What will the rebuilt Carolina Panthers defense look like in Year 2 under Ejiro Evero?

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It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Like the offense, the Carolina Panthers defense went through its own minor overhaul this offseason. How good will the Panthers defense be in 2024? I'll tell you right here on Locked on Panthers WORK_OF_ART.

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You are Locked on Panthers, your daily Carolina Panthers podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.

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Welcome in to another edition of the Lockedon Panthers podcast, a part of the Lockdown Podcast Network ORG. I'm your host as always, Julian Council, talking Carolina Panthers with you every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Thursday, and Friday, your team every day. That's our motto here on the lockdown podcast network. Subscribe or follow the show for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. And be sure to follow me, Julian Counsel on Twitter at Julian Council ORG. Where on Fridays throughout the offseason, I'm right here on the show answering your weekly Friday mailbag questions, either at me or DME on Twitter at Julian Council to get your questions in for this week's edition of the weekly Friday mailbag right here on Locked on Panthers WORK_OF_ART.Today's episode of Locked on Panthers is brought to you by Fandall ORG. Make every moment more right now. New customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $150 with any winning $5 bet. Visit fandle.com slash locked on to get started today. On Monday, look to the Carolina Panthers ORG overhaul on the offensive side of the ball. Today, let's lookat the defense. As we have seen a number of defensive starters to part this offseason, mainly Frankie Louvre, Brian Burns, Jeremy Chin PERSON was someone who we felt like was going to have a big role in Carolina. Once Gereauvero came here this past offseason, that did not happen. Dante Jackson, he's no longer in Carolina ORG as well. Von Bell PERSON, he also left. So let's look at the Panthers defense now post-draft as we head into OTAs,the mandatory mini-camp, the final phase of the off-season period before we get to training camp at the end of July. But first, we got to look back on what the Panthers defense looked like last year to really understand what the expectation should be on this 2024 unit. And one of the biggest things that happened this off season so far has been the retainment of Adjero O'Fero PERSON and the rest of his staff. There was a lot of questions whether he was going to go to L.A. GPE to be the Ramscoordinator or if he was going to head to Green Bay to be the Packers coordinator, David Teper PERSON, the banter's owner was not allowing Gero Vero PERSON to interview for any defensive coordinator jobs. Though he was interviewing for head coaching jobs here in Carolina, in Seattle, and Atlanta ORG, did not get those jobs for a second cycle in a row. We'll see whether that happens to be the case again next year as he is under contract for this season and next season.My expectation would still be unless it's complete disaster and that Dave Canales PERSON cannot work with him, which I don't think is going to really be the case for Carolina at all this year. I would expect that Jerville PERSON is going to be trying to get a job and very possible that he could be back again in 2025. So that was a coup for the pantry to be able to keep him. It also was something where it basically ended up being that way because the owner wouldn't let him take a lateral job.And because he's a defensive coach in the NFL ORG owners are looking for offensive coaches. It wasn't like you had that good of an opportunity to get a head coaching job. Anyway, so we'll see whether that will turn around from in 2025. Looking at the Panthers defense last year, my main question about them is, how good were they really? There's a lot of numbers that point to the Panthers ORG defense being really good. There's numbers that point to them being just okay.And there's other numbers that point to them not being very good at all. So let's look at the good, the bad, and well, the ugly, which is what we do after every Panthers ORG game when we do our film review here on the show. Look back at the good, the bad, and the ugly of the game. Let's look at the good, the ugly of the defense last year, starting off with the positive, the good numbers. Total defense, the Panthers ORG were fourth in the NFL ORG when it came to total defense, which is yards allowed in a game. They did not give up that many. They were one of thetop five defenses in that respect. And with that, they were sixth in yards per play allowed. We look at a lot of things like total defense and like rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed. The better metric, if we're just looking at the basic stats, as I'd like to call them, is yards per play allowed. And the Panthers were sixth in the NFL a year ago when it came to that. Looking at the passing yards