How did Derrick Brown fair in the second half?
Coming out of the half, Brown didn’t lose a step. Here we have what looks like another wide-zone run from Los Angeles, however this time, Brown is away from the run design, yet he is still able to make a play. He’s able to quickly diagnose what the play-call and reacts in an instant; the center crosses his face and he knows that there’s a pretty good chance it’s another wide-zone run and he gets into the guard’s chest controlling both the point-of-attack and the line of scrimmage.
Brown can stand his ground and not be forced off his spot allowing him to close and make a play. Thankfully, he was able to some help from his teammates who do a half-decent job at filling their lanes, but had it not been for Brown there’s a chance the running back is one-on-one with a safety.
The ability to move NFL offensive lineman at will in your third game is absurd. If you were to watch this game next to his college tape it would be tough to tell the difference other than the logo on the helmet.
Brown saw most of his reps on first and second down, but when he was able to let loose as a pass rusher he did just that. He still lacks pass-rush moves and counters to get off blocks, but the raw power he possesses allows him to move the pocket as he did in the clip above. There isn’t much the center can do other than hitting the weight more Monday-Friday to deal with a guy like Brown.
The Panthers sneaked out a close win on Sunday. How did Brown look in crunch time?