Not buying the "good to great" characterization, but it's a plan

[top dawg]

I'm not gonna lie, I did raise an eyebrow and grin amusingly when I heard Matt Rhule refer to the Panthers defense as "good."  Apparently it's a thing now--a belief turning into a mantra of sorts this offseason. I can live with that.

You don't get to be the #2 in yards allowed, what some might refer  to as "total defense," by totally sucking. It means there must be some promise--talent, somewhere (if not everywhere). But in scoring defense we were 21st in 2021 after being 18th in 2020. All that being said, I believe we're moving in the right direction. I think so, and so does Augusta Stone for Panthers.com.

 

"Defensive coordinator Phil Snow has the Panthers moving in a positive direction, as Carolina's total defense has jumped from 18th in 2020 to 2nd in 2021, Snow's first and second years."

 

But for me the goal is to be #1 in yards allowed and #1 in scoring. Two ways that we can get there is by focusing on the red zone and creating turnovers. That's what Matt Rhule is focusing on.

 

"We're not good enough in the red zone or scoring defense, which is obviously what matters. That would be the number one thing," Rhule said. Number two is we have to create more turnovers. We want to lead the league in takeaways, and we have the guys to do it."

 

So if this is what matters, then how can the defense be considered "good?" I would consider our defenses the last couple of years to be mediocre with good potential, and as such I'd be happy with going from average--nothing to write home about--to good. Moreover, my advice to Rhule would be to not only focus on the red zone and scoring, but to focus on getting off the field on third downs, where we were surprisingly 8th according to teamrankings.com (https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/opponent-third-down-conversion-pct). That's another indicator that Snow has us moving in the right direction, but, even still, we need to be better. 

All that being said, we're not exactly dog sh¡t as some have intimated, we're a young team with talent that will hopefully turn the corner this year. With another season under their belts, additional and better coaching, and hopefully avoiding the injury bugaboo that frankly caused havoc last year, we may just be able to move up legitimately in the ranks.

I would be remiss not to mention the fact that in Rhule's interview today, he said that our 2021 defense had the worst defensive starting position of any team in the last five years. He said that of course the play of special teams had something to do with that, but he also mentioned that the offense played a part in that as well.  He expressly hopes that Andre Roberts will help with field position, as Roberts still played at a high level in 2021. And of course it should go without saying that with the addition of Ben McAdoo, the acquisitions of Baker Mayfield, Matt Corral, and D'Onta Foreman, the revamping and seasoning of our O-line with Ickey Ekwonu and company, along with the evolution of Sam Darnold, Chuba Hubbard, and Tommy Tremble, that this should help the defense greatly.

And I didn't even mention defensive additions like Xavier Woods and Damien Wilson, the seasoning and evolution of young and legitimately talented players like Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, Frankie Luvu, C.J. Henderson and Yetur Gross-Matos. Sure, we can stand to add more line depth and perhaps another veteran corner, but there are reasons why many analysts and people outside of the Huddle, and outside of Panthers.com, feel that the defense has the potential to be good (if not great).  

We'll find out relatively soon.

https://www.panthers.com/news/brian-burns-working-to-lead-defense-from-good-to-great

[Ja Rhule]

I’m not buying what Tepper and Rhule selling.  They have burned this fan base too many times.  I say prove me wrong.

[SmokinwithWilly]

Defense wasn't great last year but that was hardly the issue. Our offense looked like a nursing home scooter race. Welcome to the Dependy 500. 

[t96]

Hard to evaluate points against when our offense gave other teams the ball several times per game, couldn’t sustain drives at all, and our ST play was terrible. I think our defense was great last year overall. Yes we gave away some leads but I think that was in large part because the D would get tired late in games having been on the field so much. We lost some players on D too though so we’ll see how they do this year. I’m optimistic about that side of the ball in general.

 

Rhule and overall coaching along with QB play are my main concerns this year. OL should at the very least be average, likely above average and possibly elite. McCaffrey’s health is another key X factor. Him behind this line should make Baker’s job much easier.

[Ricky Spanish]

People don't understand efficiency statistics. 

On a per red zone trip basis, we were one of the worst defenses in the league. It doesn't matter how the other teams got there, but once they were there, they scored TDs at will. 

That's not a good defense. 

[top dawg]

36 minutes ago, Ricky Spanish said:

People don't understand efficiency statistics. 

On a per red zone trip basis, we were one of the worst defenses in the league. It doesn't matter how the other teams got there, but once they were there, they scored TDs at will. 

That's not a good defense. 

It matters. The shorter the field and the longer the defense is on the field matters in football. Turnovers and turnover differential are perhaps the most telling stats of all, and we were terrible. 

I've already said that I didn't think we had a good defense, but there are reasons to think that we can turn into one.

[YourLastThought]

9 hours ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

Defense wasn't great last year but that was hardly the issue. Our offense looked like a nursing home scooter race. Welcome to the Dependy 500. 

Ya know, if a nursing home scooter race included full contact and maybe with each driver carrying a kendo stick or some type of good bludgeoning weapon I would probably tune in for it if it were televised. Add in some Norris oxide on those scooters and a few hand wielded weapons like a good mace or samari sword and I might even purchase the pay per view.

