Panthers can’t forget about Calvin Ridley
Calvin Ridley didn’t help the Falcons against the Eagles, but the Panthers need to make sure he doesn’t break out during Week 2.
Julio Jones will be the first man the Panthers look to stop this week, but that doesn’t mean Ron Rivera’s defense can forget about Calvin Ridley. If they do, the first round pick might make Carolina’s decision to draft D.J. Moore ahead of him look like a big mistake.
Ridley didn’t touch the ball once for Atlanta against the Eagles in their opener. Not surprisingly, offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian insists they want to get him more involved against the Panthers. After all, decreasing his involvement would be pretty challenging.
The Panthers secondary can’t afford to forget about Ridley. James Bradberry will spend most of his day following Julio Jones around the field, which will leave rookie Donte Jackson with the task of going up against his former SEC West rival. The brash young cornerback has to shut Ridley down one-on-one to make sure the rest of his defense can focus their attention on Jones.
Expect Jackson to take the battle right to Ridley. If we’ve learned anything at all about the former LSU star, it’s that he has extreme confidence in his own abilities. He certainly won’t be intimidated by going up against another rookie. There is a fine line between confidence and delusion. Jackson needs to make sure he stays on the right side of that equation.
None of this means the Panthers have to shut Ridley out again. That would be great, but the Falcons will almost certainly game plan to get him his first catch of the season early. The idea of taking some potential targets away from Jones should have some appeal to Eric Washington and the defensive coaching staff. They don’t want to give up big plays to Ridley, but no one will stress if he manages to make a few catches underneath.
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In the end, the Panthers know Jones is going to get his share of catches and yards in this game. The key will be making sure Matt Ryan can’t make another receiver into a star for this week. That makes Jackson’s matchup with Ridley one to watch on Sunday.