4 big disappointments in Panthers’ loss at the Saints in Week 7
By Dean Jones
Interior pressure
Given that the New Orleans Saints have had considerable trouble containing interior pressure over the last couple of seasons, it was a surprise to see the Carolina Panthers have next to no impact in this regard.
The likes of Zach Kerr and Derrick Brown were almost anonymous in the backfield for large parts of the game. This represents a significant disappointment as any sort of consistent push could have made all the difference in a contest that was decided by fine margins.
Brain Burns continues to showcase why he is one of the NFL’s hottest young defensive linemen. However, the simple fact of the matter is that he cannot do it alone and it will up to those around him to raise their respective games and give the former first-round pick some help.
There were some doubts about Brown’s ability to get after the quarterback at the next level before he was taken No. 7 overall. Not having Kawann Short alongside him has resulted in more double-teams that are clearly hampering his ability to make a difference. But the Panthers were expecting an instant return on their investment after allocating such a high pick on the defensive tackle.
Not getting any meaningful push from the interior allowed Drew Brees to step-up when he felt edge rushers coming and pick apart the soft zones in the Panthers’ secondary. This went a long way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame-bound quarterback getting New Orleans to 4-2.