Carolina Panthers A Defense Destined to Dominate

[The Huddler]

These thread happen every year and every year we go out and lay an egg

 

BOOOOO  GTFO!  lol

[FattyFatFat]

Same here. A ton of value. I'm sure you got them late like I did..

...could unseat The 49rs as top Defense.

My very last pick in both. Seattle, 9ers all going off the board in the 7 th and 8th. I just smiled and shook my head.

[The Huddler]

My very last pick in both. Seattle, 9ers all going off the board in the 7 th and 8th. I just smiled and shook my head.

And I'm sure you used that pick on solid depth, perhaps trade bait in a few weeks.

[RelaxImaPro]

I just speak slowly and put an "o" at the end of words. Where is the bathroom? You know, room-o de bath-o?

 

 

True story.  I did that in my high school Spanish class.  We had to write a story about going out somewhere to eat and what we'd order... well I didn't know hardly a lick of fuging Spanish because I, uh... skipped that class like all the damn time.

 

I wrote something along the lines of "I go tu el McDonaldos y geto el Big Maco"

 

Yeah, my teacher hated me.  :P

[Razeyfingers]

I'm saying that it isn't a matter of whose defense Wilson plays against, he is NOT a game manager type QB.  Yes they did rely on Lynch and a strong defense but towards the end of the year Wilson came into his own and flat out carried that team at times, including the aforementioned Atly anta playoff game.

 

It's trivial to say that the defense he was playing against has any relevance.  That would be like me saying that Cam turned his season around last year when he began playing poor defenses.  

 

Seattle has a great defense, and an even better secondary.  I think Cam will have to make extremely accurate passes and good decisions, something that I don't think he excels at, so that's why I said they match up well.  And I don't think its a matter of which QB is "better" but more to the point that which QB will be better on Sunday.  If we can run the ball and Cam can make good decisions and score some points we have a great chance to win.  But we will have to play extremely well to do so.  The seahawks have greater room for error because they are simply more talented.

 

And I apologize for the comments, I'm not trying to be a smartass, I actually enjoy talking rationally about the team rather than saying "we're gonna blow them out" or "we're going to dominate them" sort of mantra that has been going around lately.  I just haven't seen anything to make me believe that to this point.  I hope we do, but I am just skeptical that we can.

 

I understand, but this quote here "It's trivial to say that the defense he was playing against has any relevance" is very off. What can I say? I wont say anything mean, but man. . . can youuuuuuuuu . . . really say that?

 

'The defense a QB plays has no relevance to his play in that particular game'. . . . .thats what youre saying right?

 

 

I personally dont compare two different scenarios where two different teams with two different sets of players, on two different fields, with two different injury list variables, with two different QB's. . etc, etc. I can take a large set of that data out of several games and probably get something out of it. . but not a couple of games. On that note, if I were to compare Cam's best two games with Wilson's two best games, who do you think would look more impressive?

[FattyFatFat]

And I'm sure you used that pick on solid depth, perhaps trade bait in a few weeks.

That's the plan. Only regret I have is not taking keek as IDP. I thought he'd last one more round.

[The Huddler]

meh i dont do defensive drafts

[K-Hawk]

Friendly enemy fan here. Just wanted to temper your joy at tackling Wilson with your improved D. First, let me agree your D should be better. Bad news, so should ours.

 

While you added Beason and Lutuleile (sp?), we added several on our D, also. Most talk about the D-line additions, but to me the most important and exciting addition is at the nickel slot. In getting Walter Thurmond back from injury, we now have 5 Pro Bowl-quality DBs that will be on the field on passing downs, and incrdible depth at CB, in particular, but also at Safety, so if anyone goes down there shouldn't be much drop off in your favor.

Our run D will probably take some games to solidify as the D line will be a bit of a rotisserie till mid-season, but Seattle doesn't just have the best back four in the NFL, it now has the best back 5 in the NFL. Earlt Thomas and Walter Thurmond will cover any deficiencies in the D-line till it heals up.

