Panthers defense not the force it usually is
Jan 8, 2009
Tim Hall will be writing a live blog at the Carolina Panthers divisional playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night. Follow the blog at wralsportsfan.com.
All of the talk about the Panthers is DeAngelo Williams and how many touchdowns and yards he had this season. The talk is about the other running back in rookie Jonathan Stewart. The talk is about Steve Smith and what a great playmaker he is.
Those guys are great and deserve the talk they get, but you know what? Those guys had pretty good games and it still wasn't enough to beat the Giants. This is kind of important because they will most likely be going right back to the Giants if they can beat the Cardinals to get to the NFC Championship Game.
What is concerning to me is the lack of talk about the so-called heralded Panthers defense. The only talk I can muster up about this unit is how lackluster they have been lately. I don't think it will cost them the game against Arizona, because I think the Panthers average defense as is should hold the one-dimensional Cardinals.
But the Giants can bust you up on the ground, and they ran for more than 300 yards on the Panthers. The second string running back Derrick Ward piled up 215 yards in the overtime win back on Dec. 21.
Forget about the common perception that the Panthers always have a stout defense, because it hasn't been there this year.
But look out, because defensive tackles Maake Kemoeatu and Damione Lewis are on their way back to the field. They both practiced in full on Wednesday. Kemo is coming back from an ankle injury and Lewis hurt his shoulder in the Giants game. These two guys are a nice solution to the Panthers defensive problems. They always say the front line of defense is the most important, because it eases the tasks of everyone behind them.
The return of these players on defense will give them a boost against the Cardinals, a team I think the Panthers would beat anyway, but more importantly it will help them for the trip back to the Meadowlands.
