Why the Panthers need to double down on defense and bet on the players they have
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
That’s the approach Al Holcomb is taking after he was promoted to interim defensive coordinator on Monday in lieu of coach Matt Rhule and former defensive coordinator Phil Snow being fired.
“The system we have in place is the system we have in place,” Holcomb said. “Players are comfortable in that system.”
Similar to how interim head coach Steve Wilks talked up the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday, Holcomb could just be spraying coach-speak as he begins molding the Panthers’ 17th-ranked defense into his vision.
Carolina is ninth in pressure rate. Their two defensive touchdowns make them one of the better EPA (expected points added) defenses in the league.
“We’re not changing a lot,” defensive end Brian Burns said. “Essentially, it’s all pretty much the same thing that we’re doing. There is probably a slimmer volume just so we can play faster. But that mainly means that we’re not changing much.”
Burns has four sacks through five games. At that pace, he’s on track for a 14-sack season, which would be the first double-digit campaign of his career. His 24 pressures are third-most in the league behind Nick Bosa and Micah Parsons, according to Pro Football Focus.
Burns is a cornerstone of defense with several other blue-chip players. Cornerback Jaycee Horn, defensive tackle Derrick Brown, linebacker Frankie Luvu and safety Jeremy Chinn are all 26 years old or younger.
Rather than exploring trades, it would benefit both the short- and long-term vision of the franchise to double down on its young defensive talent by leaning into the only identity the Panthers developed under Rhule.
Uncertainty continues to pile up on the offense. For a second consecutive day, quarterback Baker Mayfield did not practice. PJ Walker took first-team reps while practice squad quarterback Jacob Eason served as the backup.
On Sunday against the Rams, Carolina will need to rely on its defense more than ever. Los Angeles presents an opportunity for the Panthers defense to set a tone that the offense can feed off.
In the Rams’ three losses this season, opposing teams have pressured quarterback Matt Stafford 64 times and sacked him 19 times. If the Rams offense cannot get star receiver Cooper Kupp the ball then it stalls out. Coach Sean McVay’s offense has the fewest first downs in the league and is averaging fewer points per game than Carolina.
They are last in yards per play and have only scored one touchdown in their past nine quarters.
Burns and the Panthers’ pass rush should be able to disrupt a Rams offensive line that has played nine different players in five games. Stafford is preparing to work with his fourth different center. In five games the Rams have had five different offensive line combinations.
Receiver Robbie Anderson said the team is focusing on starting faster under Wilks.
“I’ve been locked in with Coach Wilks. He’s been solid since Day 1. He has earned my respect and I’ve earned his,” Anderson said. “I love (playing fast). Sometimes offensive players kind of like wait. So he is trying to instill that attack from the trenches on up.”
With Rhule and Snow gone, it’s on Wilks and Holcomb to get even more out of a defense that was already carrying the team.
The two have plenty of history together, which should lead to in-game chemistry. Holcomb said he will be on the field calling the game rather than in the box. Burns said he prefers Holcomb on the field so he can communicate easier with him about what he sees.
Holcomb and Wilks met in 2013 when Wilks was the defensive backs coach for Carolina.
“We hit it off right away. Philosophically, we’re in the same ballpark, Holcomb said. “How we coach the players, the attention to detail, how we prepare. ... We just hit it off and developed a great relationship in the building and outside the building.”
Several years later, Wilks brought Holcomb with him to Arizona and later to Cleveland. They have been on the same staff for eight of the past 10 seasons.
Almost a decade later, Wilks and Holcomb are back where it started. And for Carolina to make an unexpected playoff run over the next 12 games, the two will have to lean on the Panthers defense to get them there.
