Sir Purr
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- Mar 16, 2019
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That means the Panthers have to eliminate those "my bad" mistakes if they're going to improve against Gurley the second time around.
"You can't get too nosy. You can't feel like you have to make every play," Burns said. "That's something I have a problem with sometimes, I feel like I've got to make every play. But as long as you do your job and just stay disciplined in your gaps, don't allow anyone to take you out your gap, or you being nosy take you out your gap, everything should be fine, in my opinion."
That plays into Carolina's biggest defensive issue from Sunday's loss: third down. The Panthers set a single-game franchise low in defensive third-down efficiency, allowing an 85.7 percent conversion rate. Of New Orleans' 14 third-down attempts, nine were from third-and-6 or fewer. The Saints also converted 2-of-4 third downs with at least 10 yards to go.
"(T)he main key of how you win third down is to win first and second," Burns said. "We got into a lot of third-and-4, third-and-2, those are hard to keep them from getting the first down. So we've really got to concentrate on first and second (down).
"And when we do get into third-and-longs, we have to get off the field. Rush, coverage, everything included, everybody's got to work together to get off the field because we just can't allow 12-of-14 (third-down conversions). That's just unacceptable."
The Panthers are missing pieces on the defensive front, but they have to find a way to replicate their success against the Bears when they allowed only 63 yards rushing. If Atlanta can't gash Carolina's defense with Gurley, then the unit will have a better shot at getting the ball back to the offense.