allowed, net passing yards allowed, they were seventh in the league. But they allowed the third least passing yardage last season in the NFL ORG.So both metrics have them as a top 10 passing defense, and that's without J.C. Horn. That's having C.J. Henderson, who missed some time. Von Bell PERSON missed time. You saw Xavier Woods miss time. DeCaprio Boodle had to come in and play. Deshaun Jameson PERSON had to come in and play. Troy Hill stepped up into a big role for the Panthers ORG in that nickel spot. Jeremy Chin wasn't even really part of the operation at all defensively last year under a Geroa PERSON. Alex Cook PERSON came in and had to play safety.Sam Franklin, with all of that happening for the Panthers last year, all the injuries in the secondary, they had its opt-in defense. Now, there's a reason why they were able to have those kind of numbers. It's those guys coming into the scheme and playing well. Also, maybe the fact the Panthers ORG weren't great in other respects defensively, where they were always behind in the games. Do you need to pass that much?No, but you got to give credit when credits do. And there's a lot of credit that goes out to Jero Vero PERSON, whose background is as a secondary coach to where his secondary performed admirably and, if not sometimes really well with the amount of injuries that they had last season. Penalize, as far as that goes. We looked offensively.Offensively, the Panthers were the most penalized teams in the NFL ORG. Defensively, they were the fourth least penalized defense. We talked about last season when the article came out about Hunger Games EVENT, culture and mentality at Bank of America Stadium ORG, how the offensive side of the ball, they were not able to get on the same page. Cohesion. It was not there defensively. The complete opposite. The players were actually disciplined.The coaching staff was on the same page. There was not infighting, and that plays out with them being the fourth least penalized defense in the NFL last season. The next couple numbers are just okay. I don't seem as being good or bad, but they're just okay. The Panthers were 13th in yards per carry allowed when it came to the run game, but gave up the 10th most rushing yards. That certainly was not good as they did struggle at periods of time during the season against the run, especially against Aaron Jones and the Packers late in the season, the first six games of the season,allowed 130 yards plus to every single one of those opponents as they started off 0 and 6 heading into that buy. So defensively against the run, they were okay yards per carry allowed, but as far as giving up total yardage, they were 10th most allowed in the NFL ORG. 14th in third down defense. That has been an era of the Panthers have struggled in recent years.14th, right there in middle of the league, not bad at all. And this is another interesting one for me. Opponent time of possession, you would think, based off the numbers I'm going to give you here momentarily, that the Panthers ORG really struggled defensively because they were on the field a lot. According to these stats I saw today, opponent time of possession was an average 28 minutes in 53 seconds, the seventh lowest in the NFL ORG.In 2022, their opponents were on the field an average of 31 minutes and 33 seconds TIME. So the Panthers, about three minutes, two and a half minutes, I think actually on the dot, two and a half minutes less on the field defensively in 2023 than they were in 2022 in a season where the offense was also inept. And last season, the offense was worse, but somehow the Panthers ORG' offense was out on the fieldmore than the Panthers ORG' defense. That was a shocking stat to see. And I'm curious to see what it's going to look like heading into 2024 as there's going to be even more of an emphasis on running in the football, which as we know in the NFL, clock does not stop until under two minutes in the second quarter and in the fourth quarter. Might that number even go down as far as opponent time of possession under Dave Canales this upcoming season?The bad, there's only one really bad stat I wanted to bring up. They allowed opponents to score on 37% of their drives, which was 22nd in the NFL ORG. That kind of goes into the offense, not being able to move the football, not putting a defense in advantageous situations, and good offenses in the league on a short field, being able to capitalize. So that was not great for Carolina last year. Now, the ugly 28th in red zone defense, and that goes hand in hand to where they were positioned against these teams. When teamsgot into the red zone, they scored, which is a problem. They were 29th in scoring defense, mainly because when teams got to the red zone, they scored touchdowns. 