Panthers Defensive Front Seven Needs to Man Up

by Jaxon on Oct 28, 2011 10:28 PM EDT in Sponsored Posts

In this now weekly Man Up series I was thinking I would pick a single player in need of 'manning up' for the upcoming game. It wasn't really meant to be derogatory but more to identify the player key to a victory. But given the title it's a hard sell.

This week though we have quite the match-up for the defense. Having already faced the best QB in football in Aaron Rodgers this week we have the best RB. When you combine that fact with the Panthers ~~31st~~ 29th ranked run defense (we're up two spots!) it becomes clear that this week manning up needs to include the entire front 7 of the Panthers defense.

That's right, all seven: Greg Hardy, Sione Fua, Terrell McClain, Chalres Johnson, James Anderson, Dan Conner & Omar Gaither need to keep Adrian Peterson from getting to the edge. They need to plug those holes and not miss any tackles. How exactly the Panthers do that is not simple. My first thought is to walk Charles Godfrey down into the box on 1st and 2nd down.

This also makes me think that thought I'm pretty sure the Panthers won;t pursue former Panther Chris Harris this is a good he would have some value. Though Harris may have been having trouble in coverage he's a good tackler who knows AP and the Minny offense very well. I'm just praying we're not needing FS Sherrod Martin to make many tackles.

I'm sure Sean McDermott is rightfully worried about facing AP this weekend and will sell out on certain plays to get into 3rd and long situations. We in turn need the front 7 (or 8) Man Up and shut AP down early. If the Panthers can get a two score lead it should force the Vikings to abandon the run and rely on Ponder's passing. I like our chances if that should come to pass.

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Chopper says harden the f*ck up

Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing you will be an idiot in the future and common sense is knowing you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

I don't always dress like a pirate...but when I do, I do it in this picture.

by Vagus on Oct 28, 2011 10:34 PM EDT reply actions

lol...

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by Jaxon on Oct 28, 2011 10:42 PM EDT up reply actions

AP's ankle?

I thought i read where AP was having trouble with his ankle. Is he for sure playing Sunday?

It won't matter 10 years from now.

by hambone123456 on Oct 28, 2011 10:43 PM EDT via iPhone app reply actions

AP is probable, so yeah he's playing

but hopefully not on top of his game

SIMPLE AND PLAIN

by revdwl34 on Oct 28, 2011 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Sweep the leg!

"Nah, you look like Elijah Wood." - danmerqury

by OldhamA on Oct 29, 2011 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions

The front seven really does need to step up

Unfortunately I don’t think it’ll be worth a damn as a unit until next year.

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by Jake Humphrey on Oct 28, 2011 10:49 PM EDT reply actions

It blows my mind

That there are three teams worse at stopping the run than us.

"Excuses are a disease." -Cam Newton

by Smitty89 on Oct 28, 2011 10:50 PM EDT reply actions

lol, no kidding

We’ve caught a lucky break somewhere.

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by Jake Humphrey on Oct 28, 2011 11:06 PM EDT up reply actions

It makes sense when you consider two of those teams.

St. Louis & Indy. Zero wins between them.

Newton for '11 ROY!
Walker for '11 ROY! I mean, assuming the lockout will end anytime soon...
Biyombo fo...ah who am I kidding? GO PANTHERS!

by Newsinz on Oct 29, 2011 4:05 AM EDT up reply actions

it's Mostly Strength Against The Other Teams Weakness This Week

The Panthers 5th ranked passing offense against the Vikings 29th ranked pass defense.

The Vikings 3rd ranked rushing offense against the Panthers 29th ranked run defense.

The only strength on strength match up is the Panthers 8th ranked rushing offense (5th in YPC at 4.8) against the Vikings 4th ranked rush defense (5th in YPC allowed at 3.6).

by PanthersRoar on Oct 28, 2011 11:17 PM EDT reply actions

To be perfectly honest im not worried about facing teams with top tier running games and for a few reasons. A. Being a run heavy team is a double edged sword. When you face teams like ours with a heavy passing game and a top tier gun slinging QB like Cam, what do you do when we put up 14 points and you havevto score? Running AP all day is only going to help us take time off the clock.