Edited July 28, 2022 by YourLastThought

[Khyber53]

I sure hope everything works great this season and we have one for the record books.

Please excuse me while I don't hold my breath for it, though. I've been disappointed so badly over the last couple of years that I'm going to have to see massive improvement before believing they've arrived.

Show me and I'll cheer like never before.

[YourLastThought]

5 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

I sure hope everything works great this season and we have one for the record books.

Please excuse me while I don't hold my breath for it, though. I've been disappointed so badly over the last couple of years that I'm going to have to see massive improvement before believing they've arrived.

Show me and I'll cheer like never before.

Well I basically feel the same way you do. I hope for the very best but I certainly won't hold my breath and not putting money on it. I'm going to have to see a few consecutive seasons of winning some games, quality coaching and at least some sort of playoff appearances before I will be able to put my full faith in our direction year after year.

 

[LinvilleGorge]

I have yet to see any evidence that Rhule is anything more than a snake oil salesman. 

[Waldo]

The entire scheme would work a lot better back in school. I'm not even sure if we can hit on an average D this year. Just saying it over and over doesn't realy change anything, at least not for people who are not susceptible to being sold BS. 

[Tbe]

11 hours ago, top dawg said:

I'm not gonna lie, I did raise an eyebrow and grin amusingly when I heard Matt Rhule refer to the Panthers defense as "good."  Apparently it's a thing now--a belief turning into a mantra of sorts this offseason. I can live with that.

You don't get to be the #2 in yards allowed, what some might refer  to as "total defense," by totally sucking. It means there must be some promise--talent, somewhere (if not everywhere). But in scoring defense we were 21st in 2021 after being 18th in 2020. All that being said, I believe we're moving in the right direction. I think so, and so does Augusta Stone for Panthers.com.

 

"Defensive coordinator Phil Snow has the Panthers moving in a positive direction, as Carolina's total defense has jumped from 18th in 2020 to 2nd in 2021, Snow's first and second years."

 

But for me the goal is to be #1 in yards allowed and #1 in scoring. Two ways that we can get there is by focusing on the red zone and creating turnovers. That's what Matt Rhule is focusing on.

 

"We're not good enough in the red zone or scoring defense, which is obviously what matters. That would be the number one thing," Rhule said. Number two is we have to create more turnovers. We want to lead the league in takeaways, and we have the guys to do it."

 

So if this is what matters, then how can the defense be considered "good?" I would consider our defenses the last couple of years to be mediocre with good potential, and as such I'd be happy with going from average--nothing to write home about--to good. Moreover, my advice to Rhule would be to not only focus on the red zone and scoring, but to focus on getting off the field on third downs, where we were surprisingly 8th according to teamrankings.com (https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/opponent-third-down-conversion-pct). That's another indicator that Snow has us moving in the right direction, but, even still, we need to be better. 

All that being said, we're not exactly dog sh¡t as some have intimated, we're a young team with talent that will hopefully turn the corner this year. With another season under their belts, additional and better coaching, and hopefully avoiding the injury bugaboo that frankly caused havoc last year, we may just be able to move up legitimately in the ranks.

I would be remiss not to mention the fact that in Rhule's interview today, he said that our 2021 defense had the worst defensive starting position of any team in the last five years. He said that of course the play of special teams had something to do with that, but he also mentioned that the offense played a part in that as well.  He expressly hopes that Andre Roberts will help with field position, as Roberts still played at a high level in 2021. And of course it should go without saying that with the addition of Ben McAdoo, the acquisitions of Baker Mayfield, Matt Corral, and D'Onta Foreman, the revamping and seasoning of our O-line with Ickey Ekwonu and company, along with the evolution of Sam Darnold, Chuba Hubbard, and Tommy Tremble, that this should help the defense greatly.

And I didn't even mention defensive additions like Xavier Woods and Damien Wilson, the seasoning and evolution of young and legitimately talented players like Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, Frankie Luvu, C.J. Henderson and Yetur Gross-Matos. Sure, we can stand to add more line depth and perhaps another veteran corner, but there are reasons why many analysts and people outside of the Huddle, and outside of Panthers.com, feel that the defense has the potential to be good (if not great).  

We'll find out relatively soon.

https://www.panthers.com/news/brian-burns-working-to-lead-defense-from-good-to-great

They were #2 in yards allowed because the offense constantly gave the other team a short field. 

If the other team only has to go 30 yards to score, that is recorded as our D only giving up 30 yards. Yay?!?

It’s a dumb stat. By other measures we had one of the worst Ds last year.

[pantherclaw]

I know the current huddle narrative is our team sucks giant donkey dick, and Rhule hasn't improved the team at all. 

But this is now fuging ridiculous. The level that yall are willing to go to, can't be taken seriously by anybody with a brain. 

[CPcavedweller]

11 hours ago, Ja Rhule said:

I’m not buying what Tepper and Rhule selling.  They have burned this fan base too many times.  I say prove me wrong.

He's going into Year 3 of a 7 year contract. This was a tear down and rebuild. What happened last year was expected by everyone except blind Panthers fans.