29th and touchdowns per game, which goes right into the red zone defense and scoring defenses being 28th and 29th, respectively. They were dead last in turnover percentage.They were dead last in hurry percentage, which can actually be misleading the team that was right ahead of Carolina. Carolina was 30, well, had 3.4%. Hurry percentage last year. Baltimore ORG had 3.8. Baltimore led the league in Sacks, while Carolina was dead last in the league with Sacks with 27 and 30th in the league in pressure percentage. So the ugly was real ugly when it comes to getting stops in the red zone, really just getting stops period as far as the scoring defense,and giving up touchdowns and getting any sort of pressure on quarterbacks a year ago. The hope is that will be better. So they need to be much better in the red zone, get pressure on quarterbacks, and therein will lie to them getting a turnover, which we saw against Atlanta, Desmond Ritter PERSON made some bad decisions that game, but when they got pressure, they're able to force some turnover,something they did not do for the majority of the season, and what do you know, one of their two wins came in a game where they won the turnover battle against Atlanta Falcons on that rain-soaked Sunday at Bank of America Stadium ORG. Advanced metrics, excuse me, The Panthers ORG, 23rd in defensive EPA ORG, so a bottom third defense in the league.I guess what's the 32 divided by three. So yeah, about bottom third defense. 12th and past defense EPA ORG, and that checks out based off of just the normal stats we saw.31st and run defense EPA ORG, which is much worse than what they actually gave up. Last year, rushing-wise, and you just look at total yardage and yards per carry. Then DVOA, there were 25th and defensive DVOA.So total defense, it tells you the Panthers were a top five defense. The advanced metrics tell you they were a bottom third defense a year ago. And I've mentioned miss games for a lot of the guys who were starters. And it's supposed to be key role players at the very least for Carolina ORG. Shaq Thompson missed 15 games to the broken leg. J.C. Horn missed 11 games at a hamstring and then a foot against Jacksonville ORG.Marquis Haynes, barely did have them all season long. He missed 10 games last year. Eitoros Monos missed five games. Eugene Hennerson missed five games. Von Bell missed four games. Xavier Woods missed three games.Brian Burns PERSON even missed the game. Of the defensive starters. The regulars who were out there every single game, Frankie Louvre, Derek Brown PERSON, Shide Total. Those are the only three defensive starters toplay and start in all 17 games, and the Panthers ORG still found a way when it comes to just basic metrics to be fourth in total defense. And six and yards per play allowed, but on the other side of the coin, they were advanced metrics-wise, one of the worst defensesin the league as far as just looking at the bottom third, which is so interesting when you look at this unit. Because looking at them at the end of last season, it felt like the only reason Carolina was even in a position to beat Houston or to beat Atlanta ORG and even, well, they didn't play well against Green Bay. But to beat those two teams was because of how well the defense played.Now, they didn't play well against Jacksonville, C.J. Bethard as a quarterback, didn't play well against Green Bay in that game as well. They had their warts, but more often than not post by, I felt like this unit played above its head, especially considering the amount of injuries that they had last year. So there's an argument for the defense being good in Carolina ORG. Last year, there's an argument for him being just okay. And there's an argument for the defense being bad.But you cannot have that conversation without pointing out all the numbers, which I just did, and taking to account the amount of key players that missed time defensively, where it really should be a hat tip that they weren't 32nd in defensive EPA or defensive DVOA, that they were even right there at 23rd and 25th, respectively, in those two metrics, and fourth in total defense last year in the NFL. So that's how good the Panthers defense was a year ago. It's really up to how you interpretthose numbers. I think that they were okay. I don't think they were bad. I don't think they were great. I think they were good at times. But I think last year overall, they were just okay. And I was left fairly impressed with a Gero Averro PERSON based off of the amount of time that those key players missed. And some of the younger guys that came in stepped up and played really well in those situations considering what the expectation level was for them when they took over those spots.My question is heading into this year, whether you think the defense was good last year, bad last year, can it be better without Brian Burns and Frankie Louvo PERSON? We'll talk about that here in just a moment on Locked-on Panthers ORG. It's playoff time in the NBA and NHL ORG baseball is in full swing. And Fandul ORG is your place to bet on every game. Right now, new customers go $150 in bonus bets guaranteed.It's $150 win or lose. We've got the NBA ORG semifinals going on in each conference. Same thing with the NHL, the Stanley Cup. Playoffs Hurricanes facing off against the Rangers ORG. So plenty of y'all who listen to this show, I assume, are also Hurricane ORG fans. If you go out there and you bet on the hurricanesto win or to lose, doesn't really matter. 