Anonymous offensive assistant coach on Panthers D

[CRA]

No it's not. The d-line is so bad offenses have been singling all of them and bringing up linemen or TEs to block our stud LBs. Countless times I've seen a center blocking Luke nearly out of a play and he still gets to the ball carrier first for the tackle, but instead of after 2 yards its after 10 yards. Hardy contributes hugely to that because he takes a double team so our LBs will go unblocked. And Hardy can actually beat a double team and still take a runner down. Star should be better and KK should play more because both of them need to be able to beat one blocker. But they can't. It all starts with our d-line, not the secondary, not the LBs.

Not true. Go look at the big runs. They aren't getting bodies on our LBs....they jump in wrong gaps, over run the opponent, miss tackles etc.

They are not being taken out of the play. They are being asked to make it.

Someone could run a toss to Charles Johnson'a side and Luke and TD could tackle each other as the opponent goes for 80 yards and someone would claim Greg Hardy would have made a difference.

We are getting pushed around any more than last year against the run. People simply aren't doing there job. Hardy isn't an excuse for what we have been on run D. Pass D maybe

[Cary Kollins]

I think Carolina's D has been more like famine or not-quite-as-bad famine.

[Johnny Rockets]

McDermott in Philly didn't have the linebackers to run his scheme most of the time so they gave up lots of yards and points.  Last year our linebackers played very well and were disciplined.  This year with Blackburn hurt and Davis playing erratically you have one consistent linebacker in Kuechly.  Problem is that he is trying to do too much and often gets sucked up into the interior so teams can easily run outside and make a big play.  He is trying to make up for other guys mistakes and becomes part of the problem.  As you know this defense requires discipline and responsibility with everyone doing their job.  One missed tackle and there is a big gap.  Last year guys would swarm to the ball and keep the mistake to a few yards so there were not as many big plays.  This year one missed tackle results in a 60 yard TD because other players are not swarming to the ball and making up for mistakes or missed tackles.  

 

 

Agree 100%... I think they can make some adjustments and get back to feasting (as Zod called it) but at the same time I think losing guys who "get after it" in the secondary like Munnerlyn and Mitchell may hinder that.

 

As a casual fan watching the games, seeing the missed tackles, missed assignments, bad angles, etc. it all looks very familiar. Especially the big plays and the way the defense basically escorts the opponent into the end zone once they get inside the 20. 

 

McDermott's red zone defense in Philly was last in the league. Again, not saying it's McDermott's fault because the players need to execute.     

[rippadonn]

Not a fan of these hired guns from division foes. I don't get that. Gettleman is always talking about this future credit card and what not but as a Panther fan I'm tired of rebuilding and excuses so all of that is lost on me. You can only keep firing GMs and coaches for so long before the fingers start pointing upstairs.

John Fox is a great coach now huh? Maybe he had limitations here. Just sayin'

[Mr. Scot]

If you've followed his history, this is actually how Ron Rivera led defenses have always been, dating back to even his first years in Chicago.

 

Super aggressive gets you a lot of good, but it can be turned against you.  When that starts happening consistently...Ouch

[CRA]

Not a fan of these hired guns from division foes. I don't get that. Gettleman is always talking about this future credit card and what not but as a Panther fan I'm tired of rebuilding and excuses so all of that is lost on me. You can only keep firing GMs and coaches for so long before the fingers start pointing upstairs.

John Fox is a great coach now huh? Maybe he had limitations here. Just sayin'

Peyton Manning is possible the GOAT.

Fox is still Fox.

[the_philosopher]

I think Carolina's D has been more like famine or not-quite-as-bad famine.

 

Agreed. With the exception of the first two games, I don't think you can call us a feast or famine defense. Teams have been marching the ball on us easily. When I started the thread, I said the "feast or famine" thing might be true of our run defense, but we sure haven't been doing much feasting in the passing game.

 

Edit: Oh, and I still believe in the team to turn it around. (Lately other huddlers have accused me of being a negative fan just because I speak negatively about the past play of the team, which has been..well...negative. But in fact I'm a very positive fan, because I always believe in this team when it comes to the next game---except for 2010, of course)

 

 

[cookinbrak]

Don't discount the fact that Hardy isn't in there drawing double teams. However, it seems like last year, Luke was running through holes that developed for big plays. Now, it seems like the RBs are the ones running through the holes for big plays.

[Professor Queso]

I used the term feast or famine on the podcast.

Clearly this coach listens.

 

Zod I believe you are becoming a well respected and revered name not only throughout the Carolina's but throughout the National Media coverage of the NFL.

 

With that being said, this defense has left me utterly confused. One of the strongest D Lines in the league is getting little to no push, LB's are trying to do too much and overplaying plays and the DB's are taking terrible pursuit angles in coverage and tackling, the good thing is these are correctable mistakes as long as the players buy into the system and are willing to make these adjustments. I still feel we are a playoff caliber team. 

[Carolina Cajun]

This goes hand in hand with what I've said.  I'm ok with the aggression in the front 7, the job of the back end is to keep a 5 yard catch from turning into a 50 yard catch, that falls on safety and CB play.  Wrapping up on defense will correct all ills.  Most if not all of the big plays given up we've missed multiple tackles.  If we start wrapping up, we can be a decent defense again.  Maybe not top 5, but decent.

[panthers55]

Agree 100%... I think they can make some adjustments and get back to feasting (as Zod called it) but at the same time I think losing guys who "get after it" in the secondary like Munnerlyn and Mitchell may hinder that.

 

As a casual fan watching the games, seeing the missed tackles, missed assignments, bad angles, etc. it all looks very familiar. Especially the big plays and the way the defense basically escorts the opponent into the end zone once they get inside the 20. 

 

McDermott's red zone defense in Philly was last in the league. Again, not saying it's McDermott's fault because the players need to execute.     

Like you said the secondary has been abysmal missing tackles.  Guys like DeCoud and Harper routinely miss tackles that both the Captain and Mitchell made with no problem.  Once runners break the line of scrimmage it is all over but the shouting.  The worst is the shoddy play on third down and frequent penalties once we do stop them on third down.  Last Sunday they were up 21 points in the first quarter but the truth is we stopped them on two of those drives but committed stupid penalties which extended drives.  Sure we would still have been behind but 7-0 is recoverable while 21 points is something again. 

[panthers55]

If you've followed his history, this is actually how Ron Rivera led defenses have always been, dating back to even his first years in Chicago.

 

Super aggressive gets you a lot of good, but it can be turned against you.  When that starts happening consistently...Ouch

The other thing they have consistently been is ranked highly within a few years of his taking over.  It takes time to learn this defense and play well in it.  Changing out the secondary and injuries play havoc though as you don't have the experienced guys you need to run this defense.

[Johnny Rockets]

The other thing they have consistently been is ranked highly within a few years of his taking over. It takes time to learn this defense and play well in it. Changing out the secondary and injuries play havoc though as you don't have the experienced guys you need to run this defense.

Some good discussion in this thread. Almost like the Huddle of old.

[pantherclaw]

Our defensive line is just as responsible for the run as it is the pass rush.

Yes, our linebackers are trying to make every play themselves, and it's burning them.

Hardy was not only our best pass rusher, but it more than just alright against the run.

When the dline executes correctly, it's much easier for our line backers to just flow to the ball.