Jump to content
  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

Mandel: Panther D is "Super Bowl quality"


gettlemanjack

Recommended Posts

Ross Mandel, editor in chief of nfldraftbible.com:

"Carolina's defense is awesome. Even though the league may eventually get around to suspending Greg Hardy for half a dozen games, the Panthers front will be fine. With Charles Johnson outside, Colin Cole and Star Lotulelei in the middle, and depth that includes guys like Kawann Short , Dwan Edwards , and promising rookie Kony Ealy , this team is set where it matters most. At linebacker, the very solid Luke Kuechly will be flanked by Thomas Davis (his resurrection is one of the most underreported stories in recent NFL history) and run specialist Chase Blackburn , though second-year man A.J. Klein should push Blackburn for time. This is truly an outstanding front 7... the (Carolina) defense is Super Bowl quality."

another writer who maintains an NFL blog covering all 32 teams:

"With the changes made on the offensive side of the ball, especially with the wide receivers, the Panthers will be under the microscope early on in the new season, but with a quarterback like Cam Newton, who can hurt opposing defenses with both his arm and his legs, the Panthers should be fine.

...

The defense is outstanding and rivals that of Seattle and San Francisco in the NFC, which gives the Panthers a chance every week they suit up. The front seven are outstanding and led by Luke Kuechly, the linebacking is among the best in the game...the front four of this ferocious defense terrorized opposing quarterbacks last season.

...

As long as Newton remains healthy and the running game keeps things moving along, the offense should provide enough to not put any unnecessary pressure on the defense. This team could very well win the NFC South again this season."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is true.

Can we do it back to back. No reason we shouldn't be able to

 

With the talent on this team (even though we don't have the ideal guy there at LT or SS) there really isn't a reason why we can't do it again and make it to the playoffs.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll have to see our defense live up to the expectations of being great. Hopefully they can deliver.

Defense needs Cam saving the O to be elite again....IMO. Cam made the O work....and the O and ST gave our D the opportunity to be elite.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With the talent on this team (even though we don't have the ideal guy there at LT or SS) there really isn't a reason why we can't do it again and make it to the playoffs.

Need a reasonably healthy and functional Cam to make it.....Derek Anderson can't bail out our O and make up for the deficiencies the way Cam did last year

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Need a reasonably healthy and functional Cam to make it.....Derek Anderson can't bail out our O and make up for the deficiencies the way Cam did last year

 

I don't wanna think about that haha 

 

I keep looking past the fact Cam may not be 100%. erhhhhehh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to the D..our D-line is so incredibly lethal:

 

Hardy-Star-Cole-Johnson & rotation is dirty--Ealy, Addison, Horton, Frank at DE and Short (who's basically a starter), Edwards, Hardy inside.  

 

Going up against Tampon Bay should be an onslaught.  My expectations are high against a shakier OL than ours.   

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have two top tier defensive ends and arguably a top five DT. Not to mention the best LB in the NFL and another top 15 one. Our front 7 is the best in the NFL with San Francisco being the only team close to having one as good as ours. As long as our secondary is respectable we will have another top 3 defense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Defense needs Cam saving the O to be elite again....IMO. Cam made the O work....and the O and ST gave our D the opportunity to be elite.

We can still be top 5 so long as it's not a complete disaster on offense. That's still elite to me. We got a heavy rotation on the line.

To go top 2 again we'd need cam to be Shula cam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.

  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • You're not understanding what I'm saying. I'm saying that truly elite players will always have a market because they're elite difference makers and that at the "devalued positions" the NFL has discovered that those are spots where unless you have an elite talent there you have an opportunity to get similar results out of run of the mill talent for run of the mill money compared to good talent for good money. The drop off in overall unit performance isn't dramatic dropping down from "good" to "JAG" and it saves money to invest in the premium positions. It's about skill sets and what is hardest to find, simple supply and demand. There's just more serviceable LBs and RBs and safeties out there than their are CBs and pass rushers and QBs. And honestly, a big part of our historic lack of consistent success has been investing too many premium draft and cap resources into those devalued positions. Yeah, we've had a lot of great off the ball LBs and RBs on our way to be a franchise with an overall losing record. Pointing to our success at those positions is proving my point because I just point to our W-L record and overall lack of historical quality at premium positions like QB, WR, CB, etc. We've sucked in large part because we've valued the wrong position groups. In a vacuum it doesn't matter. But in actuality every high pick or big chunk of cap you spend on an off the ball LB or RB or IOL is a high pick or big chunk of cap you couldn't spend on a QB or CB or WR or OT.
    • Right before Kuechly retired, we had some of the worst D line play that year.  We were ranked 29th against the run in 2019.   I remember even Kuechly struggled to get off the blocks at times because the linemen were on second level so quickly due to our porous line made up of Kyle Love, Vernon Butler and a washed up Gerald McCoy.   
    • fingers crossed for BlueSky embeds to come with the board update at least all the schedule reveals will be on the youtube  
×
×
  • Create New...