The Carolina Panthers defense has struggled to create pressure this season, but over the last five weeks, Brian Burns has been the one consistent factor in getting to the quarterback.
His meaningful presence was once again on display last week at New Orleans.
Midway through the second quarter Saints quarterback Drew Brees dropped back for a pass looking to extend their lead, but the defensive end got past his man to sack Brees and force a fumble, which the Panthers recovered.
The play was a work of art, but it also wasn't a surprise as the second-year Burns, who has already developed into the Panthers best pass rusher.
After struggling the first two weeks, Burns has 19 tackles, three sacks, all of which forced a fumble, and eight quarterback hits.
His stellar play has been sorely needed by the Panthers (3-4).
Defensive coordinator Phil Snow believes he's just getting started.
“I think we’re going to see a big change in productivity over the next five or six games with Brian," he said. "I think he’s really learning his position and how his physical capabilities work in the defense that he's running. I expect him to really grow."
As a rookie, Burns played in 43.3 percent of Carolina's defensive snaps while dealing with a hand injury, but showed promise with 7.5 sacks, 16 quarterback hits and a defensive touchdown.
This past offseason, the Panthers went very young on defense, making way for Burns to become one of the leaders on defense despite his being only his second season.
The new defensive scheme also allowed him to move from linebacker to his more natural position as a defensive end.
"He has a lot of ability and we've asked him to do more than just one position," Snow said. "I think he's coming into his own. He's playing a lot harder the last two weeks which I'm excited about. He's big and fast and if he plays fast, that adds a lot to what we do."
The transition has allowed Burns to show his big-play ability Carolina was hoping to get when they drafted him 16th overall last year. Burns is ranked second by Pro Football Focus in pass-rush rating.
"I feel a lot more comfortable with transitioning from linebacker to defensive end doing certain drops, certain rushes and I feel like everyone is coming into their own inside the defense," Burns said. "We just have to focus on the details a little more and a couple of things and I feel like we can really take this thing to another level."
Burns has started getting to the quarterback more often with his eight hits but that hasn’t translated to sacks as often as he’d like.
Even so, he’s always looking to create the next highlight, which the Panthers are hopeful will lead to more consistency.
"The challenge for him is to become a consistent all-around player that plays at a really high level for long, long stretches," head coach Matt Rhule said. "He's working really hard to do that."
As Burns adjusts to expanding his game, he's also learning that opponents are taking notice, producing more double-teams against him.
"It's pretty annoying," Burns said. "I’ve got to figure out ways to not let that slow me down. It pretty much happens in games or certain techniques to get around those chips and those double teams but we'll figure it out throughout the week."
Rhule isn't surprised that more double-team looks are coming his way.
"He's a tremendous pass rusher," he said. "When you're a great pass rusher they're going to chip you, nudge you, double you, slide to you and that's the life of being one of those guys.
"As Brian makes the journey to be the best that he can be, he has to understand that you don't get to sneak up on anyone and you get everyone's best and you get 2-on-1s in passing situations ... I like his approach to that and I've been very pleased with his play."
Once he finds the consistency to go along with his big-play ability, he'll be a bigger and constant threat for any opposing offense.
“My process is every day we’ve got to show up,” Burns said. “You’ve got to show up to play every day, no matter who it is because you can get beat on any given Sunday by anybody – from the best team to the lowest team. …
“You’ve just got to show up and play and that’s how I take it.”
