The way people have been talking about the most important cog in the Carolina Panthers’ pass rush, you’d think he should be on the side of a milk carton.

MISSING

Kawann Short
Male
DOB: 2/2/89
Height: 6'3''
Weight: 315
Black Hair
Brown Eyes
Last Seen: 2015 NFC Championship Game

 

A search on Pro Football Reference certainly doesn’t help. It just brings up a picture of former Jets cornerback Kevin Short:

So where’s KK?

Well, I did some digging this week and confirmed he’s still on the Carolina Panthers’ roster. As far as where the Pro Bowler has gone on the field:

“(I’m seeing) see a lot more double teams and a lot of plays running away from (me),” Short explained. “It’s one of those things that you’ve got to scrap and get what you can, and when they do decide to come your way, you’ve got to take advantage of it.”

A defensive tackle's stats aren’t the best way to assess his effectiveness, but they’re a starting point. And Short’s current passing rushing stats have many wondering when he’s going to start the season.

Through five games, he has 1.0 sack and three QB pressures. That’s quite a drop-off from his dominant 2015 when his terrorized quarterbacks with a franchise-record 11.0 sacks and 32 QB pressures.

Yet that success is now part of the problem.

“You saw what he did last year,” defensive end Mario Addison said. “He killed the league last year, so you know teams are going to pay extra attention to him.”

Before the season, the Carolina Panthers refused to pay extra for Short. The wanted to get him locked in with a long-term deal in the $13-$15 million a year range. Short’s side was searching for something in the $17-million neighborhood. So he’s betting on himself right now while playing for $1.07 million in the final year of his rookie contract.

Because he’s seemingly gone MIA, some on the outside are relieved Short didn’t get what he was asking. But as you’d probably expect, the narrative is different on the inside.

“People are giving Kawan a lot of crap about it but what they don't realize is this man is getting double- and triple-teamed,” defensive tackle Kyle Love said. “Whenever a guy makes a lot of buzz in this league, that focus becomes on him.

“People are doing a lot of things to try to slow him down. To the unseen eye that's not in here, they don't really know. They just think ‘Oh, he's having a bad year.’ That's not it.”

Hearing Love’s claim about double teams, Jeremy Igo at Carolina Huddle pulled up the All-22 tape from Monday night’s loss to the Bucs. Here’s what he saw:

Double Teams vs. Tampa Bay

 

• Star Lotulelei — 15
• Love — 10
• Paul Soliai — 8
• Short — 5
• Lavar Edwards — 4
• Kony Ealy — 2
• Charles Johnson — 0
• Addison — 0

But …

“People on the outside who say stuff like that don't really understand the game,” Lotulelei said. “They don't really understand the things that (Short) sees and what everybody else on the D-line sees. Teams have noticed him from last year and they've started game-planning him. Just like a guy like Aaron Donald or Gerald McCoy.”

Love and Lotulelei are right. Whether we look at stats or coaches film, we have no clue what the calls were or what responsibility each guy had, and few of us are qualified to know how offenses are using 6- or 7-man protections, cut blocks and play action to limit Short’s production.

But as Lotulelei said, Short’s not the only defensive tackle seeing extra attention. That doesn’t help their argument, though.

Of the seven tackles named to last season's Pro Bowl, Short’s currently at the bottom of the sack department:

• Fletcher Cox (PHI) — 4* 
• Geno Atkins (CIN) — 2.5
• Gerald McCoy (TB) — 2.0*  
• Aaron Donald (LA) — 2.0
• Calais Campbell (ARI) — 2.0
• Jurrell Casey (TEN) — 2.0
• Short — 1.0

One problem Short’s having ties back to the double team stats from above. Notice that — according to Igo — the Bucs double-teamed Ealy and Johnson a total of two times? Neither of the Panthers’ starting defensive ends has a sack this season, but safety Tre Boston leads the team with 2.0. If offenses aren’t worried about guys not named Short on the defensive line, it’s a lot easier for them to react to his breakout season.

“They wouldn't be playing smart if they didn't do that,” Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said. “He’s a force inside and numbers don't always tell the whole story. It's affecting the quarterback and it's by committee in terms of you've got to work off each other.

“The other guys have to come alive.”

And as they bring their makeshift secondary to New Orleans, Sunday would be as good a time for the pass rush to show up. But that could be a tough task against the Saints, who are giving up a sack on 3.8 percent of pass plays, the second-best rate in the league.

For what it’s worth, Short didn’t earn his first sack last year until game No. 5, so he’s technically on the same pace. And while it may seem like Short’s gone missing, it’s still too early to put out an APB.

“Now I know I've got a lot of teams focusing on me, so I have to adjust. Practice harder, get my wind up and doing all that,” Short said.

“It comes with what you put out there and it's one of those things you’ve got to fight through.”