150 bucks, win or lose. You get there in bonus bets from Vandal PRODUCT. Bet on everything from slap shots, home runs, slam dunks, all in an app that is safe, secure, and easyto use. What are you waiting for? Sports betting has been here since March 11th. I've been telling you pretty much on a daily basis to get over to Fandle ORG. Visit Fandle.com slash locked on and make your first bet an automatic win. Fandle, America's number one sports book. So I've given you the numbers last year for the Panthers ORG.I've given you the basic stats. I've given you the advanced metrics. I've given you the good, the bad, the mid, the ugly to make up your own mind on whether you think the Panthers ORG defense was good. And the numbers are obviously important. You have to sit there and watch the games.And you as a dedicated Panther ORG fan, obviously, well, I don't know if you watched every single game. And I deeply encouraged you when things were going awry, I'll do it for you. Just watch the podcast, listen to the podcast, go enjoy your Sunday. If this team is going to stress you out and make you upset and ruin your day, just go on, be happy elsewhere. But come back here, and Julian will tell you how things went and hopefully tell you how things ruin your day. Just go on, be happy elsewhere, but come back here and Julian will tell you how things went and hopefully tell you how things can get better, if ever, under DavidTepper. So maybe you didn't sit there and watch every game, but you still, you saw enough to make up your own determination of whether this was a good defense and okay defense or a bad defense. I think somewhere in between good and like okay, maybe not anything between okay and bad. I thought that based off of all that we saw last year, injury-wise, this defense acquitted itself quite wellunder Jero Vero in the first year of that scheme. And I'm very curious to see what it looks like in year two of the scheme. The only thing about it, though, there's been a lot of new defensive faces in that unit this upcoming season. There were plenty of playerswho were advocating for a Gerovero PERSON and that staff to come back, and they got their wish. The problem is, players like Brian Burns are no longer here. Frank Lovu PERSON, no longer here. Dante Jackson PERSON, not here. Ron Bell, not here. And to a lesser extent,Deshawn Williams PERSON, not here, but he was a starter on defensive line last year in Carolina ORG. The replacements are J. Nguyen Clownie on Clowney, DJ Woonham's here, Josie Jules, Dane Jackson, Jordan Fuller slash Nick Scott PERSON, however you want to look at the safety spot and a Sean Robinson. Those are familiar names to the coaching staff.Now, Clowney, we know him because of his time growing up here in a Charlotte area, playing at Rock Hill GPE, high school, South Point, high school, and Rock Rock Hill going to South Carolina GPE, being the number of overall pick. Everyone knows who Clownie PERSON is. DJ won him, South Carolina Gamecock ORG as well. Josie Jewel spent one year in Denver with the Geroverro as his D.C., Dan Jackson, Dan Morgan PERSON, wanted him badly in Buffalo in the seventh round.He's now here in Carolina, Jordan Fuller, and Nick Scott PERSON, both of those guys, have relationships with Jerry O'Vero PERSON dating back to their time with the Rams, Aishon Robinson PERSON, same case. So there are players who are veterans coming in here with experience in adefensive scheme, so that should help as far as the transition, but you have to wonder whether the talent level is on part of what it was a year ago. I think in certain respects, they have improved.And I think in certain respects, they have gotten worse. Now, as far as this conversation goes, let's focus on the two biggest losses, Brian Burns and Frankie Louvre PERSON. My question heading to 2024 is, can this defense be better without Brian Burns PERSON and Frankie Louvre PERSON? Now, let's start off with Brian Burns PERSON.And this was somebody that we spent a lot of time talking about over the last nine, 10 months or so about his contract situation in Carolina ORG and whether he would get a new deal. As y'all know, I wanted to see him get a new deal. It did not happen. I didn't necessarily agree with the Panthers paying him 30 mil, which the Giants ORG ended up paying him. But I did feel like he was worth the investment.And when the Panthers turned down what they allegedly turned down from the Rams ORG and all the opportunities they had to trade him outside of that, it didn't really make a lot of sense why they wouldn't just reward a player who was a captain, a really good player on the field. Didn't have the best season last year. I understand that. But a good player in the field, good in the community, those seem to be the kind of guys that you bet.And they just did that with Derek Brown PERSON, but they were not able to do that with Brian Burns PERSON. And that's a trade. I do want to revisit when looking back at what the compensation ended up being and what they turn it into during a draft a couple weeks ago. So we'll get into that