Let's Talk Passing Defense

[vanilla B]

Long time reader and first time poster, I didnt see this anywhere but we currently have a top 10 defense in total yards allowed and ranked 4th in passing yards allowed. Granted we are still giving up over 21 points a game but if our offense can start staying on the field for more than 2 minutes a series like we saw against San Francisco, I believe our ranking could improve in that area as well. Just thought I'd point out the hard work of the secondary this season and see what you all thought.

[PantherFan52]

I agree. Any defense in the league will struggle if they are on the field for too long. And our offense's inability to maintain long drives affects the defense.

[PantherFanForLife]

I agree. Any defense in the league will struggle if they are on the field for too long. And our offense's inability to maintain long drives affects the defense.

Well that certainly changed this past Sunday. We won the time of possession battle. So let's just see what happens next Sunday.

[Montsta]

I'm cautiously optimistic when it comes to our D. Sometimes having a great statistical pass D is because teams can run on you at will, or get up early enough in games that they can put it in cruise control and no longer feel the need to pass.

That being said, our guys do swarm to the ball quickly and have been playing very well lately.

[PantherFan52]

Well that certainly changed this past Sunday. We won the time of possession battle. So let's just see what happens next Sunday.

yeah it sure did. Other than a rocky first drive, the d played quite well. And I could give two shits if it was against the 49ers lol.

[Mr. Scot]

Kind of a double-edged sword.

Meeks has generally run defenses that were strong against the pass, but sometimes vulnerable to the run.

Given that it's a passing league, this isn't the worst thing in the world, but it could still be a concern.

[vanilla B]

I never would have expected Godfrey to have four picks only six games into the season, Im not a big fan of Godfrey but when our worst DB on the field is doing that much to put us in a position to win, we have to capitalize.

[PantherFan52]

Kind of a double-edged sword.

Meeks has generally run defenses that were strong against the pass, but sometimes vulnerable to the run.

Given that it's a passing league, this isn't the worst thing in the world, but it could still be a concern.

True statement. But couldn't one argue that they never had any good, run-stopping DTs?

[Mr. Scot]

True statement. But couldn't one argue that they never had any good, run-stopping DTs?

They got Anthony McFarland because of those issues. Pretty sure that was the year they went to the Super Bowl. Bob Sanders helped too as a good run stuffing safety.

What also helped the Colts was that with Peyton running a high-scoring offense, opposing teams often had abandon the run and go all pass in order to play catch up. That allowed the defense to just pin its ears back and rush without worrying much about being beaten by the run. Worked for a while, but by the end people were exploiting it by running at them even when they were behind. And a lot of the time, it worked.

We might conceivably have been able to have a high-scoring offense like that in 2008, but we're definitely not there this year.

[vanilla B]

If we can get the right coaching staff in offseason and develop our rookies, along with D-Lo, Goodson, and Stewart we could have a potentially high-scoring offense. If we can shore up the problems on the defensive line we could have all the ingredients to a true consistent contender. Just depends on if the new coach can figure out how to properly use them.

[panthers55]

True statement. But couldn't one argue that they never had any good, run-stopping DTs?

If you are talking about a Meeks defense then possibly true. If you are talking about the Panthers then definitely not true. Jenkins was a beast against the run. And Trgo's defenses were pretty stout against the run.

[1789Cardiac Cats9020]

Outside of Revis and Cromartie, we have the absolute best CB tandem. It's amazing how much QBs just avoid Gamble.

[PantherFan52]

If you are talking about a Meeks defense then possibly true. If you are talking about the Panthers then definitely not true. Jenkins was a beast against the run. And Trgo's defenses were pretty stout against the run.

Sorry, should have clarified. Was talking about Meeks in Indy.

[pantherj]

I think this is the fastest secondary we've ever had in the history of the Panthers franchise. That might translate into the highest number of interceptions in Panther history this season.

In 2005 we had 23 INTs using Cover-2, which favors the CBs.

Gamble - 7

Lucas - 6

McCree - 3

Spoon - 2

Wallace - 2

Minter - 1

We must have fire zone blitzed a lot for Wallace to have 2 picks. If I remember correctly, Minter had a chance for a lot more INTs than just the 1 got.

In 2001 we had 24 INTS, with Doug Evans racking up 8 of them.

26 INTS in 2004, but Smith broke his ankle in the first game against the Packers. If this team want the INT record, then they will need to beat the 04' teams 26 picks.

Here's how things look in 10':

Godfrey - 4

Marshall - 1

Pugh - 1

Anderson - 1

Brown - 1

Johnson - 1 (lol)

Captain - 1

So 10 picks for 2010 with Godrey going crazy. Expect Martin to get a lot of picks as the season moves along because our Tampa-2 favors the safety in pass coverage (they have less ground to cover compared to Cover-2.)