The 2013 Carolina Panthers had an elite defense by almost any measure, finishing top 6 in the league in points, total yards, rushing yards, and passing yards per game. However, the EJ Manuel led Bills gave that Panthers defense fits in week 2 of last season. In arguably their worst showing of the season, the Panthers defense gave up 24 points and 436 yards to a team led by a rookie QB making only his second NFL start. "MonStrz Inc." and company will kinda sorta get a chance to make amends for that performance in this preseason rematch.
The engine that powered the Panthers defense last season, the front seven, remains intact heading into 2014 while adding rookie second round pick Kony Ealy. Greg Hardy is back under the franchise tag, joining Colin Cole, and Star Lotulelei in the starting front four. They will likely be joined by Frank Alexander as Charles Johnson deals with a hamstring injury. The linebacking corps is again anchored by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly and the ever reliable Thomas Davis. The secondary is where things get interesting, as the back four has seen much upheaval this offseason. Out are both starting safeties and former starting CB Drayton Florence. In come Thomas DeCoud, Roman Harper, Antoine Cason, and others to fill the void. Also, former safety Charles Godfrey has been moved to corner. Friday night against the Bills will be our first opportunity to see how this new look secondary shows out in live game action.
So let's take a gander at how the match-up breaks down.
Panthers Rushing Defense vs. Bills Rushing Offense
In the 2013 match-up, the Bills racked up 149 rushing yards on 4.5 yards per carry. Buffalo boasts one of the stronger running games in the NFL; a two pronged attack pairing the home run threat of C.J. Spiller with the reliability of Fred Jackson. They still looked to improve in this area of the game over the offseason, spending 3 of their 7 draft picks on offensive linemen and signing starting LG Chris Williams and former Eagles RB Bryce Brown.
The Panthers run defense isn't too shabby either. Ranking second in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game in 2013, Sean McDermott's squad will prove a tough test for the Bills rushing offense. Don't expect to get an extended look at the starters though. In the Hall of Fame game against the Giants, Spiller and Jackson combined for only 3 carries. It wouldn't be a surprise to see a similar workload for them Friday night against the Panthers. They're followed on the depth chart by Bryce Brown, who torched the Panthers for 178 rushing yards while playing for the Eagles back in 2012 (Though he did lose two fumbles). The Panthers second team defense will have their hands full dealing with the shifty Kansas State product.
The running game appears to be a push, as surprising as that may be given the Panthers' success defending the run last season. The Bills ran all over the Panthers last year and looked to have only improved in that area of the game, especially with the addition of another RB that has given the Panthers problems in the past.
Panthers Passing Defense vs. Bills Passing Offense
On the defensive side of the ball, it's the passing game that will likely garner the most attention from Panther fans. Positional battles are raging in the secondary and the depth chart appears to be much less locked in than that of the front seven. As mentioned earlier, Thomas DeCoud and Roman Harper will start at the safety spots while Antoine Cason and former undrafted free agent Melvin White are currently slotted as the starting CBs. Most of the intrigue comes from the players listed behind the aforementioned on the depth chart though. Charles Godfrey will get his first game action since rupturing his achilles against this same Bills team, though in this go around he'll be in a new position as he transitions from safety to corner. Rookie 5th rounder Bene Benwikere gets a chance to show that his strong camp does indeed translate to the field. The Joshes Norman and Thomas will be battling it out with James Dockery and Carrington Byndom for what in all likelihood will be the last CB spot on the roster.
The Panthers' revamped secondary will be facing off against a Bills receiving corps that has seen plenty of its own changes. Dynamite rookie Sammy Watkins and former Buccaneer Mike Williams join a promising unit composed of second year players Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin, along with T.J. Graham, a local product out of N.C. State. Woods led the team in receiving last week tallying 49 yards and a touchdown on 4 catches, while Williams and Graham chipped in with 1 catch for 11 yards and 2 catches for 23 yards respectively. The rookie Watkins was shut out, failing to record a single reception on 3 targets in his debut. Starting QB E.J. Manuel will be looking to improve on his preseason debut in which he completed only 2 of 7 passes for a mere 19 yards.
The Panthers appear to have an edge in this phase of the game. E.J. Manuel is still learning how to play QB at the NFL level while his receiving corps save Mike Williams is very young. The Panthers front 4 should be able to harass Manuel and his backups throughout the evening. Rookie offensive tackles Cyrus Kouandijo and Seantrel Henderson have had their struggles thus far in camp, and second string DEs MArio Addison, Kony Ealy and Wes Horton should give the newcomers fits.
Overall Outlook
Whereas the running game looks to be a push, the Panthers' defense seems to hold an edge over the Bills' offense in the passing game. The depth of the front four should give major headaches to E.J Manuel and company while slowing down the run game enough to put pressure on the passing game. If the Panthers can slow down Buffalo's strong stable of backs, they should have little trouble keeping the Bills' offense at bay.