2004 and 2008

[panther4life]

were the 2 worst defenses we had under then john fox era. what is your explanation of this? btw we had one of the worst offenses in the same year that we had our best D 2002

My Initial thought was that it lied in our front 7, but im not sold thats the reason either yet....interesting thing to note is jenkis was injured most of 04 and didnt play for us last year

So let me hear your theories on this please

[joemac]

I think that it has been an urban legend around the NFL that we have had this dominant defense for the past 8 years or so. They are middle of the pack, or slightly above, and thats it. Everyone talks about the vaunted Carolina Panthers defense, but I just dont get it.

[Mr. Scot]

There were plenty of times this year when lack of interior pressure on opposing QBs was a big issue.

[Chan Fan]

I think that it has been an urban legend around the NFL that we have had this dominant defense for the past 8 years or so. They are middle of the pack, or slightly above, and thats it. Everyone talks about the vaunted Carolina Panthers defense, but I just dont get it.

From 02'-05' we had pretty good defenses. The last three or so years is where we've really declined. I think in general people realize we're not a good defense anymore.

[Mr. Scot]

I asked a while back whether people thought the character of the team might be shifting to 'offense first'. Most folks still don't buy it, though Darin Gantt posited the same theory just recently.

Fox wouldn't be the first defensive-minded coach to run an offense-oriented team if that were to happen.

[SorthNarolina]

I think that it has been an urban legend around the NFL that we have had this dominant defense for the past 8 years or so. They are middle of the pack, or slightly above, and thats it. Everyone talks about the vaunted Carolina Panthers defense, but I just dont get it.

it's because of our previous success, guys in the media and the announcers who don't follow us closely just assume we stay consitent

our defense is very good when we have the talent, sometimes things just don't go our way

[CharlotteBeer.com]

The important thing is not to focus on how lopsided these years were, but to remember what happened the year after when the weaknesses were addressed.

As you pointed out, we had a great defense in 2002 but an anemic offense. Add Jake Delhomme and Stephen Davis, and we make a Super Bowl appearance.

We fix the defense after 2004 (which was Delhomme's best year, in spite of Smith's injury) and we make a great run to the playoffs in 2005.

Last season, we had one of the league's best offenses, but our defense diminished from about the midway point of the season and on. It's no coincidence our offense was our strength, as Hurney, Fox and company took great strides in improving that side of the ball.

I haven't totally given up on Fox yet. I think he is a good defensive coach when it comes down to it, and will overhaul the defense this offseason just as he did the offense prior to last season. We've got a brutal schedule, but I think if we can fix some areas on defense we will be playoff contenders again. Meeks, I hope, will really help us do that.

But I guess I'm being a bit optimistic here.

[Woodie]

There were plenty of times this year when lack of interior pressure on opposing QBs was a big issue.

IMO, that was the heart of our defensive struggles. I think both Brayton and Johnson were good enough (10 1/2 sacks between them, IIRC), so 25 sacks from the DE position is perfectly fine. However, Kemo is a run stopper that plugs holes, and Lewis is a better fit coming off the bench. He just wasn't able to get a consistent push up the middle as a starter.

So with neither DT (or their backups) getting much pressure, that left a nice pocket for the QB to step up into to buy a little time. Take that pocket away, and I think a lot of the big plays in the passing game would have never happened.

[mantal]

IMO, that was the heart of our defensive struggles. I think both Brayton and Johnson were good enough (10 1/2 sacks between them, IIRC), so 25 sacks from the DE position is perfectly fine. However, Kemo is a run stopper that plugs holes, and Lewis is a better fit coming off the bench. He just wasn't able to get a consistent push up the middle as a starter.

So with neither DT (or their backups) getting much pressure, that left a nice pocket for the QB to step up into to buy a little time. Take that pocket away, and I think a lot of the big plays in the passing game would have never happened.

Spot on, good post! A high octane DT addition will help our whole defense tremendously...

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

I'm like the fifth person to say this in this thread, but we need an interior pass rusher to complement Kemoeatu's skill set. Damione Lewis has been solid for us but I think he'd do better as a rotational player. I feel that making it so the QB can't step up in the pocket is an underappreciated aspect of a good pass rush, and it doesn't get mentioned nearly as often as it should.

As for Jenkins, Jordan Carstens pretty much made us forget that he even existed in 2005.

[Jangler]

I think it might come from different defensive philosophies. If Fox would just let his coordinators do their job, we might have a consistent defense from year to year.

[hdevonxz]

2007 was a terrible defense as well.

[panther4life]

2007 was a terrible defense as well.

Part of the reason for that is the rotation of qb's we had...that led to our d being on the field alot

[mountainpantherfan]

I asked a while back whether people thought the character of the team might be shifting to 'offense first'. Most folks still don't buy it, though Darin Gantt posited the same theory just recently.

Fox wouldn't be the first defensive-minded coach to run an offense-oriented team if that were to happen.

I have a theroy that there are no defensive minded head coaches in the NFL. There may be head coaches that come from a defensive background but once they become head coach they become offensive minded.

The perfect gameplan for Fox is as follows:

-Panthers recieve opening kick off

-Panther drive field and score TD (15:00 minutes)

-Opposing team recieves 2nd half kick off

-Three and out (2:23)

-Panthers drive field and score last second FG (12:37)

And John Fox would be the happiest coach ever!

Don't get me wrong, Fox wants a dominant defense when they are on the field. He would just rather the offense be on the field for 99% of the game.