Carolina Panthers: Kawann Short and Gerald McCoy forming bond
The Carolina Panthers will be in good hands with these defensive lineman.
As training camp occurred on Saturday, there were a lot of good things to be said about the Carolina Panthers as a team. Max Henson of Panthers.com had a ton of great observations from practice on Saturday, and one stood out in my mind in particular.
The Carolina Panthers defense is set to be a very solid unit in 2019. Defensive tackles Kawann Short and Gerald McCoy figure to be a huge part of what the defense is going to do. Particularly in the new hybrid defense the Carolina Panthers want to employ, I am curious to figure out their roles. Whatever that may be, it will involve terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. That is something that the defensive unit as a whole did not do enough last season. As result, their defense suffered.
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It’s always important for defensive players to be on the same page. Particularly on the defensive line, players need to know who’s shooting which gaps and who is going to bring pressure in certain directions. Speaking of pressure, the Carolina Panthers are under a lot of pressure to succeed, particularly defensively.
Whatever the case may be for the Carolina Panthers defense, two of their most important players are making sure to take notes and bounce ideas off each other. Both McCoy and Short have been inseparable according to Henson. That is great news, as if those two can develop a rhythm and play off one another, that is going to be so much fun to watch. Furthermore, it will confuse offensive lines to no end. That is exactly what the Carolina Panthers focus should be.
"Defensive tackles Kawann Short and Gerald McCoy have been pretty much attached at the hip. They’ve got instant chemistry. They’re always chatting on the sideline. It’s a great development for Carolina’s defense. Not so great for opposing offenses."
This is a great development for McCoy too. Sometimes, there is a growing period when a player goes to a new city and joins a new team. They may not catch on right away, and their play may suffer in the first couple of weeks. McCoy has seemed to really embrace the Panthers organization, and is ready to work. I’m so happy that the transition has seemed to be a smooth one.
Hopefully the bond between the two defensive lineman translates to success in the regular season. The Panthers are going to be relying heavily on their defensive line. As we saw in 2015, a good defensive line means better play out of the secondary. If this defense can play like the 2015 Panthers did, that would certainly be a welcome development. Whatever the case may be, McCoy and Short will be leading the charge.