Before the Broncos began launching themselves at Carolina quarterback Cam Newton last Thursday, the Panthers had all sorts of problems corralling Denver’s ball carriers.
It started in the first quarter when running back C.J. Anderson took a screen pass 21 yards after a missed tackle by safety Tre Boston. On the Broncos’ next drive, rookie cornerback James Bradberry whiffed at a juking Anderson, whose 28-yard scamper the Panthers on their heels. Three plays later, cornerback Bené Benwikere had no idea Andy Janovich took the handoff until the fullback was sprinting through the outstretched arms of safety Kurt Coleman en route to end zone.
For a team that relies on its secondary to tackle well, the Panthers sure got off to an inauspicious start.
“You see that a little bit, unfortunately, early in the year,” defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said Monday.
“That said, we've got to do a better job. We pride ourselves in being a good, sound fundamental defense and I felt we could've done a better job.”
As sloppy as the Panthers’ were in Denver, they can perhaps take some solace they’re not the latest example of why so many are scared about the future of football. The Broncos’ defense essentially won the game in the second half by unloading on Newton, a helmet-to-helmet beating that drew just one flag.
So how much is a win worth? Fines only put a small dent in players’ wallets. It’s really up to each team’s coaching staff to decide whether the present is important enough to jeopardize a guy’s future.
“I know what we do here and that's safety first,” McDermott said. “That's our emphasis all the time. We start our first meeting that way and we continue to talk about that.
“As a staff, we spend a lot of time studying it, vetting it, making sure we're teaching the right technique.”
To be fair, the Panthers don’t belong on a pedestal overlooking the NFL’s 31 other teams. Most are trying to make tackling safer by teaching techniques that don’t involve the head. See: The Seahawks’ rugby-style ‘Hawk Tackle.’ And according to McDermott, almost every club is now implementing something similar, just with a different name. So Carolina’s rugby-style tackle is appropriately called the ‘Panther Tackle.'
As long as there’s football, incidental helmet-to-helmet contact is going to happen. Even the Broncos can’t be blamed for a couple of their early hits on Newton. The issue is a guy like linebacker Brandon Marshall believes it’s still OK to launch his body while trying to make a tackle because “we were just playing ball.”
Unfortunately for the sport, if players continue just playing like that, there eventually won’t be enough bodies willing to play ball.
“It's an aggressive game and you hope everybody uses proper technique and plays within the rules,” McDermott said.
“It's important for me that the players understand that it's safety first so they know exactly our stance on things. At the end of the day, a little perspective is important. (And that means) coming out of this thing healthy — for both sides.”