Carolina’s Key to Success Rests on the Strength of Its Defense

May 25, 2013   ·   Charles Edwards   ·   Jump to comments

Defense wins championships.  A lot of coaches have been saying it for years.  The Carolina Panthers have been identified as being defensive-oriented since their inception.  From Dom Capers to Ron Rivera, every head coach to grace the sidelines for the Panthers has been one with a defensive background. 
When the right personnel have been on the field or the unit has remained healthy, Carolina has a defense that is among the best in the league.
While the Cam Newton-led offense may garner much of the attention, the defense will be the backbone of the team’s success and failures in 2013.  Last year, the Panthers were in every game but two, and a few of those losses were due to the defense being unable to stop its opponents in the waning minutes of the game.
Enter Dave Gettleman, who brought his “hog molly” philosophy to Carolina and proceeded to beef up the defensive line through both the draft and free agency. 
He made Ut...

Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - NFL
Article is property of BleacherReport.com