B. What happens in the 2nd half when our D makes adjustments and your running back is tired and losing steam? Perfect example, last week against the Skins. Even before Hightower got hurt you could tell he was moving slower and with less energy as the game went on.

A good running game is only scary when you have a good passing game to compliment it. The Vikings dont have that. If all you have on offense is a solid running game, your just not going to make it in this league.

Dolphins, Vikes and Jags all have very run heavy offenses and star running backs.. Jags only have 2 wins, Dolphins have 0 and Vikes have 1 win. So this notion that we should be scared to death because of AP, im just not buying it.

Yes AP will get his 100 yds and a TD but thats about it. Cam and our high octane offense will simply outscore the Vikes.

by PantherTrain on Oct 28, 2011 11:27 PM EDT reply actions

i hear u PT

i was kind of thinking the same thing. even if AP burns us for two scores, and ponder manages to throw a couple more TD’s, we can still win with a big game from the offense

SIMPLE AND PLAIN

by revdwl34 on Oct 28, 2011 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions

good point

Look for us to kill them in the second half… Adding to the 3 point halftime lead we’ll have

It won't matter 10 years from now.

by hambone123456 on Oct 29, 2011 8:59 AM EDT via iPhone app up reply actions

I chuckled when I read this part:

Running AP all day…

What’s that nickname of his again? lol

I do agree with you to some extent. The Viking’s passing rank is near the bottom third of the league, but that was mostly accomplished with McNabb under center. Ponder (NERRRRRRDS!) graduated from the same QB school as Newton did (IMG Academy featuring Professor Chris Weinke), so their passing stats should be taken with a grain of salt until ~~Skolnick~~ Ponder has a few more games under his belt.

(shout out to ERL)

Newton for '11 ROY!
Walker for '11 ROY! I mean, assuming the lockout will end anytime soon...
Biyombo fo...ah who am I kidding? GO PANTHERS!

by Newsinz on Oct 29, 2011 4:20 AM EDT up reply actions

I fear Peterson will run forever against us, not that he'll run out of steam.

"Nah, you look like Elijah Wood." - danmerqury

by OldhamA on Oct 29, 2011 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Lol well I would hope they dont score 4 tds on us for god sakes but yea im with you. Give me a choice if i would rather play AP or Drew Brees. Give me AP any day of the week. A good RB no matter how good he is just isnt as much as a threat as a good QB. X

by PantherTrain on Oct 28, 2011 11:32 PM EDT reply actions

Panthers can outscore Minnesota

I feel good about the match-up. Being at home gives the Panthers a slight edge as well.

"You ain't supposed to be smiling and giggling after we lose. I've never had the mentality of losing in my whole life and for a person to tell me you can't win them all, that's a loser's mentality." - Cam Newton

by D.W.G. on Oct 29, 2011 1:49 AM EDT reply actions

You hit the nail on the head here Jaxon

Minnesota’s O line isn’t that daunting. If the DT’s can hold the point of attack and keep the blockers from getting to the LB level, the Panthers have a solid chance.

Another big thing this week, the Vikings run a “man” or “power” blocking scheme. The Panthers have struggles against zone blocking teams:

Green Bay 115 yards (7.33 ypc)
Jacksonville 122 yards (5.1 ypc)
Chicago 222 yards (7.4 ypc)
Atlanta 151 yards (5.0 ypc)
Washington 98 yards (4.9 ypc)

But they seem to fair a little better against man blocking teams

Arizona 100 yards (4.7 ypc) (combination of power and zone, the 22 yard run was on a stunt that forced zone blocking, take that out and it was pedestrian)
New Orleans 100 yards (3.75 ypc)

The LB’s took much better angles and better read the play design when teams run a power scheme instead of moving the line of scrimmage in a zone scheme.

Jordan Gross and Byron Bell have to Man Up as well. This is the best D-line they’ve faced so far. Keeping Cam upright is another key to this game.

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by FF Companion on Oct 29, 2011 8:01 AM EDT reply actions