McDermott struggling to get Panthers' defense on track

[Marguide]

This is poor way to look at things. First off you didn't bring up any players they lost. But even if we assume that they have more talent on D this year this really only shows that McD is better than their new DC (the guy that was their OLine coach last year BTW) not that he's actually any good.

But I'll give you pie/rep just cause you used bullets.

Haha, thanks.

Granted it is hard to compare across years, but there isn't a lot of info we can use as non-professionals to evaluate his performance as a DC. I would be willing to guess though that if we had that lineup of additions, our defense would look a bit different this year.

[rayzor]

How about you face reality instead of your emotional stammering that it is not McDermott's fault, it's not Rivera's fault, it's not Hurney's fault, it's not Richardson's fault...WHO's freaking fault is it?! Please explain rather than making excuses for those responsible to put a NFL ready D on the field.

i think the problem here is people are looking for the one thing to blame when there just isn't one thing to blame.

the defense is bad because of all the reasons that have been given, but they are all things that can be corrected given more time...time to heal injuries, gain more experience, gain a better understanding of the system/defense, and time to bring in a few more much needed players to raise the overall level of talent on the defense.

people act as if we jumped off a cliff or something. we didn't. the defense sucks this year, but it's not hopeless. it's things that can be corrected in an offseason. the same coaching staff that turned our offense around should be able to turn the defense around.

as to whether or not mcdermott is doing a good job or not...the defense sucks this year. not much more you can say about it. they haven't turned the lemons they got into lemonade. i will say that he needs to have more time with the scheme than just this year and also point out that it isn't just his scheme....it's rivera's as well. probably moreso rivera's.

should one or both be fired? nope. they should be given a full offseason and the benefit of having beason back as well as not having 3 starters out at the beginning of the season as well as the same level of attention given to upgrading the defense as they had in upgrading the offense this year.

they essentially get a pass for this year that they don't get next year. next year there is no reason that they shouldn't have a top 10 defense. at the very least a top 15, though i wouldn't be incredibly happy with that.

[DawgzLife]

Not the whole defense, but he certainly was a big puzzle piece for the D line. They expected to plug him in as a starting caliber DT, and he is one. Shame he got hurt, but he wasn't known to be injury prone at all. If he played this year I'm sure the D-Line would have benefited....I guess we'll have to wait and see..

No so sure, but you are entitled to believe anything you want. Some thought Tank Tyler would be able to do something when he came from the Chiefs too, but he just got cut; I think Edwards actually took Tylers job in KC, but I may not be remembering that correctly. Edwards played the Nose in a 3-4, so he probably at worst could have helped our run D. I hope he comes back & tears it up, but he will be 32 or 33 by next season.

PP6 returned a Punt for a TD and there were a couple of ridiculous long pass plays given up. West Coast away game with a shortened off-season for a team coming off a 2-14 year. I didn't like it, but I can see how it happened.

That's like saying our D wasn't bad against the Titans since there was a KO return for a TD :cheers2: (maybe it was a punt return...I'm fuzzy on that). Many teams travel across country & don't tank. That game was early in the season, so they may not have jelled yet, but the problem is...they still haven't jelled.

I'm fine with people giving him the benefit of the doubt, but I give him more doubt than benefit. You can tell when a team is well coached from coordinators to HC; our OC has control of his area, DC & STs do not, IMO.

[DawgzLife]

i think the problem here is people are looking for the one thing to blame when there just isn't one thing to blame.

I can't speak for everyone, but I for 1 use root-cause analysis. It's not about it 'just' being McDermott, I agree completely, but you have to look at 'what' the break downs are: Poor alignment, players out of position, etc. Those areas are coaching, not talent. Missed tackles due to bad angles & technique tends to be more player dependent. Of course we need to get guys healthy, but I just don't think McDermott is the guy for the job. Whose fault is it that our D consistently falls apart in the 2nd half? I say coaching, but that is arguable.

people act as if we jumped off a cliff or something. we didn't. the defense sucks this year, but it's not hopeless. it's things that can be corrected in an offseason. the same coaching staff that turned our offense around should be able to turn the defense around.

