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So just how much of a role did "pressure" actually play?

Jeremy Igo

By Jeremy Igo,
in Carolina Panthers

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t96 Grand Master

t96

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Posted
6 hours ago, Jeremy Igo said:

Was this team just too young to handle the increased pressure and expectations of the season?

 

Was it just me. or did the entire team just seem to be much lighter last night. Looked like they were having fun again. Had not seen that type of vibe since preseason. 

You know, I thought this thread was going to be about pressure on the QB and it got me thinking...

Aside from the strip sack at the beginning of the 2nd half, we got pretty much no pressure all night against Cousins, even with a fair amount of blitzes. And the defense still held up extremely well against one of the top offenses this year. I think last night was a very promising night for our young secondary going forward, and our LBers without the best defensive player in the league. And it wasn't against scrub receiving group. Reed was playing before he got ejected and Vernon Davis has been solid, Jackson is a beast when healthy, Crowder has been very good and wish we had him, and Garcon is a consistent threat. Worley gave up some catches but for the most part shut them down (can't blame him for Jackson's two big sideline catches that were challenged. those were amazing catches on the sideline where no DB could've stopped him from catching them). Bradberry played lights out. Coleman was much better in his FS role and Boston played decently. There was some really poor tackling in the 1st half but other than that the defense was great even without much pressure against their solid line. Honestly, Klein was very bad. Very bad in coverage and had at least 3 missed tackles that I can remember. Other than him I can't think of a weak performer on D. The D-line may not have been getting a lot of pressure but they dominated in the run game, which allowed us to mix things up in the pass defense helping to shut them down most of the night. Just imagine what this D will be like when we finally get some outside pass rush juice (whether FA or draft, it's definitely a priority for DG).

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panthers55 Grand Master

panthers55

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This is what our team would have looked like in September if we had simply had veteran corners and safeties to shore up the defense. The offense doesnt have to press because we arent giving up 30 points, the D line has time to generate pressure and we can handle a few mishaps and still win games.  Notice how everyone is gaining confidence again and working together.  This is what winning does for a team.

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Davidson Deac II Grand Master

Davidson Deac II

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6 hours ago, chknwing said:

it might just be coincidence, but the defense has played significantly better with luke out.  It's becoming obvious that teams game planned around the adjustment luke made when given certain looks by the offense.  Was he becoming to predictable?

I don't agree that they have played better since Luke went out.  

 

Our two worst defensive performances since the bye week were the first two games Luke missed.  Carr shredded our defense for 300 plus yards and we gave up 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards against Seattle and their  third  string  oline.  

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KB_fan Proficient

KB_fan

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6 hours ago, Jeremy Igo said:

Was this team just too young to handle the increased pressure and expectations of the season?

 

Was it just me. or did the entire team just seem to be much lighter last night. Looked like they were having fun again. Had not seen that type of vibe since preseason. 

Not so sure I'd say "too young" since I think guys like Cam and even Luke & TD were pressing early in the season. (Though Luke & TD were probably trying to overcompensate for weak secondary), but I really DO think that the team plays better when the expectations are lower.

Before last season it was a longstanding Huddle joke that we wanted people to pick against us since we played better as an underdog.  This season has perhaps shown there's some truth in that.  The guys said last night they were playing for one another... the freedom from expectations & external pressure seemed to have released the team to enjoy the game in a way we haven't seen since late last season.

I don't know what the answer is though.  Obviously, we want a consistently successful team that can handle the pressure of winning and a team which people WILL RESPECT and expect to win... but this year the team showed they really were not ready to handle the pressure of expectations that they could repeat the SB run...  Needs to be some soul-searching in the off season as to how to overcome that, both by players & coaches. 

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KB_fan Proficient

KB_fan

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6 hours ago, Porn Shop Clerk said:

Or the Skins and Chargers just really suck.

Well, the Skins were up near the lead league in terms of offensive stats, including rushing and we did quite well to shut down their offense.

They're the first team with a WINNING record whom we beat this season, so I'm NOT going to poo=poo this win.  They're truly the first DECENT team we've beaten this season.  (Arizona of course has talent, but they're having a terrible season and Palmer basically seems to have been a mess since we destroyed him in the playoffs - i.e. he got Delhommed.)

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iamhubby1 Veteran

iamhubby1

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7 hours ago, chknwing said:

it might just be coincidence, but the defense has played significantly better with luke out.  It's becoming obvious that teams game planned around the adjustment luke made when given certain looks by the offense.  Was he becoming to predictable?

 

Now, IMO, the Defense started gelling when Johnson, and Bradberry hit the field together following the bye week.

 

 

5 hours ago, mc52beast said:

I'm so happy that the team is getting on a roll when basically the playoffs are an afterthought, we get to spend the entire offseason dreaming about how great we can be in 2017

 

Sometimes fans seem to gloss over one important aspect of closing out a bad season well. Off-season work outs. Players work out harder when the future looks bright. Whereas, it is much more difficult to work hard, when you have no energy after coming off a bad year.

 

Winning begets winning. Winning builds confidence. Winning is the ultimate salve. Going into the off-season on a high note is big for players.

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iamhubby1 Veteran

iamhubby1

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45 minutes ago, nctarheel0619 said:

You're right.  He's got my weenus so far in his mouth.  He needs to let my weenus breath.  Better?  

 

lol If you had used that one first. I may have even pied you. Cuz, that is kinda funny.

 

Your first response was crude, and rude. This one is clever, and almost funny. They both convey the same message, but that second one is livable.

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Adb6368 Proficient

Adb6368

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I couldn't help but chuckle when they showed the graphic of Washington spending the second least amount of their cap on defense only to.... the panthers! What might have been if our defense could have maybe stopped a drive here or there in the 4th quarter. You spend crap you get crap


Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

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