Panthers D Hopes To Be More Aggressive Under New Coordinator

After the unit struggled down the stretch last season, the Panthers defense has undergone a major change for 2009 that management hopes will address the primary weakness on a team that finished two wins shy of the Super Bowl.

The defense was one of the Panthers' strengths early in 2008, but allowed 30-plus points in five of their final seven games, including 33 in a divisional playoff loss to Arizona. The Cardinals scored 27 in the decisive first half.

General manager Marty Hurney and head coach John Fox responded by replacing several defensive coaches, thinking that instituting new schemes and leaders would be more efficient than replacing many players on a young unit.

New coordinator Ron Meeks will oversee this renovation. He replaces Mike Trgovac, who joined Green Bay's staff after six seasons in Carolina. Meeks, who spent the last seven season coordinating the Colts' defense, brings his Cover 2 scheme with him.

The Cover 2 aims to deny the big play down field by splitting deep coverage responsibilities between two safeties. Corners usually play zone and the front seven is given leeway to attack. The goal is to be aggressive and create havoc for offenses, with the front seven disrupting timing and forcing turnovers while the safeties have their back.

(Meeks could opt to play a more aggressive variation of the Cover 2 called the Tampa 2, in which the corners line up tight on receivers to disrupt their route running. But the Panthers expect to elevate Richard Marshall to a starting position at corner, so Meeks may hesitate to ask the third-year player to do too much right away).

The Cover 2 approach differs from the more simple M.O. of the defense last season, which was more man-to-man.

Panthers fans should recognize the Cover 2. Monte Kiffin ran the scheme often as coordinator of NFC South rival Tampa Bay's defense for the last decade. Although the Bucs had plenty of success with it (they often were among NFL leaders in forced turnovers), playing Cover 2 does not guarantee an aggressive defense. The 2006 Washington Redskins, for example, set a 16-game NFL record for fewest turnovers forced in a regular season while playing a lot of Cover 2.