Gerald McCoy is used to it.
He’s used to the fans shouting his name, used to the media frenzy surrounding his every word, used to the accolades given to him by his teammates and coaches.
Freak. Monster. Everything they hoped he would be.
He’s used to the attention off the field…but he’s even more accustomed to it on the field – because as one of the premiere defensive linemen in the NFL since entering the league in 2010, Gerald McCoy has demanded attention. That usually comes in the form of two huge offensive linemen trying to impede his progress to the ball.
And that’s just the way he likes it.
“I’ve never, ever, ever, ever, ever in my career had a problem with getting doubled or being the main focus,” McCoy said after one of his first training camp practices in a Panthers uniform. “The thing is, when you’ve got a group of men that are working together, when one person’s getting doubled or taking up a lot of attention, everybody else around them can flourish.”
That mentality – and ability to draw attention – is a key reason for the Panthers bringing McCoy into their revamped three-man front. But the decision to move to that front in the first place was Ron Rivera, who has used the 3-4 in San Diego to great success in the past but has only run the 4-3 here in Carolina, looking around the league and seeing people that knew exactly what the Panthers’ defense was all about.
“Part of it is that there was an opportunity to morph into something a little bit different,” said Rivera. “We’ve been stagnant in terms of doing the same thing and there’s enough guys out there now – coaches – that have been part of what we’ve done [and] are out in the league that I think enough people know a little more than I like.”
“We’ve got Gerald McCoy, have you seen that guy? He’s a freak!”
-Donte Jackson
The transition to the three-man front, which appears to be the majority of what the Panthers will run – along with some wrinkles that will include the standard 4-3 look that teams are used to seeing from Carolina – allows the linebackers to disguise whether they’ll be rushing the passer or dropping into coverage. In the past, with four linemen with their hand in the ground, the offensive line had a good idea that those four guys were coming for the quarterback.
Hence the use of the word ‘stagnant’.
Last year, the Panthers ranked 27th in the league with 35 sacks, their lowest ranking in the Rivera era following three consecutive top-six finishes. Carolina rushed four 65.1% of the time last season, according to Football Outsiders, and created pressure only 31% of the time; only five teams sent a blitz fewer than the Panthers in 2018 – with the three-man front, they may not necessarily have to send more than four rushers…it will be a question of where that fourth rusher is coming from.
An offensive lineman will look up and see Luke Kuechly, Shaq Thompson, Bruce Irvin and Mario Addison standing up behind McCoy, Kawann Short and Dontari Poe – not knowing who’s coming on any given snap. And that indecision can lead to mistakes – and mistakes can lead to pressure – pressure leads to sacks and turnovers.
“It forces the quarterback to make mistakes, it forces him to get the ball out in a hurry and when you mess up the timing, you create turnovers,” said cornerback James Bradberry. “It’s going to be a good thing for us.”
Bradberry’s partner on the other side of the secondary, Donte Jackson, put it more succinctly.
“Those guys will make the quarterback throw me the ball.”
The gaps for the linebackers to run through start up front with the talent of McCoy, Short and Poe and their ability to draw double teams. With five offensive linemen and perhaps a tight end or a running back, there are either five or six blockers to account for anywhere from three-to-five rushers; usually that means the tackles in the middle are attracting two blockers, especially when you’re a guy that shows up on the scouting report.
Dontari Poe, whose two Pro Bowl appearances and most prolific sack seasons came when he was in the 3-4 in Kansas City, chuckled when asked what percentage of the time he has been double-teamed in his career.
“It’s probably a lot – but if I’m getting double-teamed, somebody else is making plays. We’ve got playmakers on this defense, so I’m cool with it,” said Poe. “We’ve got a lot of guys – we’ve got [McCoy and Short], who are proven, we’ve got K-Love, we’ve got Vernon. So we’ve got guys that can go out there and they can make a lot of plays.”
“All the guys on this defense – It’s like it was meant to happen.”
-Mario Addison
The difference this year is that there are three guys, not just Poe, lining up on the line that will demand a double team – that’s going to cause a problem.
“I’ve been on teams before where if you’re playing a really good defensive tackle, the rules say to slide this way, but hey, let’s work to this guy until we can show we don’t need to do that anymore,” said guard Greg Van Roten, who had to line up against McCoy twice last season. “There’s a few guys in this league that get that kind of treatment. McCoy & KK – I’m sure – get that treatment from some teams.”
“That’s hard and why I think our defensive line is going to be really tough to play against. I would hate to line up on third down and see Poe, KK, McCoy, Bruce and ‘Rio out there, because you’re all one-on-one blocks, probably, and it’s hard for five guys to win their block 100% of the time.”
Offensive lines will have to pick their poison – double-team the 346-pound Poe and the six-time Pro Bowler McCoy, leaving Kawann Short, who has 27.5 sacks since 2015, tied for third-most in the NFL by a defensive tackle over the past four seasons, one-on-one with a lineman – and a running back or tight end to pick up Brian Burns, Shaq Thompson, Mario Addison or Bruce Irvin one-on-one.
Elite pass rushers like the rookie Burns is licking his lips at the opportunity to be singled up with a blocker after drawing extra attention himself throughout his college career.
“Them drawing all that attention is just going to single me up and I can work with whatever I’ve got, because they’re going to take a lot of the attention,” grinned Burns. “Just having a one-on-one, I’m going to pick me every time.”
“Whoever you double, there’s going to be at least two guys that are going to be singled, maybe three. Those are the guys that have got to win.”
-Ron Rivera
It will be winning the one-on-one matchups, something that Ron Rivera has emphasized multiple times in the past as the key to a good pass rush, that will again be the difference between a classic Panthers defense – since 2012, no team’s defensive line has produced more than the 242.5 sacks Carolina’s group has and the Panthers have the most sacks in the league over that period – and the disappointing performance of last year.
It won’t be as easy as Addison jokes – he won’t be able to just ‘run up the field, lay on the ground, wait for the quarterback to run by me and trip him up,’ but the so-called ‘monsters up front’ should make it easier for the pass rushing linebackers to get to the ball.
“That’s the best part about it, man,” said McCoy. “The great thing about this group is everybody on this group can demand attention, KK’s a Pro Bowler, Mario’s a double digit guy, Burnsy’s coming out of college – he was a double digit guy, Bruce rushes well, Poe’s a Pro Bowler. All these different guys up front and everybody at any given time can demand a double team – but when somebody else is demanding a double team, we’ve got so many guys that can get to the quarterback [and] that can win when they’re not getting doubled.”
“That’s like a dream come true.”
A dream for Carolina, but a nightmare for opponents.
