Carolina Panthers basically plan to improve poor defense

JEFF HAWKINS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

The Carolina Panthers signed veteran safety Israel Mukuamu on Wednesday to boost depth in the secondary after a 26-10 loss at the Jackson Jaguars in the season opener.

Nick Scott was the last line of defense. 

As Travis Entienne Jr. broke through the line of scrimmage, the Carolina Panthers safety positioned himself to bring him down, but missed. 

Badly. 

By the time linebacker Christian Rozeboom tackled Etienne, he’d ripped off a 71-yard run that had as much to do with poor tackling as the Jaguars’ blocking. Poised to make a play at the 21, Scott took a poor angle and failed to finish an ankle tackle, allowing Etienne to ramble an additional 59 yards. Three running plays later, Brian Thomas Jr. scored, lifting the Jaguars to a 14-point lead with 1:49 before halftime. 

The Panthers failed to mount much of a comeback after quarterback Bryce Young fumbled on the next possession, leading to another Jaguars field goal. 

A day after Sunday’s season-opening 26-10 loss, coach Dave Canales said the Panthers’ defense was returning to the “basics.”

Looking to rebound in Week 2

Paced by Etienne’s 143 yards, the Jaguars compiled 200 rushing yards, marking the seventh-straight opponent to reach that marker against Carolina. 
Canales was not pleased. 

“I thought our tackling was not great,” he said. “We had a couple of plays that were stopped, essentially for nothing and we let them get through the second level. 

“The scheme was there. We gotta get guys down. Nick Scott had a chance to make that tackle and didn’t bring him down. These are the things we have to address.” 

They started addressing the issues at Wednesday’s practice. Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero orchestrated a “tackling circuit” to teach the fundamentals. The Panthers’ 0.104 tackling efficiency ranked No. 13 last season, missing on 110 of 1,056 tackling attempts, according to Pro Football Focus. 

In a far corner of the practice fields behind Bank of America Stadium, Evero overlooked midweek drills dedicated to helping the defenders refine their fundamentals. 

“Coach E had a fantastic tackling circuit,” Canales said, describing the drills’ focus. “Tracking (runners) in the open field. Coming out of a stack (of blockers), recognizing where to attack the ball.”  
Then, with defenders in position to make a tackle, Canales wanted to see players “getting our knees bent, getting our feet square and finishing a tackle with a good wrap.” 

Canales said he remained encouraged by the players’ attention to detail.

“I looked at the guys and their energy,” he said. “There wasn’t any eye rolling. There was just, ‘You know what? All right. This is on par with how we did (against the Jaguars). Let’s improve this fundamental part of our game.’”

Charlotte native arrives to improve depth  

Less than 24 hours after last Sunday’s loss, the Panthers attempted to improve their defensive depth by signing veteran safety Israel Mukuamu and defensive lineman Tommy Akingbesote to the practice squad.

A Charlotte native who moved to South Carolina and Louisiana during his high school years, Mukuamu spent the past four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He said after Wednesday’s practice that he understands the redemption process. 

It starts with focusing on the basics. 

“Just go out there on the practice field and just keep reppin’,” Mukuamu said. “It was the first game of the season. Everybody is just getting back into football, so everybody is not going to be, like, excellent. No worries. It’s just one game.” 

Before moving to South Carolina before his freshman year of high school, Mukuamu learned fundamentals with the Northeast Dolphins, a youth football program. 
“We used to run Charlotte,” Mukuamu said with a grin. 

Along with failing to stop the Jaguars’ ground game, the Panthers also lacked quarterback pressure, posting zero sacks and just one QB hit. They will be without starting defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton (hamstring) for the next two to four weeks. Bobby Brown III likely will slide into the middle of the defensive front, with rookie Cam Jackson and Jaden Crumedy joining the rotation. 

Evero confirmed Thursday that younger defenders like rookies Nic Scourton, Princely Umanmielen and Nathan Ransom could see additional snaps against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The Panthers established a franchise record when they opened the season with 12 rookies on their 53-man roster. 

"I can sense that they know that we have a team that can be good, that can play a really good brand of football,” Canales said. “I can sense that from the feeling I got in our team meeting, the look in their eyes, the disappointment afterwards, but also the sense of like, guys, we can do better than this.” 

That starts with the basics.   

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