There were a lot of reasons why the Carolina Panthers ended up allowing more points than any other team in NFL history this past season. To begin with, they were unable to get any push at the line of scrimmage. With Derrick Brown out for practically the entire year their front line folded almost immediately on every snap, making it extremely easy for ball-carriers to reach the second level.
Once those ball carriers got past Carolina's initial line of "defense," they were also pretty difficult to bring down. If it looked to you on film like the Panthers were the worst tackling team in the entire league, you came pretty close to the bullseye.
According to a new analysis from NFL.com, the Panthers earned a D- grade in tackling for last season, ranking last in the NFC and 31st overall. Only the Cleveland Browns scored worse.
NFL.com on Panthers' poor tackling
"The Panthers led the NFL in both successful tackles (1,189) and missed tackles (208) this season. However, their conversion rate was the third-lowest in the league at 85.1%, they were rarely able to force fumbles (eight), and their tendency to allow explosive plays off missed tackles left much to be desired. They had a high volume of players who were not needle-movers, as a whopping 30 Panthers defenders missed multiple tackles."
Not great, Bob.
Obviously the Panthers front office is going to have to get defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero some players who are better at tackling in the open field. However, this also has to be a major point of emphasis for Evero this year. They can't replace the entire defense in one offseason, so at least some of the returning defenders will have to radically improve in this department if this defense is going to avoid being a total dumpster fire again.
Having a healthy Derrick Brown up front swallowing up runners will cut down on just how important this is, but one player isn't going to make a massive difference in this part of the game. If the Panthers aren't much improved in tacking by this time next year, it may be time to let Evero go.
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