Panthers D

[The Golden Child]

Good article here: http://nfl.si.com/2013/11/12/carolina-panthers-defense-nfc-playoff-race/

[the_philosopher]

Thanks, I always enjoy reading breakdowns of particular plays. I hope more journalists keep going in that direction.

[saX man]

Love the insight on our d-line rotations:

 

 

The Panthers rotate their defensive linemen out fairly consistently — four tackles and four ends took snaps against the San Francisco — and I really liked what they did when the 49ers had a third-and-2 from the Carolina 33-yard line with 11:28 left in the first quarter. The 49ers lined up in a traditional power set — a tight end on either side of the formation in-line, and fullback Bruce Miller lined up just ahead of Kaepernick in an offset Pistol look. Carolina countered by positioning five defensive linemen out front — Frank Alexander (90), Dwan Edwards (92), Kawann Short (99), Charles Johnson (95), and Greg Hardy (76). They were essentially using Hardy as an extra end in an unbalanced defensive front — a fascinating twist on what offensive lines frequently do with offensive tackles — and it paid off with a drive-killing stop.

 

The 49ers went with slide protection to their left, and sent Miller and right tackle Anthony Davis to the second level to close Kuechly off. That left Johnson unblocked, and Hardy with only tight end Vance McDonald to deal with. No contest. Gore was taken down for a loss of one yard,  and San Francisco had to settle for a field goal.

 

 

The Panthers are also exceptional when it comes to creating interior pressure in base fronts. With 2:23 left in the first quarter, Edwards just demolished right guard Alex Boone on a sack of Kaepernick, but he had a lot of help. The 49ers had first-and-10 at their own 24-yard line, and tight end Vernon Davis motioned from left to right to help left tackle Joe Staley block Hardy. Left guard Mike Iupati and center Jonathan Goodwin double-teamed Short at the one-tech position, leaving Davis on Johnson and Boone one-on-one on Edwards. It was a mismatch from the start.

 

Davis (58), Kuechly (59), linebacker A.J. Klein (56) and safety Quintin Mikell (27) motioned to the strong side when Davis moved over, and Mikell covered Miller’s short route. With Miller out of the picture as a blocker, Gore was left to help Boone with Edwards after Edwards rolled around Boone with impressive speed and power. At the same time, Hardy flew around the blocks of Davis and Staley, leaving Kaepernick with no room to bail out of the pocket.

 

Right before the sack, you can see Gore’s decision point — he’s set to block Edwards, but he’s watching Hardy close in from the backside.

 

As a result, Edwards was unobstructed in his path to Kaepernick.

 

 

[Catweisers]

Another piece on our defense.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/patriots-looking-solve-panthers-touted-230653575--nfl.html

 

It's hard not to be aware. The Carolina Panthers rank near the top of the league in virtually every defensive category.

 

I love it Gooooooooo Panthers!!!!!!!

[KSpan]

Interesting that Dwan and KK were the DTs on the field when SF was showing a power personnel package. I don't know that anyone has the kind of quality throughout their entire d-line like Carolina does right now.

[PhillyB]

the star/short combo may turn out to be one of the most significant draft-day moves this franchise has ever made

[yasuhara2241]

interesting read and always nice to hear some praise about our team!

[CLTPanther]

Yea, I read that on their site just 2 mins ago.. nice breakdown of plays

[BearCat]

Thanks again.  I espcially liked the stop action snaps to go with the analysis.

 

Best regards,

[Jesse]

I haven't been this excited for the Panthers since we drafted Cam. Gettleman came in and did exactly what he helped with in NY to build a championship roster; starting at the defensive line.

[the butch]

You guys are making it extremely difficult to temper my expectations for this game!

[Who Said What?]

the star/short combo may turn out to be one of the most significant draft-day moves this franchise has ever made

 

This shows his immediate superiority to Hurney as well.  Hurney's attempt at doubling down at DT ended up in a guy who didn't even make it to the regular season and a guy who we ultimately cut after trying to switch him to guard.  Welcome to the new age Panthers. 

[JawnyBlaze]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20131106/nfl-midseason-grades-2013/?sct=obnetwork

 

I clicked that link from the OP link.  This is from before the game against the 49ers, midseason grades:

 

 

A-

Carolina Panthers (5-3)

The Panthers are a couple of plays -- Jermaine Kearse's acrobatic TD grab and Stevie Johnson's last-second score -- from being 7-1. With the league's No. 2 defense backing Cam Newton, there may be more wins to come, despite an increasingly brutal schedule.

[B.BERSIN]

We are good, so good.