Panthers Front 7 🤫

[NJPanthers89]

While I continue to wait for a much needed influx of talent into the Panthers secondary, especially at CB, I have to say this defensive line has me excited.

This Dline/Front 7 is going to give QBs fits.  The sack potential is through the roof if they can stay healthy.  Burns, YGM, Redick, Fox, and Brown is such an impressive group they have put together.  We also have multipositional athletes like Chinn, Shaq and Carter coming off the edge which will keep teams on their heals.  The question will remain, can they stop the run? 

Everyone knows outside of the QB and possibly LT, the Defensive Line is the most important part of your football team, and Rhule has assembled a great one.  Now go get a real competent CB!

[Khyber53]

On paper it looks like there is a lot of potential and I have hope. That defense last year, though, gave up a ton of yards on the ground and through the air, spent entire games without making a third down stop and generally let other teams have their way with them.

If we are going to compete, then we need to get much, much better as a group. We had some good individual play, but that doesn't win games.

Edited March 23, 2021 by Khyber53

[Pup McBarky]

Perryman is known as a run-stopper. The Chargers' run defense got considerably worse when he was off the field. Hopefully, he brings that and our young guys get better at it. Chinn proved he was pretty adept at it too.

[NJPanthers89]

Stopping the run is obviously important.  But it’s a passing league today, and getting pressure is much more important.  I agree that Perryman is very good against the rush, and a second year of Brown in the middle getting more comfortable should also help.  Those two could be the key.  The front 7 is legit there’s no way around it.

The secondary tho, outside of Chinn is absolute garbage.  Can a great front 7 mask that?  It can to an extent, but I would def feel more comfortable with atleast one real good CB.  There’s still some relatively young upside vets available who they can bring in like Kevin King or Dunbar (Fitterer connection).  I was personally hoping for Xavier Rhodes he would have been perfect .  Rashaan Melvin better not be the only signing that’s all I’m saying as this defense looks ready to compete.  
 

If the Panthers didn’t need a QB so badly as well I would be banging on the table for a CB at 8..

Edited March 23, 2021 by NJPanthers89

[SetfreexX]

2 hours ago, NJPanthers89 said:

Stopping the run is obviously important.  But it’s a passing league today, and getting pressure is much more important.  I agree that Perryman is very good against the rush, and a second year of Brown in the middle getting more comfortable should also help.  Those two could be the key.  The front 7 is legit there’s no way around it.

The secondary tho, outside of Chinn is absolute garbage.  Can a great front 7 mask that?  It can to an extent, but I would def feel more comfortable with atleast one real good CB.  There’s still some relatively young upside vets available who they can bring in like Kevin King or Dunbar (Fitterer connection).  I was personally hoping for Xavier Rhodes he would have been perfect .  Rashaan Melvin better not be the only signing that’s all I’m saying as this defense looks ready to compete.  
 

If the Panthers didn’t need a QB so badly as well I would be banging on the table for a CB at 8..

Jackson, played well (11 PBU, and 3 INTs, 10 in his 3 year career), he's far from garbage, injuries are a concern, but he gutted it out through injuries and is one of the few guys that generates turnovers. Troy Pride is also not ''garbage'' he continued to improve as the season went on. 

Due Jackson's size he's more of a #2 / match up option, but that's what bigger DBs like Melvin or Rasul in the past are here for. I think we will draft another corner that is 6' + to add more size at this position to continue to allow us to better match up versus the 6'2'' + WRs in the NFC South (Evans, Jones, Thomas). 

[davos]

Don't sleep on Haynes; he's the forgotten man.  He really came into his own last season and I hope he continues to get some solid playing time.  I'm a bit more iffy with that other guy though who opted out.

[Khyber53]

3 hours ago, Pup McBarky said:

Perryman is known as a run-stopper. The Chargers' run defense got considerably worse when he was off the field. Hopefully, he brings that and our young guys get better at it. Chinn proved he was pretty adept at it too.

Honestly, I feel that run defense is such a physical part of the game that you can see teams that have people looking towards free agency have worse run defenses. A tackle in the run game doesn't build you big stats, doesn't usually make the highlight reel, it's just the hard work/getting dirty part of the game. And let's face it, anyone looking to extend their career would rather bring down a QB or a WR than a RB moving at full steam.

There's more to it, but teams that go soft against the run are usually teams that aren't going anywhere. I think we saw that majorly with the Panthers in Rivera's last two seasons and some carried over into this past season for us. KK Short gave up on run defense (not just the tackling but the hard work vs the o-line on run plays) and Tahir Whitehead showed absolutely no desire to risk future pay checks in an effort to lay the lumber to a running back or full back. 

I think as we see those guys leave, they also take with them the effects of their lack of commitment. Coaching can hopefully take over and we can become a more hardnosed defensive group. Brown has the looks of it and Chinn certainly appears ready for contact. Shaq is a willing tackler but he's been called on so much too help with our coverage teams he hasn't been the factor in run defense that he should have been. 

It all comes down to commitment and toughness. If you can't get that from your front 7, then you aren't going to get much at all.

[Sgt Schultz]

The thing about a secondary is one player can make a huge difference. 

Think back to 2015.  We had a great front 7, and as usual, the questions were about our secondary.  Then Josh Norman became a shutdown CB out of nowhere, and it changed the entire dynamic.  He allowed the safeties to cheat toward other receivers/zones. 

It will also help, as the OP says, if the DL can generate pressure, especially if they are a threat to do that without a need to send a 5th rusher into the mix.  They don't necessarily need to get sacks if they accelerate the QBs mental clock. 

Sacks are great, don't get me wrong.  The difference between 3rd and 7 after a throw away and 3rd and 16 after a sack can not be understated, although last year either would have resulted in a conversion.  But seeing a QB throw the ball sooner than he wanted because he feels pressure (whether it is actually there or not) is the next-best thing.

Edited March 23, 2021 by Sgt Schultz