The Panthers’ defense fought through injuries and coaching changes in 2018

The Panthers defense wasn’t as strong in 2018 as it has been in years past.

The Panthers’ defense struggled in 2018. There are several reasons this was the case, and it’s hard to single out one thing to place the most blame on—whether it be injuries, lack of a pass rush, inconsistency in coaching, or just failed execution—the overall story of the 2018 Panthers defense is a sad one.

Let’s dive into the details a bit and look back at what happened to the Panthers’ defense last season.

Injuries in the secondary

The Panthers signed cornerback Ross Cockrell and safety Da’Norris Searcy to shore up their secondary with veteran leadership, but unfortunately Cockrell broke his leg during training camp and Searcy sustained two concussions before the end of Week 2. Carolina also lost backup defensive back Kevon Seymour, who injured his shoulder during the preseason. All three players were placed in injured reserve and left the Panthers with a lack of depth on their roster in 2018.

Due to so many injuries, the Panthers had to rely on the tandem of James Bradberry and rookie Donte Jackson at cornerback, and brought in safety Eric Reid in free agency to fill the void left by Searcy’s absence. The secondary wasn’t the biggest failure of the defense in 2018, but if the Panthers would have been a bit luckier with the injury bug, things could have ended a lot differently in 2018 for Carolina’s defense.

No pass rush

Not only did the Panthers suffer from key injuries in the secondary, the front seven couldn’t generate pressure on the quarterback in 2018. This resulted in the defense giving up a lot of big plays by their opponents. The Panthers finished 2018 with 35 sacks, down from 2017’s total of 50. This lack of pressure put even more strain on an injury-riddled secondary, and the Panthers defense suffered because of it.

Perhaps the most depressing part of the Panthers’ lack of sacks in 2018 was the fact that future Hall of Famer and Panthers GOAT Julius Peppers finished the season one half-sack shy of moving into third place all-time in sacks. (Peppers ended his career with 159.5 sacks, good enough for fourth all-time in NFL history.) It’s truly a shame that we didn’t get to witness a bit of history with Peppers getting one more sack, but on the other hand we should consider ourselves fortunate to have the privilege of watching him play for so long.

Coaching carousel

Ron Rivera fired two defensive coaches and stripped Eric Washington of his play-calling duties during the midst of the team’s losing streak in the second half of the season. Once Rivera took over as the de-facto defensive coordinator the team played much better, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to turn the season around. It turns out the defense wasn’t the only reason the Panthers ended 2018 with a losing record. While 2018 didn’t end the way we wanted, there’s a chance the future will be brighter for Carolina with Rivera planning to call the plays on defense again in 2019.

What’s next?

There’s a lot more to the 2018 Panthers defense than I’ve covered today. So much that it will take more than one column to dive into all the details. Here at CSR we’re going to spend this week taking a closer look at the Panthers’ defense in 2018, and we’re going to provide some intricate details on each position group during the next few days. If that’s something that interests you, stay tuned!

from Cat Scratch Reader - All Posts http://bit.ly/2V5H4Ry