The Panthers have not had much go right the last couple months, but one bright spot has been the emergence of Josh Norman.The cornerback, who finished each of his first two seasons in coach Ron Rivera’s doghouse, did not play a single defensive snap in Week 1. Not only has he regained his starting job since, but he also played every snap in Weeks 10 and 11.Against the Falcons, Norman did an excellent job defending Falcons star wideout Julio Jones:Something that stands out with Norman – he is much better in man coverage, as opposed to sitting back in zone. When the Panthers ask Norman to single up and play physical with a receiver, he responds with great coverage. He appears more comfortable reacting, rather than having to analyze much.On the play below, Norman mirrors Jones off the line of scrimmage. When Jones takes a step to his left, Norman throws his right foot back. Jones cuts back to his right and starts into his route. Norman recovers and pushes off his right foot right into coverage. A stellar start off the line gives him leverage.Once at the catch point, Norman turns his solid coverage into making a play on the ball. He reaches inside of Jones and legally disrupts the receiver during the process of tracking the ball into his hands:Norman has also been much stronger and decisive as a tackler. In the past, he used to compound coverage mistakes with tackle blunders. Every cornerback gives up passes, so it’s important for them to be technically sound as a tackler.Once again, we see the matchup of Jones at LWR and Norman at RCB. And just as before, they are tight on the line of scrimmage, with Jones about to run an intermediate dig route:Not surprisingly, the Falcons were intent on getting Jones plenty of looks. He was quarterback Matt Ryan’s first read on several plays, including this one:Ryan throws the ball before Jones is open, and the receiver’s cut catches Norman off guard. That gives Jones enough space to make the reception, but this is when Norman must act quickly to limit the damage:Norman is prepared to make a play as soon as Jones turns downfield. He dives and catches Jones around the midsection. Norman keeps his arms strong and eventually brings Jones down by the ankles. This is a great example of limiting yards after the catch.Norman has always been physical, but now that he is primarily a man-coverage corner, he is using his 6-foot frame as an advantage. He is playing in control and thriving when asked to mix it up with receivers in tight coverage.Jones is 6-foot-3, yet he seemed to be bothered by Norman’s aggression. This was especially evident on screen passes.On the play below, Norman gets his hands on Jones right as he looks to be getting into his route. But when Jones breaks back behind the line of scrimmage and into a screen pattern, Norman reacts immediately. He keeps his hands on Jones and follows him back toward Ryan, whose pass falls incomplete:http://i.imgur.com/lwPokpm.gifvThat was just one of a few examples where Norman was directly responsible for breaking up a screen pass to Jones. Norman did not permit anything to come easy for the Pro Bowl wideout, who caught just six of his 11 targets for 59 yards.Norman has had his ups and downs in Carolina, but he appears to have finally put things together over the last month. He has translated his size to physicality and his athleticism to excellent play in man coverage. It also helps that the Panthers are letting him just react, versus putting too much on his plate by using him in zone coverage.The third-year cornerback may never turn into a star, but the Panthers have been searching for at least one corner they could depend on since Chris Gamble retired after the 2012 season. Judging by his recent performances, Norman may be up to that task.[author title=”About the Author”]