Note to John Fox: The Time is Now for Carolina Panthers to Step Up

In John Fox’s world, things are cut and dried, black and white, uncomplicated, and prone to a level of predictability normally found in an accountant, not an NFL coach. Fox’s favorite press conference utterance, after all, is “It is what it is.”

What it is, now, is time for the Carolina Panthers to step up their attack.

As Carolina prepares for the 2009 season, it’s time for the team to evolve into the consistent, top-flight NFL contender that owner Jerry Richardson has envisioned since the team’s inception.

No more mere flashes of brilliance that place the Panthers faithful on the edge of football nirvana. No more close-but-not-quite performances. No more what ifs.

The time to begin developing real, sustained success is now.

Here are some steps Fox, the team’s coach, should take toward that goal.

1.  Employ the 3-4 defense.

Now, we know this is potentially the latest defensive alignment “du jour” in the league, but it has worked for the Steelers and Patriots so it’s a proven commodity. And a glance at the Panthers’ roster shows this to be a good fit for the organization.  

First, consider the team’s all-world defensive end, Julius Peppers, who has stated his desire to move to a team using the 3-4, an aggressive, attacking defense that would seem ideal for the athletic Peppers.

No, Peppers, who has spent his entire career with the organization, hasn’t signed the offer sheet that would pay him more than a million dollars per regular season game this year and designate him as the team’s franchise player.

But would it be a bad thing for the team to restructure its attack to accommodate the talents and desires of one of the league’s top defenders?

And, if the 3-4 means that much to Peppers, shouldn’t he be motivated to sign if Carolina adopted the 3-4 as its base defense?

Now, plug the team’s top draft pick, defensive end Everette Brown, into the mix.

Brown is a quick pass-rushing specialist who, like Peppers, could thrive in a 3-4 alignment. The image of Peppers and Brown flying off the edges as outside linebackers in a 3-4 should send shivers up the spine of any offensive coordinator.  

Think Kevin Greene, the former Panther who thrived in the 3-4 and built a solid career as a defensive end / outside linebacker hybrid.

The Panthers also have enough big-bodied defensive linemen in camp (Damione Lewis, Maake Kemoeatu, and rookie Corvey Irvin, come to mind) to provide the run-stuffing ability key to the 3-4.

And linebackers Jon Beason and Thomas Davis possess the sideline-to-sideline pursuit skills required to successfully man the middle of a 3-4.

There’s hope on the horizon. Carolina’s new defensive coordinator, Ron Meeks, prefers an aggressive defensive attack and he has experience with the 3-4.

So the pieces are in place for the Panthers to ramp up a defense that has lacked consistency in recent seasons.

But there's more.

2. Fox should rethink the quarterback situation.

Carolina has a history of relying on journeymen to occupy the game’s most important position. 

While the organization is content with Jake Delhomme at quarterback (he recently signed a contract extension potentially worth more than 42 million dollars over five years), and although he’s apparently a stand-up guy and a great fit for the team and community, he’s 34 and coming off a five-interception meltdown in last’s seasons NFC playoffs.

The team certainly should have drafted Delhomme’s eventual replacement either this year or last year.

And let’s say that Peppers sees no path to contentment as a Carolina Panther, with or without the 3-4 defense. Why not trade him for a young and talented quarterback? Think Matt Cassel before he was traded from New England to Kansas City.

Let’s say the price for Peppers is too high to entice another team to make a deal, or a trade for a top quarterback is simply not feasible before the next draft. Then selecting a quarterback has to become a priority.

The price need not be high. Cassel, after all, was a seventh-round selection by New England, and Tom Brady, one of the league’s top two or three QBs in recent seasons, was taken by the Patriots in the sixth round.

Note to Fox: Just do it.

Either way, it’s time for the Panthers to rise above the mediocrity that has plagued the franchise for much of its history. And it’s time to make some bold moves (bold, of course, being a relative term).

Hey, it is what it is.