Notebook: Replacing Derrick Brown a schematic and personal challenge
CHARLOTTE — Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero knows there’s no substitute for having a Derrick Brown in the middle of your lineup.
But he also knows a thing or two about adapting on the fly in recent years.
The season-ending knee injury to his star defensive tackle is the kind of thing that takes a collective effort to make up for since there are few players in the league quite like Brown.
“You don’t replace him,” Evero said Thursday. “So, it’s the next man up, and you know, we have a lot of confidence and faith, and all of the D-linemen are on our roster. We’ve got some very good players there, and these guys have been working their butts off, and they’re ready to go.”
But beyond losing Brown, this is the kind of thing Evero has had to deal with many times in the past.
Last year, he lost cornerback Jaycee Horn and linebacker and defensive signal caller Shaq Thompson to injuries early in the season. The year before, when he was in Denver, the Broncos traded star pass-rusher Bradley Chubb in midseason, another of those subtractions that serve as both a schematic and personal shock for teammates and coaches.
“Yeah, and that’s just life in the NFL,” Evero said with a shrug. “You feel for the guys because, like, Bradley’s example, he was a great guy, great locker room guy, loved working with him every day, and then he’s gone. And you miss that part of it. Same thing with Derrick, he’s a great guy. He epitomizes what you want in a professional and in a leader, and obviously, what he does on the field is tremendous.
“And so you’re going miss, just the like game day obviously is one thing he’s going to be missed there, but just a day to day like seeing him in the meetings interacting with him watching the way he works, all of those things are going to be missed. But at the end of the day, that’s just how this thing goes, and it’s always going to be the next man up. And as much as we feel for Derrick and on a personal level, you know, I’m excited for the next guys up that are going to get a great opportunity.”
Keeping the defense from going Hollywood
Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik said Thursday that quarterback Bryce Young has some latitude at the line of scrimmage, but they like to keep the calls concise, so the defense doesn’t “Hollywood on you.”
In layman’s terms, that means allowing the defense to try to confuse things by showing you fake looks. The defense against Hollywooding is keeping things moving and dictating the pace yourselves.
“When you give them a lot of time pre-snap, then they can try to disguise coverages a little bit more, Idzik said. “When you have tempo out of the huddle, and you present yourself to the defense with some urgency and some tempo, they’ve got to get aligned and get their rules and their communication done.
“So just we emphasize every single day, no matter what we’re running, if it has an alert on it or not, You gotta get out of the huddle and get to the line of scrimmage to stress the defense, get them talking. They’re playing reactionary football. Our urgency out of the huddle creates that.”
Here’s Johnny, … maybe. Hekker was limited in practice
Punter Johnny Hekker was a limited participant on Thursday, as he continues to rest his back. The flare-up happened during warm-up’s on Sunday ahead of the New Orleans game. He was able to push through the game and play, averaging 38.2 yards per punt, with a long of 53-yards.
“We just had to kind of battle through it and get through the game,” Hekker explained Thursday. “I made it through and our training staff has been awesome, helped me through this whole thing.
“I did my best to try and stay loose and just be an asset to the team or in the game.”
Dave Canales said on Wednesday, at the time, the Panthers were not working out punters. There is always a contingency plan in place however, and it starts with a list kept by special teams coordinator Tracy Smith of available punters. There are parameters he keeps though.
“You want to have a guy who’s kicked a ball recently is the first thing, who played this preseason, who’s most ready to go,” Smith explained. “That’s the kind of thing you’re checking, who—there’s a priority put on game experience in that way, who can come in. Because the punter also is holding for the kicker, this is a valuable position.
“So you have to lean on guys who you’ve seen done it, do it before and then guys who have kicked recently who are in shape to go play in a game.”
Adding some leaders on special teams
Special teams coordinator Tracy Smith added a couple of dedicated special teams players this week when veterans Mike Boone and Lonnie Johnson were added to the 53-man roster.
They were on the practice squad last week and elevated for the game Sunday against the Saints. Boone was here all offseason while Johnson was in Texans camp but was released in cuts to 53.
Special teams coaches are used to dealing with shifting personnel anyway, but having a couple of veterans obviously helps when they’re bringing in so many new people.
Boone, in particular, adds value since he’s got more background with Smith. Johnson has done all these things, but he’s still getting caught up with the language here.
“Mike’s really tough player, fast player has experience and covered a great spirit to him,” Smith said. “Lonnie just got here. He’s learning himself, he’s trying to get adjusted to what we’re doing. He’s good for the attitude, the spirit, the toughness; he was great during the game as far as telling those guys. He’s still asking, we’re not there with him at this point.
“Mike has a wealth of experience from a lot of teams, a lot of different places, so he can help guys when I see this when this is happening, kind of stuff.”
View photos from the Panthers’ practice as the team prepares to take on the Los Angeles Chargers.
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