4 concerning stats for the Panthers defense in 2020 so far
By Dean Jones
The Carolina Panthers haven’t set the world alight on defense during the first two weeks of the season, and here are four concerning stats that confirm this.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Carolina Panthers have some serious problems on defense.
This was an area of the field that did possess some questions going into the 2020 season. The Carolina Panthers gutted their roster of prominent veteran leadership during the first year of Matt Rhule’s rebuild and they were also dealt a severe blow with the shock retirement of perennial All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly.
What the Panthers are left with is a young group that doesn’t have any real starting experience over a consistent period of time outside of Kawann Short, Tahir Whitehead, and Tre Boston. A period of transition was almost inevitable, but the NFL is a cruel place for defenses who are trying to find their feet.
The way defensive coordinator Phil Snow is using different schemes early in games isn’t exactly helping the situation. He has experimented with 3-4 and 4-3 bases, and the coach has even dropped back eight in coverage to further confuse matters.
This is not helping Carolina’s young team get a foothold in games. Once this sort of trend stopped in Week 2 at the Buccaneers, it was no surprise to see things trending on an upward curve.
Yes, this season is one of trial and error for the Panthers. But if things don’t improve on the defensive side of the ball at the earliest possible opportunity, then it has the potential to slow down Carolina’s expected rebuilding phase.
Let’s take a look at four concerning defensive stats from 2020 so far.