Inside the Panthers Run D

[cranky]

Nice and definitely worth a piece of delicious pie.

 

My only concern is I can't help but think a big part of the problem is with the safeties. You take the two worst safeties in the NFC south (if not the entire NFL) from 2013 and make them your starting safeties is really asking for problems.

[OneBadCat]

Losing Hardy is huge. But I also feel Star has a hit wall. I think he will soon break through though.

[Who Said What?]

Well, I disagree with one thing.  Greg Hardy would most certainly help the run defense.  He wasn't a one trick pony that just pushed OTs into the backfield toward the QB.  He was very good at diagnosing run plays and plugging his gaps, and slicing down the line to make tackles even when they're not to his side.  On some of those big runs, instead of a big gap with a G on the LBs, it woulda been Hardy taking the space stopping the run.  I'm not saying with Hardy in our Run D would be as good as last year, there's got to be multiple factors in a problem so big, but losing him is the single largest contributor to the decline in my opinion.

 

Every big run has come been to the side where Hardy plays.  I distinctly remember Horton and Ealy not getting off blocks.  People also tend to forget that many times Hardy slides down to the tackle spot and makes stops on third down gimmick running plays.  We miss him more than anybody can imagine.

[CPantherKing]

Losing Hardy is huge. But I also feel Star has a hit wall. I think he will soon break through though.

 

It is not missing Hardy that is hurting the running game.

 

Primarily, It is the run defense scheme with the opposing team against the their own goal line.

 

Rivera and McDermott have a predictable, safe, and conservative approach to defending the run in this situation. They leave the the weak side with very few run defenders and over load the strong side. Misdirection runs are used here to make the LBs and DL bite hard to their responsibilities.

 

You end up with the safety on the running back in the weak side B gap, and the RB has 3 lanes of attack against that safety if the CB and WLB do not get off their blocks fast.

 

Hardy is not a factor in any of the big runs that have hurt the Panthers D in 2013 or 2014 against the Bucs. Hardy is usually out of position on these misdirection runs.

 

Here is the Bucs run. Hardy gets pushed back and has no pursuit angle.

 

 

Luke bites up into his gap responsibility. The guard gets to the second level on Klein and crowds out angles for Luke and TD. Harper and Klein were responsible for those gaps. Hardy was not a factor.

[PhillyB]

last year was greg hardy's first year as a truly elite run defender. when he first got drafted one of his biggest weaknesses was his inability to contain the edge and i can remember throwing beer bottles in 2011 when linemen could seal off the end without any effort and runs off tackle constantly gashed us for first downs.

 

hardy fixed that and became extremely good at shutting down off-tackle runs at his side of the field. we're missing that now, and suddenly it seems like every week guys are able to bounce around to the outside and get that extra block and sashay right on down into the secondary for dozen yards. addison is marginal when he's not rushing the passer in 4th down desperation situations and wes horton = jag.

 

make no mistake, this team misses that cereal eating motherfuger

[CPantherKing]

last year was greg hardy's first year as a truly elite run defender. when he first got drafted one of his biggest weaknesses was his inability to contain the edge and i can remember throwing beer bottles in 2011 when linemen could seal off the end without any effort and runs off tackle constantly gashed us for first downs.

 

hardy fixed that and became extremely good at shutting down off-tackle runs at his side of the field. we're missing that now, and suddenly it seems like every week guys are able to bounce around to the outside and get that extra block and sashay right on down into the secondary for dozen yards. addison is marginal when he's not rushing the passer in 4th down desperation situations and wes horton = jag.

 

make no mistake, this team misses that cereal eating motherfuger

 

The runs are not off tackle. The big runs are up the middle or off the guard on the second level with the use of misdirection.

[PhillyB]

The runs are not off tackle. The big runs are up the middle or off the guard on the second level with the use of misdirection.

 

i'm not saying they're all off tackle… nor are they all up the middle or off guard (and i'm also not isolating the big runs, i'm just talking about stopping the run in general.) i've noticed a major regression in keeping the contain on the runs compared to last year.

[cultclassiccat]

nice point of view op

 

addition to that is our saftey play on run d is atrocious.  mitchel and mikell were way better than what we have this yr.  im hopeful we get it nailed down back there and quick, but in general, i think our gap play is just not the same as last yr, plain and simple.  we are over-committing on these big plays imo 

 

hardy made our d better.  he took pressure off our guys.  if we get him back it will help but it will not be the fix-it-all.  thats where i agree with the op and not give up hope, the rest of our schedule isnt the end of the world like everybody thought at the start of the yr.  its just time to flip whatever switch we have and keep that fugr on all yr.

[bandu]

The runs are not off tackle. The big runs are up the middle or off the guard on the second level with the use of misdirection.

l,the NFL is a game of mismatches which is produced by means of talent,plain and simple.

[AceBoogie]

We don't need Hardy. We just need Kuechly and Davis to stop missing easy tackles, Star to step up like last season and Johnson to stop being invisible. There's no excuse for our defense being this soft.

Hardy is missed but we can still be a Top Ten defense without him.

We need our defensive minded coach to do what he gets paid for. No reason for his defense to be this bad.

[MHS831]

Do not underestimate the significance of safeties in the run game.