Carolina Panthers, Enough Personnel for a 3-4 Defense?
By De White
Do the Carolina Panthers have enough for a 3-4 defensive front?
Throughout the year, the defense of the Carolina Panthers became one of the worse in team history. Often described as the strength of the team, the 2018-19 campaign quickly drowned in uncertainty and a drastically lowered quality of play. Players declined, loses mounted, coaches were fired, and fans wanted and expected more from a defense that featured Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, newly signed Dontari Poe, Kawann Short, Hall of Famer Julius Peppers, and eventually the powerful hitting Eric Reid. Expectations were exceptionally high in long offseason and with a a 6-2 start to the season, yet the metaphorical bottom fell out and the team suffered a seven game losing streak that took all hope of playoff contention away.
Head Coach Ron Rivera remained positive despite the mounting loses, and many people wondered if the two-time Coach of the Year would return to the team after the sudden collapse. Yet, the man known as Riverboat Ron remained while others would depart (Perry Fewell, Jake Peetz, Everette Brown, and recently retired Ben Jacobs were hired to replace departing coaches while Sam Mills III was promoted to the new position of Game Management Coach), whether by termination or by choice.
With smaller positions taken care of (possibly more to come) the bigger news of the offseason came as a shock to fans. The continued use of Eric Washington as the Defensive Coordinator after a disastrous season in which Rivera completely took control of defensive play-calling and the equally important news that the team would possibly consider a change to the more effective 3-4 defense. Though both bits of information raise more than a few questions, considering the change to a new defensive look could be equally beneficial and damaging without the right personnel to pull it off. Would the Panthers have the right players in position to effectively pull off the transition? Here, we will look at the position groups to determine if the Panthers could expect a successful turnover or another losing season.