Defensive Line: The Panthers were 24th in the NFL in rush yards allowed per game and 23rd in total sacks. Neither statistic speaks particularly well for the D-line. Julius Peppers, whose return to Carolina next season is questionable, did rack up a solid 10.5 sacks, while fellow end Tyler Brayton added five. Rookie second-round pick Everette Brown had 22 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Grade: C

Linebackers: Just like the offensive line, this unit was depleted by injury. Thomas Davis was lost for the year in Week 9 and Landon Johnson followed in Week 11. Nonetheless, Carolina still had Jon Beason, who set a new franchise record and finished second in the NFL to Patrick Willis in tackles. In each of his three seasons, Beason has notched at least 138 tackles. This year he added three sacks, three interceptions and a forced fumble. James Anderson got a chance late in the season due to the injuries and came up with 45 tackles in the last six games. Grade: B

MLB Jon Beason again was the anchor of a Carolina defense that finished in the top 10 in the NFL overall.

Secondary: Carolina had the fourth-best passing defense in the NFL. The Panthers were tied for second with 14 passing touchdowns allowed and tied for fifth with 22 interceptions. Richard Marshall was second on the team with 88 tackles and tied for first with four picks along with fellow starting cornerback Chris Gamble. Grade: A

Special Teams: John Kasay was a solid 22 of 27 on field goals, including 21 of 23 inside of 50 yards. Jason Baker was right in the middle of the pack in the NFL with a 44.1 punting average. The return units didn’t contribute much, going without a touchdown while finishing 31st in kick return average and 17th in punt return average. The punt coverage team was solid, but the kick coverage was third-worst in the league and allowed a touchdown. Grade: C-

-- ANDREW SIMON