for multiple looks, different fronts and zone coverage.

“We’ve just got to be ready to be precise, be accurate and take what they give us.”

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