"Drew Brees can embarrass any defense. That we know. Yet what the New Orleans quarterback did to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday - particularly on one 42-yard Saints touchdown just before halftime - should be burned into the minds of a Panthers defense that must get so much better in 2012. With the score tied at 17, New Orleans had advanced to the Carolina 42 but had used all of its timeouts and had only 16 seconds left in the half. The Panthers, at worst, were going to give up a John Kasay field goal if they didn't let the Saints' receivers get behind them. But in a season where the Panthers defense set franchise-worst records for most points and most yards allowed, nothing was ever certain. Brees faded back and two things happened - both of them bad for Carolina, and both of them pointing out flaws that this team must fix. First of all, the pass rush was mostly nonexistent. The Panthers' best rusher, Charles Johnson, was injured and missed the game. Still, Carolina's pressure on quarterbacks for much of the year was too inconsistent. No one other than Johnson had more than four sacks all season."