Pelissero: Panthers don't need to push panic button ... yet
It's not panic time yet for the Carolina Panthers, who got blasted the past two weeks by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens — but still are off to their best four-game start under coach Ron Rivera entering Sunday's home meeting with the Chicago Bears.
"We've had our share of tough times," tight end Greg Olsen told Paste BN Sports. "I think that's what's made us pretty resilient. We're 2-2. We're sitting atop our division. Considering how bad we've played the past couple weeks, we're actually surprisingly in pretty good shape."
The New Orleans Saints are supposed to be Carolina's principal challenger in the NFC South. But their star-studded offense has struggled to score, and their defense — which lost Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd to a season-ending knee injury in practice Thursday — has been horrible in a 1-3 start.
The Atlanta Falcons (2-2) are down to nubs on the offensive line after putting two more starters on injured reserve this week. And they continue to play poorly on the road.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3) looked like one of the worst teams in football before scratching out a win last week at Pittsburgh.
The Panthers have their own issues: franchise tagged defensive end Greg Hardy's indefinite banishment to the exempt list, a defense that hemorrhaged 75 points and almost 400 rushing yards the past two weeks and a depleted backfield that's down to undrafted rookie Darrin Reaves as the starter.
"A big part of it is just getting some of our guys back," Olsen said, "and then just getting back to the formula that was effective for us last year — running the ball, playing good defense, being smart with the ball, not turning the ball over and giving the other team short fields."
Last week's loss stung a little more against the Ravens and former Panthers receiver Steve Smith, who delivered on his promise to stick it to his old team, scoring twice in a 38-10 Baltimore rout.
But the Panthers are used to being in a similar spot entering the season's second quarter. They started 1-3 a year ago, then ripped off 11 victories in their last 12 games to win the division. They started 1-6 in 2012 and 1-5 in 2011 but played well down the stretch of those seasons, too.
But there's no time to waste this time, given the schedule that lies ahead. After the Bears game Sunday, the Panthers play five in a row against teams that made the playoffs in 2013: at Cincinnati, at Green Bay, home against Seattle and New Orleans, and at Philadelphia.
"The vibe is pretty good," Olsen said. "We've been here before."
Can Bortles revive Jags?
Quarterback play hasn't been the biggest problem in the Jacksonville Jaguars' 0-4 start. But rookie first-round draft pick Blake Bortles certainly showed enough flashes in his NFL starting debut last week to justify the Jags' belief that he can spark a turnaround.
Bortles' 78.4% completion rate was the best ever for a rookie throwing at least 30 passes in his first start, though two of his eight incompletions were picked off — one thrown late, the other a poor read on which Bortles never saw the safety — in a 33-14 loss at San Diego.
"He's a better athlete than you think," one longtime AFC scout told Paste BN Sports after breaking down Bortles' game. The scout spoke on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons.
"He can make plays off schedule. He doesn't have a huge arm, but he's got a good arm, and he's a tough guy. I think he is (going to help them)."
That'd be good news for a Jaguars team that hasn't had stability at the most important position since they cut David Garrard in a stunning move five days before the 2011 opener. That came just a few months after they used the No. 10 overall pick on Blaine Gabbert, who was traded away after three lousy seasons.
Bortles was also productive in his regular-season debut, passing for two touchdowns after relieving veteran Chad Henne at halftime of a blowout home loss Sept. 21 against the Indianapolis Colts.
"Then he scrambles out, throws a ball across his body, a guy (Colts cornerback Greg Toler) picks it off and runs it back for a touchdown," the scout said. "(Bortles is) going to have those.
"But to me, I think they've got a guy that they can settle the position for a while."
Three and out
— Minnesota Vikings WR Cordarrelle Patterson's lack of touches the past two weeks — four catches for 46 yards, no rushes — is a head scratcher given his dynamic talent. But it didn't surprise the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, even with Vikings third-string quarterback Christian Ponder struggling to throw in a 42-10 blowout. "You watch the film, and the ball was going to 17 (Jarius Wright) and 15 (Greg Jennings) for the most part," Packers CB Tramon Williams told Paste BN Sports. "You saw the plays that Patterson got. It was (manufactured) plays that you can get the ball into his hands. But for this passing scheme, Greg and Wright was the guys that they're getting the ball to." With a longer week to prepare for Detroit, look for offensive coordinator Norv Turner to address that.
— One thing that jumps out to NFL scouts going into the University of Michigan this fall: No offensive line prospects from a school that usually has one or two every year. Two (Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield) went in the first three rounds in 2014. There is draftable talent amidst the mess there, though. Receiver Devin Funchess figures to be a high pick. Linebacker Jake Ryan and defensive end Frank Clark are late- or perhaps mid-round possibilities.
— Combined record so far for the teams quarterbacked by the "big four" of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees: 8-8.
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Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero