The Carolina Panthers were arguably NFL’s biggest mystery heading into Week 1. We didn’t get to see them in the preseason and nobody truly knew what to expect from Matt Rhule’s team after Ron Rivera’sshocking departure.
Some people speculated that the Panthers’ banged-up defense was going to be slightly better than their Teddy Bridgewater-fueled offense but that wasn’t nearly the case. If anything, they were able to put up 30 points but gave up 34.
That’s why coach Rhule knows that his team must make a lot of adjustments as they prepare to visit the revenge-craving Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who also lost in their season opener.
Panthers Coach Matt Rhule Says His Team Must Get A Four-Man Rush To Stop Tom Brady
”We have to come up in crucial situations and get pressure. The biggest thing I took away from last week is we have guys who are more than capable but we have to be a little bit more tenacious, we have to hit pass rush moves and use our hands better. There are things we can correct. We have to get a four-man rush. That is easier said than done,” Rhule told AP.
The Panthers gave up 372 total yards to the Las Vegas Raiders and, obviously, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers represent a much-bigger challenge in Week 2, even if they didn’t look as sharp as they expected in their first game.
Tom Brady had two picks, one of them returned for a score. The Saints’ defense put him under a lot of pressure all day long. Carolina, on the other hand, didn’t even record a sack and Derek Carr had a feastout of the pocket, and you don’t want to give that kind of time and space to Brady in a divisional matchup.
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