REPORT: Panthers returning to a 4-3 defense from a 3-4, which Ron Rivera changed to - in part - at the urging of owner David Tepper

[TheSpecialJuan]

3 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

Would you guys feel better if we stayed in the 3-4 that helped guide us to the worst run defense in the NFL? I thought status quo was what we didn’t want. 

its the right move no doubt but the issue here is that Tepper is meddling in issues he should stay out of.

[top dawg]

Wait, what am I saying? There is no good version of Jones. We better hope Tepper is a good version of Tepper!

[TheSpecialJuan]

John Ellis

 

@OnePantherPlace

 

The Panthers’ defensive scheme was an absolute mess in 2019. I’ve speculated, several times, that the owner had a hand in the schematics. Turns out, that theory wasn’t too far fetched. Per ⁦

@josephperson

⁩ and ⁦

@JourdanRodrigue

⁩:

[raz]

sources?  yeah right - according to multiple sources.  pretty sure these sources are ron rivera and his wife trying to cover his ass for fugging everything up.   not 1 legitimate report it was tepper's doing

[NAS]

Glad to hear they're going back to 4-3 but very disturbed that Tepper would meddle in this manner.  

[TheSpecialJuan]

John Ellis

 

@OnePantherPlace

“Perception that coaches were unhappy with — and not in control of — the change even leaked into the locker room and was known among players, sources said.”

[rhyslloyd]

So.  Brian Burns.

[TheSpecialJuan]

OffendedHooper

 

@geriatrichooper

I still think it contributed to Luke retiring. You could see his frustration on the field.

[Ja Rhule]

3 minutes ago, rhyslloyd said:

So.  Brian Burns.

If we are going to 4-3... he must be traded. He got abused in ran as 4-3 DE... 

[TN05]

Cool

cool cool cool cool

[mrcompletely11]

6 minutes ago, rhyslloyd said:

So.  Brian Burns.

Not good in a 4-3

[micnificent28]

7 minutes ago, rhyslloyd said:

So.  Brian Burns.

This this is why returning to a 4-3 is stupid. Right now we at least have some good pieces and promising others in a 3-4.  Burns Iriving potentially, Haynes and others would make the pass rush efficent. In a 4-3 u got what? Not even addison... you dont have one proven 4-3  end and you need 2. Not to mention another tackle for the 4-3 which we need anyway.

This also puts a meh on say drafting Simmons who isnt a good fit for a 4-3 he would be a fish out of water like burns. The 4-3 just isnt as flexible with positional players in my opinion. You need specific players. I don't like it 

[FakePlasticTrees]

33 minutes ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

 

 

 

 

Jourdan Rodrigue

 

@JourdanRodrigue

@josephperson

: The Carolina Panthers are returning to a 4-3 defense from a 3-4, which Ron Rivera changed to a little over a year ago - in part - at the urging of owner Dave Tepper, multiple sources have said. More on the change(s), FA impact -

 

Excerpt:

The decision to move back to a 4-3 base, as opposed to the 3-4 alignment introduced last season, comes nearly a full year after the Panthers began making personnel adjustments to shift away from the four-man front long championed by Rivera and his defensive coordinators — a move that came at the urging of team owner David Tepper, multiple sources told The Athletic.

Tepper, who bought the Panthers from Jerry Richardson for $2.275 billion in 2018, is a Pittsburgh native and a former minority partner with the Steelers, who have long employed a 3-4 defense.

Perception that coaches were unhappy with — and not in control of — the change even leaked into the locker room and was known among players, sources said.

Through a team spokesman, Tepper said the decision to change defensive schemes was made by the coaches.

“Not true, that’s not Dave’s management style,” Panthers vice president of communications Steven Drummond said in a text. “He believes in a supportive leadership approach that empowers the coaching staff to deliver positive results.”

The Panthers had run the four-man front with much success during Rivera’s first eight seasons in Charlotte. Carolina finished in the top 10 in total defense five times under Rivera, led the league in sacks in 2013 and ranked among the top three in sacks three times.

Rivera lost two defensive coordinators in successive seasons when Sean McDermott and Steve Wilks left to become head coaches at Buffalo and Arizona, respectively.

When the Panthers struggled on defense during the 2018 season, Rivera took over the defensive play-calling from coordinator Eric Washington and fired assistants Brady Hoke and Jeff Imamura in December — changes, Tepper said later, that should have been made sooner.

But the big change came after the season when Tepper strongly encouraged Rivera — who already had elements of the three-man front in his system — to make the 3-4 his base, sources said.

Rivera and general manager Marty Hurney had built the roster around the 4-3, with Luke Kuechly, one of the best defensive players in the league, anchoring it from his middle linebacker position.

The Panthers also had made a sizable investment in defensive tackle Kawann Short, a true three-technique in a 4-3, and had edge rushers such as Mario Addison and Efe Obada, who were both best-suited as 4-3 defensive ends.