On offense, I hope you do your homework on Russel Wilson. He's never had a slump, let alone a sophomore slump. His bad games are most QBs good games. This is not because he is God's gift to physical specimens, it is because there is no such thing as a mental weakness within this kid.

More importantly, I see folks here comparing the Seahawks O they saw last year vs. their D this year. Does that make sense? No. And the primary reason why it makes no sense is because, and I realize few outside of Seattle fans know this, the one huge mistake our coaching staff made last year was having any training wheels on Wilson. It cost us two or more games early on, imo. Why? Wilson doesn't do training wheels. Don't take my word for it, research the kids if you want a clear idea of who you face this Sunday beyond the typical fan bravado.

Around the time of the NE game last season, they opened up the O a little. Then incrementally after that. But if you look back at Carroll's comments after Chicago, you hear a little nugget that has huge implications: It wasn't until the 4th quarter of the Chicago game that they let Wilson loose. It was the two drives for TDs in the fourth then overtime that made Pete realize the mistake he'd been making.

Now, from mid-season to the end of the year, Wilson had the first or second-best QB stats for the entire league. If you count from Chicago on, it's embarrassing how much better he was than everyone else. He had something like a 120 QB rating.

That is the QB you face, that offense you face (34 pts./gm) this Sunday, so adjust your analyses accordingly.

As for 10 AM games, jet lag is a real thing. Athletes fight it all over the planet, but for some reason the NFL pretends it doesn't exist. The good news is, it's a real problem. The bad news is, Seattle has been practicing at 10 AM instead of the traditional PM practices. If that helps us, you have a full 60 minute game on your hands. If it doesn't, you have about a 45 minute game on your hands.

Cheers, and may both teams come out injury-free.

[Kuech the Sneak]

Well see how the game goes, cam tore it up down the stretch too so your defense will be seeing a different offense as well.

[K-Hawk]

Adding on a bit in terms of analysis and not just info, I look at games this way first: What are the unit match-ups?

Who has the better Offense? Seattle's is more complete than yours is. A key for us will be how much Carpenter plays. Road grader at guard who has been injured the last three years. If he can go full speed, or even 80%, we should be able to run like last year. We both have the Run Option. Both QBs run. Cam has the stronger arm, Wilson the better accuracy. 64% vs. 57%.

And which is the more polished leader, the better at keeping his cool? Wilson.

Edge, Seattle.

Who has the better Defense? Edge, Seattle since it had the best scoring D in the league last year by more than two points. Next best? SF. This D has better personnel this year than last, also, so any gain for you is balanced by any gain by us.

So, SEA O vs. CAR D, neutral field? I take Seattle.

CAR O vs. SEA D, neutral field? I take Seattle.

Do HFA and jet lag overcome this? Given this is the first game of the season, changed practice times, and just being pumped for the first game, I say no. I think Seattle is more than 3 pts. better. If Carolina plays its best game, you can win. If both do, very close game to the Seahawks.

Cheers

[K-Hawk]

Well see how the game goes, cam tore it up down the stretch too so your defense will be seeing a different offense as well.

 

True. I should have mentioned that, but I haven't analyzed the changes on your team closely enough to speak in too much detail, but, yeah, that thought popped in my head, but then popped out again so didn't get in there.

Seattle by a smidgen.

[Chimera]

Friendly enemy fan here. Just wanted to temper your joy at tackling Wilson with your improved D. First, let me agree your D should be better. Bad news, so should ours.

While you added Beason and Lutuleile (sp?), we added several on our D, also. Most talk about the D-line additions, but to me the most important and exciting addition is at the nickel slot. In getting Walter Thurmond back from injury, we now have 5 Pro Bowl-quality DBs that will be on the field on passing downs, and incrdible depth at CB, in particular, but also at Safety, so if anyone goes down there shouldn't be much drop off in your favor.

Our run D will probably take some games to solidify as the D line will be a bit of a rotisserie till mid-season, but Seattle doesn't just have the best back four in the NFL, it now has the best back 5 in the NFL. Earlt Thomas and Walter Thurmond will cover any deficiencies in the D-line till it heals up.