another point in time here on the show.But as far as today goes, I totally understand people not want to see Brian Burns get paid $30 million a year. Now, I don't necessarily understand the folks who are happy that he's gone and think that the team is better off without him in the short term and even in the long term.I just do not agree with that at all. I can't agree with some of the moves that have been made post-trading Brian Burns PERSON and see how it's benefiting the Carolina Panthers ORG. But right now, I still, while seeing that, don't necessarily agree with, I flat out don't agree with the Panthers being better off defensively as far as what that unit looks like without Brian Burns PERSON.Now, DJ won him. He was the first quasi-Berns replacement. I look at him as more as a replacement for E. Tor, Gross Motos PERSON, and in some respects, and probably a lot of him, he's an upgrade over Gross Motos. He was more of a edge setter who sometimes could give you some pressure off the edge, but not really. DJ Wollum has done that more with the Vikings in his first four years, and he's going to come in and show that kind of value, especially as a starter, potentially for not just the next two seasons while he's under contract.The hope is that he'll produce this season and next season get a new deal and stick around for three, maybe four more years after that as he's now signed onto the first deal, post his rookie contract. So we'll see how that works out. Now, he is coming off partially torn quad and will miss the offseason program. That is something that could slow him down, heading into the year, and impact his numbers. We'll see how that works out. But Genevian Clowny PERSON, he was the realheadliner. He was the one that Panther fans desperately wanted to see in Carolina ORG. And I understand it. He had an excellent season last year in Baltimore, nine and a half sacks on what was one of the best defenses in league. The Ravens ORG, as I mentioned earlier on the show, led the league in Sacks and Clowny was a big part of it, a game wrecker, and we reallysaw the talent that led to him be the number one pick in the draft. And it's been wild to see him go from being the number one pick in the draft to playing in Houston being a pro bowler to having gone to Seattle GPE, to go to Cleveland, to go to Tennessee GPE,to go to Baltimore now in Carolina ORG that he's played on this many teams. I did not think that was going to be his fate. And I think it's fair to say that he has never lived up to the billing as a number one overall pick and what was expected out of him. You look at Miles Garrett, that's who I think we all felt like Genevian Clownie PERSON was going to be.And he has not been that. But does not mean that now, late inowny was going to be. And he has not been that. But does not mean that now, late in his career, going to be 31 the season, that he cannot fulfill that potential with a late career renaissance with 9-and-a-saxed last season, and then potentially carrying over that into maybe double-digit sacks this year and next year while he's under contract in Carolina ORG. That is absolutely my hope. And he believes that if he's healthy, he's under contract in Carolina ORG. That is absolutely my hope.And he believes that if he's healthy, he's a pro bowler. Now, we just saw last year that that claim is false as he was healthy, played every single game, had nine and a half sacks, and wasn't a pro bowler. Now, the hope is that he will play 17 games again this year and that he will end up being a pro bowler. Was Brian Burns, or sorry, was Genevion Clowny better than Brian Burns last year?Yeah, I think it's hard to argue against it. When you look at some of the numbers, Clowny was 18th graded edge rusher last season, according to Pro Bowl focus, Brian Burns was 39th. You look at ESPN ORG's past rush win rate. DeVion Clowney was higher rated than Brian Burns was last year. He had more Saxon Burns PERSON.Pressure numbers were better than Burns PERSON. There were a lot of numbers that pointed to last year, him being better than Brian Burns PERSON. But I'm not necessarily concerned about whether he was better than him last year. I'm concerned about he's going to be better than him this year and in the future. And that's where I have my real doubts because Brian Burns has never had a season with two or less sacks. Clowney has had two of those in his past four seasons.Burns has never played in fewer than 15 games. Clowny has only achieved that mark three times in his 10-year career. That's why he says if he's healthy, he's a pro bowler because a lot of times he's not healthy. And the Panthers are bringing in two edge rushers to replace Burns and Gross Motos PERSON. And Gross Motus PERSON had his own injury issues. Burns PERSON didn't have those at all.But they're replacing those two guys with one player who's coming off an injury and another player who has dealt with a lot of injuries in his career. And you're expecting, hoping really, for high-level production out of him, especially in that being, Jevian Clowney PERSON in 2024. So I'm not necessarily