You mean Chud is going to help McDermott this off-season? Good! :p Seriously, our success on offense is not d/t Rivera...BUT...Rivera has been a defensive guru, so I have high hopes for the improvement too. I just think we need a better DC. I can certainly be wrong tho.

as to whether or not mcdermott is doing a good job or not...the defense sucks this year. not much more you can say about it. they haven't turned the lemons they got into lemonade. i will say that he needs to have more time with the scheme than just this year and also point out that it isn't just his scheme....it's rivera's as well. probably moreso rivera's.

I think that's a blessing & curse. Rivera has fielded stout defenses & probably, as you say, has implemented HIS plan, but McDermott has to run it. I want a DC who can adapt & improve on a gameplan, not who just listens & does not take control of the D. Not to fight our HC, but the DC is responsible for what we see on the field to a large degree.

should one or both be fired? nope. they should be given a full offseason and the benefit of having beason back as well as not having 3 starters out at the beginning of the season as well as the same level of attention given to upgrading the defense as they had in upgrading the offense this year.

they essentially get a pass for this year that they don't get next year. next year there is no reason that they shouldn't have a top 10 defense. at the very least a top 15, though i wouldn't be incredibly happy with that.

Rivera needs time, I agree. McDermott has been a DC before, so he does not get the same 'pass' in my opinion. I just don't want to be sitting here next year 'wondering' why our D still loses games for us. The D will be much better...the odds are against them being worse even if they try to be.

Good post. You are more optimistic about McDermott than I am, but I hope I am wrong.

[ed bell]

To be perfectly honest, not only are we young a young team personnel-wise, the HC-OC-DC core of our coaching staff isn't exactly seasoned either. Our DC and OC have one year NFL experience each at that position...HC is a rookie. I'm going to have to give them all room to operate and fill the void. Rivera has my trust and he's going to be the one to evaluate his choices at OC and DC. I'll give him that room. To do otherwise is the equivalent of running around yelling "Hire Cowher"..."Hire Del-Rio"...."Hire Chucky"...."Hire Kevin Greene"....

[panthers55]

I can't speak for everyone, but I for 1 use root-cause analysis. It's not about it 'just' being McDermott, I agree completely, but you have to look at 'what' the break downs are: Poor alignment, players out of position, etc. Those areas are coaching, not talent. Missed tackles due to bad angles & technique tends to be more player dependent. Of course we need to get guys healthy, but I just don't think McDermott is the guy for the job. Whose fault is it that our D consistently falls apart in the 2nd half? I say coaching, but that is arguable.

The coach isn't on the field making plays, he can only tell them what to do and help them practice those skills. Poor alignment and players out of position issues like penalties are on the players not the coach. Poor execution comes with inexperience. Few of the defensive players have much of any experience with this scheme and many have little experience period. McDermott is doing the right things but the players have to execute and they aren't. Poor tackling? Blame that on the fact that the team can have 14 practices in full pads during the season.

The parties have agreed that, during the 17-week regular season, teams will conduct only 14 practices in pads.

Let’s repeat that. During the 17-week regular season, teams will have a maximum of only 14 padded practices.

More specifically, teams can have 11 padded practices during the first 11 weeks of the season, with two padded practices permitted in a given week only once. Then, for the final six weeks of the season, a total of three padded practices may be conducted.

Exactly how do you work on tackling when player have no contact during the week??

McDermott was seriously handicapped by the lockout this year. Combine that with some of the ridiculous rules in the CBA and injuries to the core of his defense which is a great NT and linebacker play and his job is exceedingly difficult.

If things don't improve next year, then he deserves criticism but this year, not so much.

[Cj72]

I actually wonder if the defense is really that much worse this year than last.......you have to take into account how bad the offense was. I mean, the panthers were lucky to score 10 so who knows how much was good defense and how much was the other team taking their foot off the gas.

