I’ve been mulling this post over since the original article was posted a few days ago. I’m just not sure what to think of the proposed defensive line formation changes :

"Stepping in behind Kris is a whole different deal. He's the best in the league at what he does, there's no doubt about it," Lewis said. "The one thing I bring is quickness and speed and I think we're moving in that direction with our defense. We'll have Maake playing more over the nose and I will be in ‘three technique' where I can get upfield and be more of a penetrator." Basically what that means is Kemoeatu, who weighs in at about 340 pounds, will be playing on the out-side edge of the center and taking up double teams.
Lewis will play on the outside edge of the guard, penetrate the B-gap and get upfield to disrupt plays. Lewis led the team in sacks last season with three.

If this is meant to be an occasional gimmick formation intended for certain situations (passing downs?) then I’m ok with it. If it’s an every down formation then I think it may pose problems. In a 4-3 both DE’s need to play to the outside shoulder of the tackle or you are just going to give up the corner via the stretch or counter run. If the DT’s are shifting half a step to the left side (to their right) as indicated in the post above it sure seems to leave a gap between the offensive right guard and tackle. I can see teams running right at that hole with a FB to hit the MLB. That’s just my initial impression but I would have to see it in play to give a complete opinion.

 I want to clarify I’m all for trying different things that takes advantage of Damione Lewis’ speed and quickness. I am concerned that the Panthers pass rush will struggle again this season if left to the front four to generate the pressure. As much as I liked the signing of DT's Darwin Walker and Ian Scott I'm not convinced they will make us forget Kris Jenkins come September. I would like to see more LB blitzes early in the game to disrupt the offensives tempo, something the Panthers did rarely last season.

 My man Charlsong pointed out in a comment to an earlier post that the Panthers should get more ‘coverage’ sacks this season with Charles Godfrey at free safety and Landon Johnson dropping into coverage on the TE’s. That’s a very good point. The Panthers rarely got coverage sacks last season so that has to be an area of concern for DC Mike Trgovac. The Panthers have to get better at defending the middle of the field on the short pass. If they can do that then they should very well have more time to get pressure on the QB.