convinced that the past rest numbers are going to improve. I expecting to look pretty similar to what they were last year.In the short term, that's going to make it seem like the Panthers don't miss Brian Burns PERSON. And I do think as far as the run defense goes, Jadevian Clowney PERSON is a major upgrade in that department over Burns PERSON, which isn't nothing to look at and scoff at. That's important, as this was not a great run defense,as I pointed out to you earlier when looking at EPA ORG, having them ranked 31st out of 32 teams in the NFL ORG. I just think long term, they could have some serious questions as far as it goes, being an edge rusherand getting past rushing help. When you look at, Kleinney's not going to be very long. One of them, if it doesn't produce, may not be here very long. The Panthers ORG are going to need to identify a top tier pass rusher in future drafts for me to have my concern subsided when it comes to not having burns, a guy entering in his prime as a long-term option there at the edge rusher spot. Now, Frankie Louvre, he's someone that I don't feel like is going to be easily replaced in Carolina ORG, much like Burns PERSON.You might be able to get the production this season from Clowny and really mainly Clowny, but from DJ Willem PERSON as well, I'm more concerned about long-term. Like interim, I'm certainly concerned about how the Panthers replaced Frankie Louvo PERSON, who was the Tasmanian devil and just ran like a bat out of hell all the time around the field. Last two seasons, 236 combined tackles. The last two seasons for Josie Jewel PERSON.Also, 236 combined tackles in three less games played. So you look at that and you think, okay, not bad at all. Josie Jewel, Frankie Louvre PERSON, same kind of production. And matter of fact, Josie Jewel PERSON did it in less time. But where they're going to miss Frankie PERSON is in a way where I think they're going to miss Brian Burns PERSON down the line.Coming after the passer, getting pressure on the quarterback. Frankie had 12 and a half sacks in the past two seasons, including five and a half sacks last year. Josie Jewell has five and a half sacks the past two seasons combined, including two and a half in 2022 when a Jero O'Vero PERSON was his DC. You look at a pro football focus and the past rushing grade, Louvo had it 90.1 last year. Jewel had a 71.3 last year, which ain't bad at all. That's pretty damn good, especially for a player where I don't think you're going to be thinking of him as being an ace kind of pass rusher as an offball linebacker.Last season, according to PFF, Louvo graded out as their 10th best linebacker. Jewel graded out as their 40th best linebacker. You even go to the year prior. Louvo was higher graded than Jewel PERSON. He was sitting at 16. Jewel was 25th.They've downgraded at that position with a older player and someone who I don't think is going to have the kind of charisma as Frankie Louvo had in that locker room the last couple of years. He's the perfect example of the kind of guy that you hope to identify someone who you brought in to be a special team player who came with the mentality of I'm going to take somebody's job, and he did it. Took Jermaine Carter's Jr.'s PERSON job, came in here, and he's played his ass off, and I wish him best of luck in Washington ORG, wish he was here. I have my concern about linebacker, certainly without Frankie Louvo and Shaq Thompson PERSON coming off of an injury.I don't think he's going to be easily replaceable. I think Jule PERSON can be a good player for them. Not that great in coverage. We'll see how that works out. They're certainly going to miss Frankie PERSON when it comes to pass rush. And I do think that maybe this year you may not feel that way about Brian Burns PERSON.But I do think over time the Panthers will come to learn that they miss Brian Burns PERSON a lot. But the defense wasn't the concern this offseason. The concern was fixing the offense. And there is an argument to be made if it's even an argument at all that the offense of rebuild came at the expense of the defense. Is the defense going to take a step back in 2024? It also depends on how you viewed the defense last year in 2023. We'll talk about that herein just a moment on Locked on Panthers WORK_OF_ART. We've all been there either as a player or a fan. It's half time and a scoreboard is not looking good. You're feeling low. Not sure you or your team can pull out a win. That's when you dig deep, lift your head up and say to yourself, time to get back in the game, pull off some bank hikes and take as much my friend's money as I possibly can.That's right, the smash hit mobile game, Monopoly PRODUCT, go let you compete with your friends, you get the most riches and the biggest empire. It's a monopoly you love but on your phone anytime with tons of new twists, including leaderboards, compare your progress to your buddies. There's so much to do. Play on countless dynamic monopoly boards. Make your friends bankrupt by smashing their landmarks by wrecking ball.Charge other players rent for your iconic properties. You can even