Carolina Panthers won’t put it all on line to pressure quarterback

Among the roses being tossed toward Carolina middle linebacker Luke Kuechly after he signed his contract extension Thursday, Panthers coach Ron Rivera mentioned one area of Kuechly’s game that is merely good, not great.

His blitzing.

Kuechly made improving his pass-rush skills a point of emphasis during the preseason, and the two-time Pro Bowler believes he’s “gotten a little bit better” as the Panthers prepare to open the season Sunday at Jacksonville.

But it’s not only Kuechly who needs to pick up his pass rush this season.

The Panthers saw their sack total plummet from a team-record and league-leading 60 in 2013 to 40 last season, when they played all but one game without defensive end Greg Hardy.

Hardy’s now gone for good, having signed with Dallas during the offseason.

And while the Panthers are hoping second-year end Kony Ealy can pick up some of the sack slack, Carolina might need to blitz more often than they have previously under defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.

General manager Dave Gettleman recently pointed out the Panthers’ defensive backs accounted for two sacks last season after totaling 11 two years ago.

McDermott would prefer to generate pressure from the front four. But the addition of rookie linebacker Shaq Thompson, coupled with linebacker Thomas’ Davis blitz skills and Kuechly’s possible improvement give McDermott options if he wants to bring an extra rusher.

The Panthers showed little if any pressure packages during the preseason, and McDermott was not about to tip his hand a couple of days before facing the Jaguars.

“We’ve had that and we’ve used it in the past,” he said. “We’ll continue to mix it however we see fit and whatever the game plan calls for that week.”

Kuechly has increased his sack total by one each season. He had one as a rookie in 2012, and three last year when he went to his second Pro Bowl.

He spent part of the preseason trying to improve that area of his game. He worked with defensive tackle Kawann Short and defensive end Charles Johnson on techniques to beat blockers and get to the quarterback.

“Charles was showing me a couple things. Kawann was showing me some moves on the center maybe that they would do, and stuff he’s seen from playing at that shade position,” Kuechly said, referring to Short’s alignment on the outside shoulder of a guard.

“I think working with those guys, the more I can pick up with them – since those guys are doing it every play – it’ll be very helpful.”

The Panthers’ pass rush could get a boost this week against the Jaguars, who gave up an NFL-worst 71 sacks in 2014.

Jacksonville tried to fix their protection issues in free agency by signing center Stefen Wisniewski and right tackle Jermey Parnell. The Jags also hired former Bills coach Doug Marrone to coach their offensive line.

Second-year quarterback Blake Bortles, who was sacked 55 times as a rookie, thought the line was better during the preseason.

“I think they have done a really good job,” Bortles said. “From an outsider’s point of view you pin it all on the offensive line, and there is a lot of other stuff going on. I took multiple sacks that never should’ve been sacks. We had guys missing hot routes and stuff like that. It was all of us as a unit that gave up that many sacks.”

Bortles said Thompson, who played safety, nickel back and linebacker at Washington, gives the Panthers’ defense versatility.

“When you have him you don’t really need to sub a whole lot because he can play that linebacker position and he is athletic enough to play nickel as well,” Bortles said. “I think he is a special player and that is a special skill set to have. We will definitely be conscious of where he is on the field and what he can do.”

Bortles and everyone else in the league know about Kuechly’s reputation as a tackling machine.

But Panthers linebacker A.J. Klein believes Kuechly’s work on his pass-rush skills was evident during the joint practices with Miami last month, when Kuechly fared well against the Dolphins’ running backs in one-on-one rush drills.

Kuechly says he’ll be ready if McDermott brings him on a blitz. The double-A gap blitz, where Kuechly and Davis both rush up the middle, is a McDermott staple.

“If my number’s called, it’s called. I think it all depends on game plan,” Kuechly said. “If a certain protection’s called, maybe they’ll push me through. And if I’m called, I’ve got to make sure I’m doing my job.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Carolina Panthers won’t put it all on line to pressure quarterback."