Carolina Panthers: Bruce Irvin setting lofty defensive expectations
The Carolina Panthers have made big changes to the defensive front and newcomer Bruce Irvin is setting the bar high for this group in 2019.
Bruce Irvin, newly a member of the Carolina Panthers via early in 2019 free agency, was formerly a member of the Seattle Seahawks. Specifically, Irvin was a part of the Seattle defensive front back in 2013 when Pete Caroll’s team went on to win the Super Bowl over the Denver Broncos. That might not seem all that relevant but Irvin is making it so.
When asked by Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer what the defensive line — which is transitioning to more of a 3-4 base this season — looked like in minicamp, Irvin compared it to the 2013 Seahawks team. The West Virginia product noted the high-end talent of that group in Seattle in addition to the depth of the unit. Thus, he was saying the same thing of this group in Carolina.
Make no mistake, the Panthers have been focused on improving the defensive front this offseason. Even with Julius Peppers‘ somewhat expected retirement, Ron Rivera‘s team has added Irvin, Gerald McCoy and 2019 first-round pick Brian Burns to the mix. That trio joins a group that includes Pro-Bowler Kawann Short, Dontari Poe, Mario Addison, underrated performer Bryan Cox and 2017 first-rounder Vernon Butler.
While it remains to be seen how the transition from a staunch 4-3 base defensive scheme to a 3-4 will go on the field, Irvin is certainly hyping this group up. Based on the talent level, it’s not hard to see why that’s the case. And the Panthers certainly hope that will be the case.
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In 2018 as Carolina missed the playoffs and finished the year on quite a sour note, the Panthers pass rush was hardly consistent or effective. They were near the bottom of the NFL in terms of sacks and clearly wanted to change that. Adding a young, explosive pass-rusher like Burns, a proven All-Pro caliber player in McCoy and a veteran like Irvin will certainly help.
With the way that the Panthers as a whole are currently constructed, they need their defense to be more effective in this regard. Christian McCaffrey‘s emergence has given Carolina’s offense an identity that goes through the running back, even with Cam Newton still in the fold. However, that type of offense is best served with a great defense backing them up to control time of possession.
It’s important to note that the Seahawks defensive line that Irvin is comparing this group to was backed by one of the best secondaries we’ve seen in NFL history, the vaunted Legion of Boom. The likes of James Bradberry, Donte Jackson and Eric Reid aren’t exactly the same caliber of players as what Seattle had to work with.
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Even still, if this defensive front in Carolina steps up to the degree that Irvin is seemingly saying they’re capable of, that will go a long way in helping the Panthers get back to the postseason. We’ll see soon enough, though, if him setting the expectations this high is just smoke or if there is indeed fire as well.