BRADENTON, Fla. – There was little doubt that Panthers coach Ron Rivera would address the defense during the offseason.
With a coach such as Rivera, who spent three seasons as the San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator before taking over the Panthers last year, defense was a major issue following the 6-10 finish that saw the Panthers slip to 28th in total defense, allowing 377.6 yards per game.
“The biggest problem we had, more than anything, was health,” Rivera said this week at IMG Academy, where the team held its workouts prior to today’s season opener against Tampa Bay. “We were decimated from the get go, so this year we tried to make a concerted effort and went out and drafted (linebacker) Luke (Kuechly), but you really don’t know until it comes to Sunday.
“We’ll have a better feel for who we are as a football team come Sunday afternoon.”
Rivera said injuries to defensive tackle Ron Edwards and veteran linebacker Jon Beason were devastating to a defense that was 25th in the NFL in rush yards allowed (130.8 yards per game) and 24th in passing yards allowed (246.8 yards per game). Despite the Panthers high-flying offense behind NFL Rookie of the Year Cam Newton, in which they were fifth in the league with 25.4 points per game, the defense, in turn, would allow 26.8 points per game, which was 27th in the league.
“We have a lot of potential to be good this year on defense,” said Beason, a three-time Pro Bowler who missed most of last season with a torn left Achilles. “The key, like for any team, whether it’s us or Tampa or whoever, is staying healthy.
“We brought in some new faces, a lot of young guys and, now, we have depth, if we can’t stay healthy.”
The Panthers addressed depth this offseason by using two of their top three draft picks on defensive players, including the ninth overall pick on Kuechly, the former Boston College linebacker who is the career leader for tackles in the ACC. With the 103rd overall picked Carolina would take former Oklahoma defensive end Frank Alexander, and both Rivera expects to make an immediate impact.
Carolina also added defensive tackle Dwan Edwards, who racked up 109 tackles and 3.5 sacks in two seasons with the Buffalo Bills, earlier this week and he’s expected to start alongside another veteran in Rod Edwards. Dwan Edwards’ presence, along with others will be key to improving the defense.
“They’ll be right in the mix,” Rivera said. “We’re going to start Luke right off the bat, and he’s contributed a lot so far just into preseason. He’s helped the linebackers core a lot, and I think Frank is a young and upcoming player will end up helping us quite a lot. Obviously, we’ll need every man we’ve got to improve on the defensive end.”