work with your friends to crack open community chess and in tournaments to get extra rewards and climb the leaderboard. So get back out there, put on your game face and download Monopoly Go PRODUCT. Now free on the App Store ORG or Google Play ORG.Is the Carolina Panthers ORG defense set to take a step back in 2024 or are they prepared to take a step forward with healthier playersguys who come into Carolina ORG this offseason that have more familiarity with the scheme in year two of a Geroa. It really depends on how you value the players that have come in and also how you value the guys who have exited Carolinaand how you saw this team a year ago. I think the defense was an okay unit. I really expected not that much of out of them once you saw this team a year ago. I think the defense was an okay unit. I really expected not that much of out of them once you saw the injuries, but I was left impressed by what a Gerovaer PERSON was able to do in year one with that mass unit that he had here in Carolina ORG.And I'm very excited to see what this defense looks like in 24. Although I do have my concerns as I have kind of addressed throughout this podcast so far. Losing Burns, losing Louvo PERSON, don't feel great about that. This year don't feel great about that even in three years' time, as I do think those are players who would have been pillars of this defense for the next couple of seasons alongside Derek Brown PERSON.And then at that point in time, potentially, J.C. Horn, who still, he has two two years left in Carolina at the very least with the 50-year option being exercised prior to the draft. So we'll love to see that for him. Hopefully you can stay healthy, but that's one of my concerns. Looking up front. Derek Brown's back. That is phenomenal. Getting Jade and Crumby from Mississippi State ORG will see what kind of role he has. Nick Thurman's coming back. LeBron Williams PERSON is coming back. Those are some rotational pieces that did show a certain level of promise, especially Thurman last year. And I like this box that they can play again next year.But where is the high-level defensive tackle talent here in Carolina ORG? Outside of Derek Brown PERSON. Shy Tuttle was largely forgettable last year. And if his contract wasn't the way it was now, he would not be in Carolina. A. Sean Robinson PERSON, I do see him as being an upgrade. He has played in this game just like Deshawn Williams PERSON, but he's a younger player, and he's always been known forbeing a runstopper, something that Deshawns struggled with mightily in Carolina ORG. So they should be better against the run with those guys, plus Chedevianon-Clowny coming to Carolina ORG. That is important. I still have my concerns, though, of whether they're going to get consistent production outside of Derek Brown PERSON. And Lord knows, something happens with Eric Brown PERSON. I'm not going to what I want it to happen.This team is not going to be in a great spot depth-wise when it comes to their defensive tackles. But we did see a year ago that when called upon, a lot of the debt guys on this defense did step up, mainly in a secondary, but they did step up,and that should be encouraging heading into this year two under a Geroverro as the Panthers ORG, D.C. I just though look at what the Panthers ORG are able to do with their offensive line and the investment they made into them. This offseason compared to what they did with the defensive line, and it's night and day. $89 million guaranteed to the two guards.They brought in a swing tackle. Yes, there's an investment that's been made in Derek Brown PERSON as far as his extension, which I'm very happy to see. They brought an A. Sean Robinson, but it's a one-year deal. That is a question that I have about how good they're going to be up front. If they cannot stop the run, cannot control the line scrimmage, they're not going tohave success defensively at the level that we would hope that they could have, especially with as talented of a defensive mind as they have in a Gero O'Vero PERSON. You get back to the second level there with linebacker. Basically brought up my concerns about Louvo being replaced by Jewel PERSON. They got worse there. Shaq Thompson PERSON, he's coming off of an injury.We'll see what he's able to do. If those two guys stay healthy, they should be fine at the linebacker spot. I don't know whether Trevin Wallace PERSON is ready to step in and be a player who's going to really help them out. I don't know if Clyde and Cherilis or if Chandler Wooten, even Michael Barrett, who they took in the seventh round, or guys that can step up and be ready to go. If something were to happen to Shaq again or to Josie Jewel PERSON,that is a spot where I still feel like they're light and that they've gotten worse just based off of losing a talent like Frankie Louvo PERSON, who really was the heart and soul of that defense outside of Derek Brown PERSON up front. The secondary, I do have major concerns. As much as I'm happy to see J.C. Horn PERSON get the 50-year option exercise, I still need to see him play. When we've seen him play, he's been