Batted balls have become a significant problem for Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
He had five of them last week, which was a clear contributing factor in Carolina’s 26-16 loss to Arizona. And Mayfield got a bit testy with the media on Wednesday when asked what he can do in practice to correct the issue.
Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo faced a few questions about the batted passes in his Thursday press conference and said opposing teams now know it’s something they can look for.
“I think once things start to happen in this league, like tipped balls, or anything that starts to happen in this league that shows up and it’s repetitive, other teams try to incorporate it,” McAdoo said. “It’s a copy-cat league. So what you’re seeing a little bit is teams are rushing and then once they feel that they’re blocked, or they’re stopped, they’re stymied — whether it’s on the edge or it’s on the interior — they’ll stop and they’ll put their hands up and jump.
“The line’s been doing a good job of driving out and trying to pull their hands, doing their technique there, I don’t want to get too specific with that. But teams, they try to take what other teams have done to be successful at it and incorporate it into their own arsenal right there. And that’s what we’re going to have to battle as we move forward.”
McAdoo noted that the batted balls happen for a “variety of reasons.”
“When you look at them, each play kind of tells its own story,” McAdoo said. “So, you’d like to sit here and say, ‘Well, it’s this one thing that’s showing up that’s leading to a batted ball.’ But that’s not the case. So, that’s something that we are diving into, we’re studying, and each one has its own reason for it happening. But it’s not all the same reason.”
The Panthers are currently 17th in points scored but 32nd in total yards. That’s in part because they’re averaging the fewest plays per drive and are converting a league-worst 25.5 percent of third downs.
“Whether it’s the batted balls, or whatever the case may be — we need to have more productive plays and get those out of our game,” McAdoo said. “But we’re going to have to work on it. It’s easier said than done.”
Things won’t get easier this week, as the Panthers are taking on the league’s top defense in the 49ers.