On offense, I hope you do your homework on Russel Wilson. He's never had a slump, let alone a sophomore slump. His bad games are most QBs good games. This is not because he is God's gift to physical specimens, it is because there is no such thing as a mental weakness within this kid.

More importantly, I see folks here comparing the Seahawks O they saw last year vs. their D this year. Does that make sense? No. And the primary reason why it makes no sense is because, and I realize few outside of Seattle fans know this, the one huge mistake our coaching staff made last year was having any training wheels on Wilson. It cost us two or more games early on, imo. Why? Wilson doesn't do training wheels. Don't take my word for it, research the kids if you want a clear idea of who you face this Sunday beyond the typical fan bravado.

Around the time of the NE game last season, they opened up the O a little. Then incrementally after that. But if you look back at Carroll's comments after Chicago, you hear a little nugget that has huge implications: It wasn't until the 4th quarter of the Chicago game that they let Wilson loose. It was the two drives for TDs in the fourth then overtime that made Pete realize the mistake he'd been making.

Now, from mid-season to the end of the year, Wilson had the first or second-best QB stats for the entire league. If you count from Chicago on, it's embarrassing how much better he was than everyone else. He had something like a 120 QB rating.

That is the QB you face, that offense you face (34 pts./gm) this Sunday, so adjust your analyses accordingly.

As for 10 AM games, jet lag is a real thing. Athletes fight it all over the planet, but for some reason the NFL pretends it doesn't exist. The good news is, it's a real problem. The bad news is, Seattle has been practicing at 10 AM instead of the traditional PM practices. If that helps us, you have a full 60 minute game on your hands. If it doesn't, you have about a 45 minute game on your hands.

Cheers, and may both teams come out injury-free.

The same can be said for Cam and our offense. In 2011, we used a lot of read option to put up 48 on a Bucs team that had mentally checked out on the season. So in 2012, the coaches decided to go read option retarded, and our offense suffered.

We were still in retard mode versus the Hawks last season. We had like what 15 plays where we lost 3+ yards off of the read option that game.

Once we reverted to a more pro style offense (on the same lines that allowed Cam to win OROY and set multiple records in 2011) we got hot.

Our old OC is now the Browns' HC and I have little confidence in Shula or our O-line. But I do have confidence in those massive boulders on Cam's and Smitty's shoulders. I also have confidence in the old adage "the best offense is a good defense." We have the defense to score points and give our offense short fields. Oh, and I'm pretty confident in our special teams for the first time in ages.

tl;dr: I expect offense to sputter, but other aspects of our game can mask that weakness

[yeezy]

Another nugget I want to add is that it's a mild misconception that Seattle run's the read-option like crazy. They don't run it much and mostly use it as another element to just keep defenses guessing. About the only time Wilson actually picks up big rushing numbers is when he's escaping the pocket and just runs. He's very elusive I might add.

[K-Hawk]

The same can be said for Cam and our offense. In 2011, we used a lot of read option to put up 48 on a Bucs team that had mentally checked out on the season. So in 2012, the coaches decided to go read option retarded, and our offense suffered.

We were still in retard mode versus the Hawks last season. We had like what 15 plays where we lost 3+ yards off of the read option that game.

Once we reverted to a more pro style offense (on the same lines that allowed Cam to win OROY and set multiple records in 2011) we got hot.

Our old OC is now the Browns' HC and I have little confidence in Shula or our O-line. But I do have confidence in those massive boulders on Cam's and Smitty's shoulders. I also have confidence in the old adage "the best offense is a good defense." We have the defense to score points and give our offense short fields. Oh, and I'm pretty confident in our special teams for the first time in ages.

tl;dr: I expect offense to sputter, but other aspects of our game can mask that weakness

 

If you O sputters against the Seahawks D, best in the NFL last year, better personnel this year, is that good news for your team? That's pretty much predicting a loss for the Panthers, isn't it? If we get pressure on Cam and/or can push the LoS with our in-transition D-line, you're going to have a very hard time breaking 13 pts., I'd think.