CHARLOTTE — Jaycee Horn knows this is completely different. And he's lived enough of a football life to know that the suddenly improved fortunes of the Panthers' defense aren't something to take for granted, because it's been too hard getting to this point, and their toughest challenge is the one in front of them.

"It's night-and-day," Horn said of the current state of his side of the ball. "But we've got to keep going because it can flip."

Trevin Wallace was there for most of it last year, a rookie learning on the fly, responsibilities changing throughout the season, dealing with injuries, and all that comes with being in the NFL. He was also part of a defense that set all the wrong kinds of records.

And even now, as the Panthers are beginning to stabilize on defense and turn all th

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