good.The problem is, and I've said so many times we all say it all the time, he's just not available. If he can finally be available, that will certainly calm down my concerns. But right now, my concerns are not being quelled because I don't know if J.C. Horn PERSON is going to be able to play 15 games, let alone 16 or a full 17 game schedule. That's what I want to see out of him in 24. And what, Dan Morgan and everyone in this organization, Dave Canales PERSON, really, need to see outof him this upcoming season. There's still a major hole at the other corner spot. Dan Jackson PERSON, I'm sure there's belief in him within the organization and I'm sure within the fan base. But you all we still want to see Stefan Gilmore. Talk about it yesterday, the report from Joe Persson PERSON that there has been no movement there. And it feels like there's not going to be any movement until we get to August.And he's coming off of a significant injury with that Labrum PERSON surgery that he's scheduled to have. I imagine he's already had it, not quite sure whether that's been the case now. But if he's expecting to play, we're planning on playing this upcoming season, that would have been something he would have gotten taken care of way back then. And maybe the reason why he's also a free agent right now, that and he's older and doesn't want to waste his time dealing with the voluntary, then partially not voluntary, all season program that's ongoing across the NFL ORG. But they don't get Gilmore PERSON.I don't know what they're going to do. J.C. Jackson PERSON's on the market. Talk about him. Adori Jackson's also on the market. They don't bring in those guys. That could be a position that gets squarely.I do understand DeCaprio Boodle, Deshaun Jameson, those guys stepped up last year. They brought in Charles Smith-Waid PERSON, who really shined out at the senior bowl, and that's a big reason why the Panthers took him in the fifth round. He's a versatile player. We'll see what Jamie Robinson PERSON's able to add as he's more of a safety. Maybe he can play nickel, what he did at Florida State for a couple seasons there in the ACC ORG.Very curious to see how that works out and concerned about the cornerback spot. Secondary, Woods PERSON is a good player. The other two, Fuller PERSON and Nick Scott, mainly Fuller should be the starter. He started the last couple years in L.A. I don't know with either one of those guys, really Fuller is an upgrade from Bon Bell PERSON. And Scott started last year in Cincinnati GPE then was terrible and got benched.Good to have depth like that as a veteran player who knows a scheme, but also a little concerning if you have to go to them. But that's really how things are for a lot of teams. If you have to go to your backups. The Panthers ORG have lacked depth. Some of the best teams in the NFL ORG have quality depth.The Panthers ORG, there's always been questions about where their depth is and if they do have quality depth on the roster. And some of those concerns defensively, especially last year, we're put the rest. So we'll see what it looks like this year. And all, I think the offensive rebuild has come at the expense of the defense. We see the investment made on offense with the Deontay Johnson PERSON trade with the amount of money they paid toDamien Lewis and Robert Hunt getting three of their first picks in the draft using those on offense to players, not really addressing the defense outside of extending Derek Brown PERSON and getting some bargain deals in free agency. Then later on in day three, the draft, you know Trevin Wallace is there a night too. But aside from that, not like they did it a lot. I like the moves as far as on paper and the fit, in the scheme, and the understanding of it, I just look at the talent drain that we've seen with Burns gone, Louvue PERSON gone,Chen PERSON, who wasn't even being utilized, but I still think he's a good player. Dante, for what it's worth and what he was able to provide here, Von Bell PERSON, and I wonder where that talent ranks now compared to what they had last year, at least what they could have had last year, have those guys been healthy. Derek Brown PERSON's still here. He's a premium player.J.C. Horn PERSON's still here. He's a premium player. Everyone else, questions about them, certainly, heading into 2024. And that's the case about a lot of spots on this roster, both on offense and on defense. But that's going to wrap up this edition of the Lockdown Panthers ORG podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, host by yours, Julie, Julian Counsel PERSON.Again, y'all, Skyver, follow the show for free on YouTube ORG or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. And be sure to follow me, Julian Counsel on Twitter at Julian Council ORG. Where on Friday, I'll be back answering your weekly Friday mailbag questions either at me or DM me to get those questions into me now. But in the meantime, be safe, be happy, be whole. As always, keep pounding. And I'll talk to this locked on podcast ad free on Amazon ORG music.

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