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The Panthers ranked 9th in defensive DVOA in 2017 thanks to effective red zone defense To prepare for the 2018 season Mike Adams Jersey , Cat Scratch Reader sent five questions to Football Outsiders to get a feel on what we should expect from the Panthers in 2018. Scott Kacsmar from FO was kind enough to answer our questions, and each day this week we will share one question and answer to foster discussion here at CSR.Yesterday, our question centered around the upgrades the Panthers have made to the receiver corps. Today, we move to the defense.The Panthers were 20th in yards allowed per play last year, but ended the season ranked 9th in Defensive DVOA. Is the Panthers defense legit or were their stats buoyed a bit by the slow pace of the offense last season?It’s comforting to know that the Panthers defense did fairly well against tough competition last year (except for the Saints, of course). While the bend but don’t break defense that we employ is probably the cause of most of our health issues, it was effective at preventing opponents from scoring last year. Hopefully that trend continues in 2018, and it would be even better if we can figure out a way to stop the Saints from racking up points against us for a change.What do you think http://www.pantherscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-greg-van-roten-jersey , Panthers fans? Do you think the defense can repeat their effectiveness in the red zone this year, or do you think last season was just a fluke? Share your thoughts with us!Also, be sure to stay tuned for the fifth and final question and answer with Kacsmar tomorrow, where we’ll focus on one of our defensive veterans who happens to be chasing a bit of history in 2018!You can purchase the 2018 Football Outsider’s Almanac in PDF form for just $20 by clicking here. That was one of the dumbest and luckiest games of football I have ever seen the Carolina Panthers play. Let’s make that clear up front. This column isn’t sunshine and roses because a win is a win this week. Captain Colin Jones, with key assists from DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel, made sure that a punt was not a bad play. Graham Gano kicked lights out, including that game winner that might have taken the lights out at a dome. The rest would be concerning if the Panthers had suffered another conference loss yesterday. Instead, there is hope that the litany of mistakes can merely be instructional.We’ll talk more as the week goes on about how many questionable decisions were made by Norv Turner C.J. Anderson Jersey , Ron Rivera, and Cam Newton against the New York Giants. An octopus on a slip-n-slide could have won a three-legged race more gracefully than the Panthers beat the Giants yesterday. It happens. The NFL is weird and the Cleveland Browns keep taking folks to overtime to remind them just in case they forgot. To harp on the down day for the defense or the uncharacteristic miscommunications between Ian Thomas and Cam that led to two turnovers would do a disservice to the great potential the Panthers demonstrated yesterday.Christian McCaffrey didn’t break the game, but he had a couple of runs that made you hold your breath just in case he did. He has that potential that every fan and coach wants on their team: the run-away speed that can ruin a defense that makes even a single mistake. It’s exciting to watch in a way that even DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart weren’t —not quite— in their primes. He’s a reliable Ted Ginn, Jr.What’s more, the Panthers put the ball in the hands of rookie DJ Moore and second year wide receiver Curtis Samuel with space to move. I held my breath the same way I did for McCaffrey. These kids have the speed we hoped they would. Half the credit for their big plays goes to the Giants for putting on a clinic for poor tackling. Their speed was on full display in that much traffic, though. Imagine what it would look like in the secondary.It’s been a long time since the Panthers have had a player with the home run ability of McCaffrey. I don’t think they have ever had two players in that mold. If all three of these guys work out; if McCaffrey, Samuel, and Moore can all earn the trust of the coaches; if they each can force Turner’s hand into giving them significant roles in the game plan week in and week out then the Panthers offense is going to be a show worth watching.Their speed in front of the threat that is Cam Newton is not something that the NFL is made to handle. Devin Funchess can continue to settle into his role as a reliable contributor Wes Horton Jersey , a 1b to Greg Olsen’s 1a when he returns (possibly next week!). The Panthers can use those guys to move the chains while pinning safeties impossibly far back in fear of the three actual jungle cats the Panthers have masquerading as offensive skill players. It won’t work out quite that way, of course, but the players are finally there. They could do it.I don’t know if Turner is the right coordinator for that job. I don’t know if Rivera is an aggressive enough coach to even want that kind of ability to chew up yards and score touchdowns. I do know the Panthers flashed the potential for an unstoppable offense yesterday. Weird things happen in the NFL, so I’m happy to give them a pass for this game. For now. We’ll see if they can take advantage of their talent and stop manufacturing these nail biting finishes.That’s how they become relevant in the post season. That’s how 2015 happened. It’s worth it, even if that means no longer having some of the greatest calls of the week, like this one, courtesy of the Spanish language broadcast team: