The Carolina Panthers showed their ruthless side by waiving edge rusher D.J. Johnson just days after he started against the New England Patriots. That should raise the urgency for everyone, with one underperforming veteran under arguably a bigger microscope than anyone else.
There is plenty that went into the Panthers' drubbing in Week 4. From the atrocious offense after the first drive, the total inability of the defensive secondary to contain anything the opposition threw their way, or the complete collapse of the special teams unit. However, one player's dismal performance, which goes beyond travesty, has been festering for some time now.
Nick Scott was elevated to the starting position this season. His task was to solidify a part of the defense that had been a massive hole for many years. Instead, the safety has gone from a potential solution to a glaring liability.
Carolina Panthers' patience with Nick Scott must be wearing thin
Examining Week 4 alone, there are numerous examples of just how severe this issue has become and how easily teams are able to exploit it.
On a screen pass late in the first half, Scott took a terrible angle on the pursuit of TreVeyon Henderson and shot right past the running back. Stumbling to the ground after being juked out of his shoes, in a last-ditch effort, the safety stuck out his leg to draw a tripping penalty that set up the Patriots for an easy score.
Their touchdown was made possible in part by another terrible angle where the veteran defensive back ran right by the play without affecting it at all, seeming to lose track of the running back in the process.
Later on in the game, Scott took another questionable angle in pursuit of Hunter Henry. He found himself running into a receiver blocking an entirely different defender on a long touchdown pass that could have at least been contained with better vision.
This shows a concerning pattern of missed tackles and poor field vision that is growing into a more significant problem with each game for the team as a whole, let alone Scott. Not exactly the direction you want things to be going at this point in the year.
These three plays are just a small sample of the kinds of things that have affected Scott in the secondary this season. When you consider that the veteran's running mate has been tasked with supporting run defense so much, with how poorly the linebackers have been playing, there is even more pressure on them.
Pursuing and tackling are the two most important aspects of playing the safety position. Without those two basic skills being on lock, there really is not much good to be said.
Scott has to start seeing the field better, making better decisions, and become that safety net this defense sorely needs. If not, he could follow Johnson out the door sooner rather than later.