“If we just do our jobs on defense, the defense works”

“In meeting rooms, getting after guys,” defensive end Brian Burns said Wednesday of those conversations. “It’s not coming from a place of hate. It’s coming from love and wanting to see that guy get better and do better for the team. That’s pretty much what he (Reddick) means by that.

“You want to cut all the sensitiveness and all the bull out of it. We come in to do our jobs, and our job is to win.”

When that unfolds the way it did last week, there’s plenty of accountability to go around. Burns called the film sessions “the true epitome of owning up to your stuff,” and was quick to admit there were a number of times when he was raising his hand.

“Facts,” he said. “I don’t think anybody played a great game last game, as far as defense. It was mistakes all across the board. But it just takes one guy to mess up. It’s not one guy every single play; it’s one guy here, one guy here, which turns to a consistent mess-up as a defense.”

Burns said the honesty was “pretty uplifting, in my opinion,” and players were taking the criticism constructively.

“At the end of the day, you have to learn from your mistakes,” he said. “You just can’t dwell on them, because it will be a tumbling effect the rest of the season. So we’ve been preaching, everyone hold themselves accountable and hold each other accountable. That’s our main theme right now.”

Rhule said he wanted to be careful not to “overreact to a bad game,” but they’re also not wasting a chance at an object lesson. He’s not ready to make big lineup changes, since he’s seen this group play well.

The Panthers are still second in the league in total defense, though they’ve slipped to 19th against the run. That means there’s still plenty going right. And as muddled as the NFC is this year, there’s still time for it to matter.

But make no mistake, the time to fix it is now. And based on their conversations, they’re all aware of it.