Defense

Carolina Panthers Defense in 2003
During the 2003 season they had a defensive ranking of 9th in the NFL. Their defense allowed only 3,003 yards. This may be because there pass rush defensive gave them 40 sacks. The pressure coming from their defensive line allowed them to receive 16 interceptions. The defensive line allowed only 1,722 yards rushing. They also had a turnover rate negative five. During the 2003 season the Carolina Panther Defensive linemen with the most years pro was B. Buckner with 10 years pro. Many of the linemen had been playing for at least 5 years. These players were J. Peppers, K. Pittman, M. Rucker, A. Wallace, S. Burton, and B. Buckner. The only two remaining members of the line are K. Rasmussen with 4 years pro and K. Moorehead in his rookie year. Total they have 51 years pro. Averaged out each player has approx. 22.5 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Carolina Panthers Defense in 2012
During the 2011 season they had a defensive ranking of 28th in the NFL. Their defense allowed 4,069 yards. That is a 1,066 yard difference! There defensive line allowed for 2,093 rushing yards. Their defense had a total of 31 sacks and only 14 interceptions. During the 2011 season they had a turnover rate of positive one. Another reason to the weakness and need for the improvement of the Carolina Panthers defensive line may be the relatively young age of the line. The Carolina Panther defensive linemen with the most experience are R. Fields with seven years pro. Many of the current defensive line players are in their first or second year pro for instance G. Hardy, E. Norwood, T. McClain, S. Fua, and A. Neblett. In fact, six of the eight line men are in their second or first year pro. The only other lineman I have not mentioned is C. Johnson, who is in his 5th year pro. Total they have 21 years pro. Averaged out each player has approx. 17.75 tackles and 1 sack each.