So Lets Talk Defense....

[UpstatePanther]

Much has been made in Panther-fan circles of the defense that finished so strongly in the last four games of the season. i wanted to see just how good they were, so i did alittle research and had Excel crunch some averages for me. i think the result will impress you:

 

So we finished second in Total Scoring Defense over the last 4 games of the season, after the coaching staff made changes. why did i choose scoring defense instead of yards allowed? well... points are generally a reflection of the total prowess of a defense. even if the QB throws an INT at the 20, its the defense's responsibility to hold the other team to a field goal. even if the defense has let the opposing offense drive all the way to the 1 yard line, its their responsibility to stop them from crossing the goal line. a defense can get burned for a 60+ yard play, and take the ball away on the next snap. the defenses that do those kinds of things and keep the other team from scoring will win games for their teams. 

 

here's my question... can we expect the defense to pick up where it left off? will it be better? will it be worse? 

 

personnel-wise, im thinking we will be better. we had the 19th ranked defense overall for the season in points per game. i could honestly see us finishing 1st or second overall.

 

what say you Huddle? secondary question... how improved do you think the rival defenses of the NFC South will be?

[Frank Hollywood]

Don't forget with improved special teams may come better defensive stats. Not allowing every kick returned to the 35 can go a long way.

[UpstatePanther]

Don't forget with improved special teams may come better defensive stats. Not allowing every kick returned to the 35 can go a long way.

 

special teams is certainly a double-headed spear. more ground for opposing offenses to cover and less ground for ours to cover... could certainly bump up both our offensive and defensive rankings

[TheNewStandard]

Man, our defense...if everyone can stay healthy...ergo Big Frank being on suspension, Bene and Tre missing so much time and even Star being limited because of nagging injuries. Ealy took 3/4ths of the season to get going and so did CJ.

We drafted the one/possibly 2 positions where there was a glaring need for a starter/playmaker, and drafted him in the first round and he can play both positions of need with a specialty in pass coverage...the one area that offenses knew they could utilize/deke Luke out of the play.

All in all, this year's defense should make us forget any thought about what we put on the field last season. We could possibly have the best defensive unit in the league, depending upon the injury bug, how far our last season's rookies have progressed and what type of playmaker we have in Shaq.

[EMSMedic79]

There's been a lot invested into improving Special Teams.... I hope it pays off.

[UpstatePanther]

There's been a lot invested into improving Special Teams.... I hope it pays off.

 

after what we saw last season... it had better. 

 

i trust Gettleman to bring in the right talent. here's to hoping that DeHaven's replacement can do better than Rodgers was able to....

[t96]

I'm sick of looking at numbers. They mean absolutely nothing. The players we fielded at the end of the year on defense are in the top tier of the league. With our young guys getting more experience and learning (especially Boston who missed much of the offseason program last year and had a lot of mental mistakes late in the year--particularly @Seattle) and added talent like Shaq, Coleman, Tillman, etc. I absolutely expect us to be among the top 3--conceivably #1--defenses next year.

[tondi]

The single biggest thing we can do to help our defense is to improve our offensive line so we can have more sustained drives and hold the ball for a big portion of the game like the season before last.  Its much easier for the defense to play great when the offense is controlling the ball instead of constantly going 3 and out.

[UpstatePanther]

The single biggest thing we can do to help our defense is to improve our offensive line so we can have more sustained drives and hold the ball for a big portion of the game like the season before last.  Its much easier for the defense to play great when the offense is controlling the ball instead of constantly going 3 and out.

 

im thinking this will be significantly improved this season overall. however people feel about the LT position, the rest of the line looks pretty formidable. and who knows, Oher may work out over there... 

 

i think the biggest way we can help the OL succeed is for Shula to stop being Shula... :/

 

if we call short plays and pound the rock, i think our OL will succeed. if Shula keeps running a predictable offense and calling plays that take 4 seconds to develop, the OL may struggle again. 

[motocross_cat]

im thinking this will be significantly improved this season overall. however people feel about the LT position, the rest of the line looks pretty formidable. and who knows, Oher may work out over there...

i think the biggest way we can help the OL succeed is for Shula to stop being Shula... :/

if we call short plays and pound the rock, i think our OL will succeed. if Shula keeps running a predictable offense and calling plays that take 4 seconds to develop, the OL may struggle again.

Run the damn football!!!

[Khaki Lackey]

The defense struggled at the beginning of the season (after the 1st two games) because out pass rush sucked. Hardy gone, CJ banged up. Star looked pretty pedestrian for a stretch as well. Our defense is good as long as our front 4 is applying good pressure.

[t96]

The defense struggled at the beginning of the season (after the 1st two games) because out pass rush sucked. Hardy gone, CJ banged up. Star looked pretty pedestrian for a stretch as well. Our defense is good as long as our front 4 is applying good pressure.

 

Our pass rush wasn't that much better later in the year. Our secondary became elite when Norman and Bene came back from injury and Tre and Colin Jones were inserted. When we had DeCoud, Harper, White, Cason and Godfrey in is when we were getting absolutely worked on. Yeah, CJ improved down the stretch and Ealy developed a lot, but the main change was the secondary. 

[Mr. Scot]

I'm hoping for great things.

[0115]

I'm interested in seeing more blitzing this year