The Carolina Panthers are riding on the back of their defensive unit that ranks among the best in the leagues.
It’s clear that the Carolina Panthers offense is going through struggles eight games into the 2017 season. This has been chronicled by articles and talking head commentary across the sport. But the Panthers defense is flying under the radar as it has returned to the form that made this team dangerous in the past. With half the season gone, Carolina boasts one of the top defenses in the league in a variety of ways.
Carolina is sitting in the fourth position among the 32 teams in the NFL for total defense. Across the board the team is ranked near the top when it comes to yards per game, and is allowing only 17.8 points per game. While there is much to celebrate there, what’s most prominent is that the Panthers are succeeding as a passing defense. This is one area where the team struggled mightily last season, but has turned things around, holding teams to 182.4 yards through the air and 10 touchdowns.
This has been without Kurt Coleman, who returned to action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Sunday, and leveraging the youthful abilities of James Bradberry and Daryl Worley. The duo came into the league together in 2016 as second and third round draft picks respectively. Together they’ve emerged as a successful tandem that the team can rely on.
One of the reasons that Bradberry and Worley are doing so well in the defensive backfield is because the Panthers are getting into the offensive backfield. The team has 27 sacks and is among some of the top teams in that area. Keeping opposing quarterbacks under pressure has allowed the Panthers to force errant plays that has turned into 11 interceptions for Carolina; second in the league. Julius Peppers, who turns 38 this season, leads the team with 7.5 sacks this year. He’s followed by Mario Addison with 5.5 and Kwann Short with 4 sacks. This front unit is putting pressure on the quarterback and making it count.
According to David Newton of ESPN, the Panthers are blitzing 17 percent more under Steve Wilks who took over as defensive coordinator this year. In previous years the team blitzed 24.9 percent under Sean McDermott and that number has jumped up to 41.1 percent under Wilks. That increase can be attributed to the likes of Peppers and having a healthy defensive unit at this point in the year.
“It’s a very aggressive style,” Coach Ron Rivera said as reported by Newton. “We’ve got a few more tools now than we’ve had in the past that Steve is being able to use. A part of it is when you have guys that are effective in certain roles you put them in those roles and use them.”
In recent years the Panthers have pushed their way to success through two specific attributes: consistent running performance and strong defensive play. While the offense is not hitting on all cylinders, the defensive side on the ball is protected by one of the best units in the league.