The real issue with our defense

[panthers55]

It was both.  The offense failed to capitalize when they could have gone up 17-2 and changed the game.  Even after after the 14 points we game up on the special teams gaffe and long drive to open the second half we still would have been up 17-16 instead of behind.  The defense really got soft in the second half after blanking them out in the first half. Instead of coming out blazing, we were soft and slow.  Both sides screwed up and we gave the game away and make Minnesota look much better than they are.

[PhillyB]

not much of a sample size, and i expect the vikings game will be a huge outlier when we look back on it in december. 

[Kevin Greene]

Defense is fine, McDermott is on it.

Offense and Special teams....lots of room for improvement.

[GoobyPls]

Nope

 

Outside of the Denver game our defense has been great. Against SF the offense turned it over inside the 10 yard line twice and another time inside the 20. The Vikings  scored only 13 points and that's with our defense on the field the majority of the game and 3 turnovers by the offense 

[CPantherKing]

The defense took leads into the 2nd half of both defeats and lost them. In the 2nd half, they also allowed long drives and allowed all of their 3rd/4th and shorts to be converted for TDs or 1st downs.

Is that the offense's fault?

Expecting the Panthers offense to come back and win in the 2nd half after the defense gives up a lead is tough enough against an average NFL defense. It is highly improbable against the better defenses in the NFL.

It is always on the defense to protect the lead and secure the victory in the second half against any opponent.

[CarolinaSock]

50 minutes ago, CPantherKing said:

The defense took leads into the 2nd half of both defeats and lost them. In the 2nd half, they also allowed long drives and allowed all of their 3rd/4th and shorts to be converted for TDs or 1st downs.

Is that the offense's fault?

Expecting the Panthers offense to come back and win in the 2nd half after the defense gives up a lead is tough enough against an average NFL defense. It is highly improbable against the better defenses in the NFL.

It is always on the defense to protect the lead and secure the victory in the second half against any opponent.

The Vikings were 3-12 on third down and had one scoring drive of over 50 yards. The offense and special teams allowed 9 points. The offense went 50 minutes without scoring. You're blaming the defense? With your reasoning Cam may as well not even play in the 2nd half if we are leading because according to you his job is done.

[csx]

There are a handful of issues. I dont, at this point, believe they cannot be overcome. They are in all phases of the game. I dont think trying to pinpoint "the" issue is a useful exercise.

[Jeremy Igo]

Defense is currently ranked 3rd in the entire league. 

[CPantherKing]

16 hours ago, CarolinaSock said:

The Vikings were 3-12 on third down and had one scoring drive of over 50 yards. The offense and special teams allowed 9 points. The offense went 50 minutes without scoring. You're blaming the defense? With your reasoning Cam may as well not even play in the 2nd half if we are leading because according to you his job is done.

The Panthers defense gave up 2 1st downs in the 1st half and 11 1st downs in the 2nd half. They had 6 3rd downs in each half. Obvious problem is obvious.

The Panthers defense gave up the lead on the 1st drive of the 2nd half. 5 drives of 11, 3, 10, 7, and 3 plays. 16 of the first 25 minutes of the 2nd half were controlled by the Vikings offense.

Great 1st half defense does not excuse garbage 2nd half defense.

The defense lost the lead, could not stop the Vikings from getting 1st downs, could not get off the field, and put their offense in a position to win late in the 2nd half while trailing.

It is rare any offense can come back late in games while trailing to win, never mind against one of the better defenses in the NFL. The problem is this Jeckyll and Hyde defense. A tail of two halves. No one can tell me that the Panthers second half defense in both their losses is consistent enough to win games.

It is the same issue as last season, but the defense last season did that little bit extra with their secondary to keep the losses from mounting due to their 2nd half performances.

[Davidson Deac II]

21 minutes ago, CPantherKing said:

The Panthers defense gave up 2 1st downs in the 1st half and 11 1st downs in the 2nd half. They had 6 3rd downs in each half. Obvious problem is obvious.

The Panthers defense gave up the lead on the 1st drive of the 2nd half. 5 drives of 11, 3, 10, 7, and 3 plays. 16 of the first 25 minutes of the 2nd half were controlled by the Vikings offense.

Great 1st half defense does not excuse garbage 2nd half defense.

The defense lost the lead, could not stop the Vikings from getting 1st downs, could not get off the field, and put their offense in a position to win late in the 2nd half while trailing.

It is rare any offense can come back late in games while trailing to win, never mind against one of the better defenses in the NFL. The problem is this Jeckyll and Hyde defense. A tail of two halves. No one can tell me that the Panthers second half defense in both their losses is consistent enough to win games.

It is the same issue as last season, but the defense last season did that little bit extra with their secondary to keep the losses from mounting due to their 2nd half performances.

In the last two games, special teams miscues and turnovers played as big, or perhaps a bigger role in the comebacks than poor defensive play did.  60% or so of the points scored against us in the last two games have been after turnovers, or bad special teams play  

[Millioso7]

Chea.. defense is pretty sharpe right now minus the pass rush 

[CPantherKing]

3 hours ago, Davidson Deac II said:

In the last two games, special teams miscues and turnovers played as big, or perhaps a bigger role in the comebacks than poor defensive play did.  60% or so of the points scored against us in the last two games have been after turnovers, or bad special teams play  

Without a doubt special teams put both the offense and the defense in a worse situation. Special teams can help or hurt, but special teams should never be looked at as the reason why a team lost or won a game.

You can not excuse a defense for losing the lead on a TD in the second half.

It is not about the points scored in total for a game. It is about the key drives that result in a lead change.

 

[CarolinaSock]

1 hour ago, CPantherKing said:

Without a doubt special teams put both the offense and the defense in a worse situation. Special teams can help or hurt, but special teams should never be looked at as the reason why a team lost or won a game.

You can not excuse a defense for losing the lead on a TD in the second half.

It is not about the points scored in total for a game. It is about the key drives that result in a lead change.

 

Man you're going to pull something with all the reaching and mental gymnastics your trying to use to pin a loss in a game where we scored 10 points, on the defense. Does the offense have no responsibilities in the 2nd half in your eyes? You have set the bar absurdly low for an MVP led offense and absurdly high for a defense with 2 rookie starting corners and a questionable pass rush.

[UpstatePanther]

i totally agree with this. I think our defense would appear alot better if our offense would figure out how to take care of the damn ball. 

through three games, ive found myself begging the Panthers offense to just take care of the ball. Thats something i havent had to worry about since 2014..... got to get that sinched up this week going forward.