NFC Championship Game 2016: 5 reasons the Carolina Panthers could beat the Arizona Cardinals

The Panthers will control the game (and the Cardinals aggression) with the ground attack

The Arizona Cardinals’ defense is among the most aggressive in the NFL, and while this may spell doom for most styles of offense, this plays right into the Panthers’ hands.

The Panthers’ rushing attack is based off of misdirection. Cam Newton does a ton of his damage on the ground on read-option plays, and a big reason why is that his potential options and blockers are drawing away defenders and causing uncertainty.

There are many layers to this. Cam will freeze the defenders by holding off the hand off, or by faking on a real hand off like he will be (a) rolling out to a bootleg or (b) countering to the weak side of the line. Misdirecting defenders creates big opportunities for players on reverses and end-arounds, which then in turn becomes another element used to draw players for fakes and misdirections. It’s like an onion.

Perhaps the most ingenious element of this rushing attack occurs when Newton himself takes the ball. Oftentimes his receivers and backs, the ones used to draw away pressure from Newton, are now positioned as lead blockers up the middle or off the tackle. On quarterback draws that look like passing plays to begin with, TE Greg Olsen will pretend to go out on a route, but will end up positioned right where Newton needs him to block a linebacker or a defensive back.

This results not only in plenty of room for Newton, but also a ton of space for Jonathan Stewart and the other Carolina running backs — Fozzy Whittaker, Cameron Artis-Payne, fullback Mike Tolbert. Lanes on sweeps and draw plays that would have normally been clogged with defenders are now clear, and the backs are free to pick up gains in chunks.

Next: Good Time for a Tight End