But as Rivera said last year, the switch also was motivated in part because of a change in defensive personnel at the college level. With college defenses using more outside linebackers to combat spread offenses, it was getting more difficult to find big, hand-in-the-dirt defensive ends in the mold of Julius Peppers, Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson.

Rivera often pointed to 6-2, 235-pound defensive end Marquis Haynes, the team’s fourth-round pick in 2018, as the type of player whose frame and skill set would make him a better fit as an outside linebacker.

So Hurney began reshaping the roster last offseason to fit the 3-4, before the team officially confirmed it during OTAs.

Hurney signed veteran free-agent outside linebacker/defensive end Bruce Irvin, who had the ability to switch between 3-4 and 4-3 fronts, to a one-year deal. Also brought in for a year was veteran defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who was projected to man the interior of a three-man front opposite another veteran, Short, with nose tackle Dontari Poe eating up space in the middle — although McCoy seemed to be more of a fit in a four-man front, which Rivera maintained the team would still be in some of the time. Lacking interior depth with former first-rounder Vernon Butler not playing up to his draft status, the Panthers even asked the hyper-athletic, long-framed defensive lineman Obada to gain about 30 pounds so he could rotate into the middle as depth. They also drafted pass-rush specialist Brian Burns with the No. 12 overall pick.

Of course, things fell completely awry on defense. Poe and Short both got hurt and had to finish the season on injured reserve. Burns, productive early in the season, saw his snaps decrease after a self-inflicted injury: The former Florida State standout broke his right wrist after punching the ground in frustration during a Week 4 win at Houston.

But Kuechly might have been most affected by the change. Instead of having defensive tackles in front of him to occupy blockers in the 4-3, Kuechy often faced uncovered guards and centers in the three-man look.

And though Kuechly downplayed the impact of the 3-4 — he still finished in the top five in the league in tackles — he never looked completely comfortable during what turned out to be his final season.

Moving to the 3-4 didn’t hurt the Panthers’ pass rush: Their 53 sacks were second in the league behind Pittsburgh (54). But Carolina was hopeless against the run, allowing a league-worst 31 rushing touchdowns and an average of 5.2 yards per rushing attempt. And Rivera, whose experience with a 3-4 while in San Diego was in part a reason for his takeover as defensive play-caller, got fired with four games left in the season.

The only Rivera assistants retained by Rhule were Jake Peetz and Chase Blackburn — offensive and special teams coaches, respectively. Meanwhile, Rivera, now the head coach in Washington, will run a 4-3 defense alongside defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

Rhule said at his introductory news conference he was open to running a 4-3 in Carolina, but never publicly confirmed the scheme. Defensive coordinator Phil Snow, who worked with Rhule in the same role at both Temple and Baylor, was noncommittal on the topic, saying he used multiple looks in 2019 during his final season with Baylor.

While the 4-3 is being called Carolina’s “base” defense within the building, Snow will want to remain as multiple as possible.

“We’re going to be multiple, anyway, so you’ll see us in four-man, three-man, bear,” he said, during his introductory teleconference. “You’ll see us in a lot of different stuff, so I think today you have to be multiple to give the offense some problems from a schematic standpoint. We’ll see what we have and then we’ll put it together.”

Clarity on a defensive scheme will help the Panthers determine what moves to make in free agency this week and in April’s draft. Their first free-agent acquisition — players can’t sign until the league year begins Wednesday — is former Minnesota edge rusher Stephen Weatherly, a defensive end who had three sacks each of the past two seasons in the Vikings’ 4-3 scheme.

The Panthers need depth just about everywhere on defense and have to find a replacement at corner after four-year starter James Bradberry and the Giants reportedly agreed to a three-year, $45 million deal Monday. Carolina could turn to Shaq Thompson at Kuechly’s former spot, or use Thompson at the weakside spot and look for a middle linebacker elsewhere.

And because they aren’t going to pick up Poe’s third-year option, nor return most of their defensive line outside of Short, Obada and Burns, the Panthers will have to almost completely rebuild the interior, plus depth.

But the major pieces might have to come in the draft. Carolina is not expected to make much earth-shattering free-agency news, and Rhule has repeatedly cited his wish/skill at developing talent.

Yet so far, Carolina is missing above-average draft capital with which to build in that regard. So even while elite players such as Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey are featured on offense, the defense might be a year or so behind its strongest form.

Still, a little continuity year-over-year … like keeping a scheme intact … can’t hurt in the long run.

[Navy_football]

23 minutes ago, TheRed said:

The issue wasn't necessarily moving to a 3-4.  The issue was Ron's incompetence and loyalty to inept coaches who either weren't ready for promotions or just weren't that good. The defense started taking a nosedive over the years after McDermott left, I don't think that's a coincidence.

I think Steve Wilks did a good job of holding the fort after McDermott. But when he left, even Luke started to look lost out there. And I don't think it was concussion related.