Bucky on Rhule's (& obviously Snow's) philosophy on D

[top dawg]

We've heard Rhule say many things about his defensive philosophy in terms of team building, but just in case you missed it, Bucky Brooks' kind of gives you an outline of Matt Rhule's thinking on the subject. If you're paying attention, it seems like a totally different philosophy than other Panthers' coaches & GMs have had in the past. They seemed to build from the front to the back, and gave defensive backs the lowest priority (almost to the point where it seemed like they were just happy to have warm bodies bodies out there). Rhule (and company) appears to give the defensive backfield more of a priority, and realizes that at least it's just as important as the second level and the front. They all have synergy between one another and must be balanced. This isn't a regime that's going to give the appearance of neglecting or not giving a sh¡t about the defensive backs to the extent that we must have hog mollies at all costs on the line, Rhule and company are going to find a way to keep as much balance as possible, and not become comfortable with the seemingly accepted thought--at least by some Panthers fan--that you can't strengthen both the front and back, but must do one or the other. And, honestly, it's different and refreshing to see. One way that Rhule believes that he can try and achieve that balance is what Bucky pointed out as Rhule's belief in the "position-less player."

Following the Gilmore trade this week, Rhule was asked why the Panthers keep piling up CBs.

"It allows us to put more guys in the box and go be aggressive," Rhule said, via USA TODAY. "We try to have position-less players. Like Chinn, to me, Haason Reddick, Brian Burns, Morgan Fox. Those guys have been position-less players."

I love Rhule's vision and his assertiveness. Despite ranking near the top of the charts in most defensive categories, Carolina keeps making moves to upgrade talent across the roster, focusing on building a championship squad with the capacity to play position-less football on defense.

"We had packages last game where we played with five d-linemen and one linebacker. You saw us last year in three D-linemen," Rhule said. "So we wanna give different looks to the defense and also take advantage of the guys that we have. I think the position-less player is important. But at the end of the day, for us to win, you have to be able to play man and get off the field on third down. So as many guys as we have to cover, we'll take 'em."

Keep in mind that Rhule was asked about CBs, but he also mentioned the second level and the front. And maybe inherent in that, is the need or desire to acquire as many speedy, athletic and aggressive players that we gather on defense. I'm thinking we have a "type" (so perhaps that will give draftniks some insight as to draft targets, at the very least on defense).

Rhule has been at this for awhile as Brooks points out. Although I probably focused on the meat of his short analysis, every word is certainly worth reading. Brooks called it  Rhule's "unorthodox brilliance", and maybe he's right.

https://www.nfl.com/news/matt-rhule-s-unorthodox-brilliance-fueling-panthers-rise-daniel-jones-playing-li

Edited October 10, 2021 by top dawg

[WarPanthers89]

[Mr. Scot]

Meshes pretty well with Fitterer's background...