[frash.exe]

hey if you guys think mcdermott is bad we could always bring back trgovac first chance we get so he could assign our MLB to cover top 3 receivers in the slot running crossing routes like what he called against the texans in 2007. boy i miss that mastermind trgogenius

[Guild]

Stop losing on third downs and this defense turns around.

[panthers55]

Others have said it but the reality is that losing Davis, Beason, and Edwards did kill the defense. Mcdermott's scheme requires a great NT to clog up the middle so DEs don't have to pinch inside all the time giving up the edges and offensive linemen don't get to the second level. Davis was one of the fastest guys on the team and could shadow Vick, keep up with slot receivers like Bush and Sproles and was a big hitter. How many times do we get killed with TEs and running backs over the middle. With Davis and Beason that didn't happen. Beason was as important to the defense as a QB is to the offense.As others have said, he was a huge loss. You want to know why players are in the wrong spot, have poor fits and gap integrity?? Look no further than Beason being out who was our field general. I like Anderson but as a leader neither he nor Connor can hold a candle to him. On defense he is as important as Newton is on offense. Put Jimmy in there and see how the offense plummets. That is what happened to the defense. How would Chud look without Newton? That is how McDermott looks without Beason.

Call them excuses, I call it reality.

[Dex]

Cut Cam.

[2jakefansinva]

To be perfectly honest, not only are we young a young team personnel-wise, the HC-OC-DC core of our coaching staff isn't exactly seasoned either. Our DC and OC have one year NFL experience each at that position...HC is a rookie. I'm going to have to give them all room to operate and fill the void. Rivera has my trust and he's going to be the one to evaluate his choices at OC and DC. I'll give him that room. To do otherwise is the equivalent of running around yelling "Hire Cowher"..."Hire Del-Rio"...."Hire Chucky"...."Hire Kevin Greene"....

nice post.

people just need to chill.................:cam:

[MWCarolina]

It's the players fault. People are in position to make plays and consistently don't make them, missed tackles etc

i agree that it's some of the players fault, i also think the issue is we dont have the talent to win with on defense, i mean, the DTs are McClain and Fua, there is no DT that is drawing double teams or breaking away and shutting down the runs and add to that, the cornerbacks arent the best either, there is no shutdown corners or playmaking ones and the injuries at linebacker just made it worse. i expect them to improve next year when they draft new players and sign free agents.

[CarolinaPanthers2K11]

Others have said it but the reality is that losing Davis, Beason, and Edwards did kill the defense. Mcdermott's scheme requires a great NT to clog up the middle so DEs don't have to pinch inside all the time giving up the edges and offensive linemen don't get to the second level. Davis was one of the fastest guys on the team and could shadow Vick, keep up with slot receivers like Bush and Sproles and was a big hitter. How many times do we get killed with TEs and running backs over the middle. With Davis and Beason that didn't happen. Beason was as important to the defense as a QB is to the offense.As others have said, he was a huge loss. You want to know why players are in the wrong spot, have poor fits and gap integrity?? Look no further than Beason being out who was our field general. I like Anderson but as a leader neither he nor Connor can hold a candle to him. On defense he is as important as Newton is on offense. Put Jimmy in there and see how the offense plummets. That is what happened to the defense. How would Chud look without Newton? That is how McDermott looks without Beason.

Call them excuses, I call it reality.

Agreed, the key personnel and focal point to McDermott's D are currently in shambles or just not up to par. If the key cog is missing in your machine, of course it's going to run like garbage. Just have to use a makeshift solution and hope it gets you home before it breaks down, and unfortunately it hasn't made it back often this year...

McDermott's job is to have his players in positions to make plays, not actually make the plays. I think we may be dead last in the league in regards to missed tackles. Now, you tell me how to correct that problem when teams are limited in their amount of padded practices... How do you get better at tackling in pads if you can't hit in pads at practices?

Thank you NFLPA for helping sissify our league with additional training restrictions on a flippin' CONTACT sport.