What the hell happened to the front 7 in Carolina? I was convinced they'd destroy Green Bay but the last two weeks they've been somehow softer than the Packers. I didn't watch a ton of that game yesterday since it was such a blowout but it seemed like everytime I glanced at it Kuechly was getting run through. Obviously it's not all his fault, just seems like if he is playing poorly everyone else must be as well.
No sacks? 75 points and something nutter like 350 yards rushing in two games? The fuck is going on?
Honestly, I think losing Greg Hardy has had a much bigger impact than I thought it would. He seemed to be one of the key cogs in the run defense. Charles Johnson has had a nagging hamstring injury since preseason and he's been invisible without a consistent pass rusher opposite him. Addison is good as a spot rusher, but he's not big enough to be able to play 3 downs, so he's only in on obvious passing situations and has been getting neutralized by RB chips and what not. Also, we've been getting carved up by quick throws (both Ben and Flacco got the ball out fairly quick for most of their throws, although Flacco's line gave him a lot of time when they needed to as well).
Thomas Davis is the heart and soul of the front 7, and it seems like he played through a hip injury against Pittsburgh that he probably shouldn't have that he aggravated towards the end of that game. He couldn't play vs Baltimore, and without him, the LBs are Kuechly and two guys that are better suited as backups - our base defense is nickel so most of the time we don't even have 3 LBs out there, just Kuechly/Davis and a CB. We need the combination of Luke and TD to help mask issues in the secondary - without a pass rush and without TD, there's just too many weaknesses to be able to mask.
And I'll be brutally honest, Luke has played like absolute shit these past two weeks. Missing tackles, taking wrong angles, getting abused in coverage...it's weird. I don't know if it's just a blip or if he's being stretched too thin by a mediocre secondary and a suddenly MIA interior D-Line, but he has not looked good. The interior line and Luke's play have me more concerned than the lack of pass rush and the secondary - always knew the Panthers had a mediocre secondary, and the pass rush should get a boost now that Frank Alexander is coming off suspension, but if the interior line keeps getting pushed around and back into Luke like they have been these past two weeks, I'm not sure it'll matter.
I know you didn't ask, but Cam is the least of the problems of this team. When he actually gets more than 2 seconds behind that atrocious line, he's played well and has made great strides as a pocket passer. Everything else around him is imploding though. I'm not concerned about the WR play (Benjamin/Olsen/Cotchery are good enough targets), but the O-line is a mess (even Kalil has played like shit this season) and we're down to rookie UDFA Darrin Reaves and practice squader Tauren Poole (who fumbled on his one and only carry yesterday).
If the defense can't fix its issues going forward, things look bleak. The offense (and, frankly, the offensive playcalling) is not talented enough to mask a mediocre defense.
Naw yall are better than the Packers, and can beat SEA at home