panthers55

I was told by my grandfather not to argue with a fool because people may not be able to distinguish the difference between you.. So I will take his advice and not argue with you.

No you make no sense. If he gameplanned and took things seriously last year and we got beat so badly, then what is different this year that justifies an article stating that we are taking it seriously or doing something different this year which is the tone of your article. If it is different than last year then clearly there wasnt a big effort to gameplan last year and the result shouldnt be related to how we finished. If is isnt different then your article and its conclusions are totally wrong and overblown since we are doing no different than last year. You are either backtracking saying we gameplanned last year when we didnt, or we did last year then this year is no different and we arent treating it any different. You can't have it both ways. As for my defense of Shula, there are several threads criticizing him and I havent weighed in on them because it is just a waste of time. My comments wont change the feeling here which you do everything you can to foment and that just wastes my time. I come here to discuss but that implies others have an open mind. Most here like you are not open to anything that tries to shake what you decided a decade ago about him.

Dont need one when you have a well developed vocabulary. I can dumb it down if that would help......

And I think you just chicken little everything like you did with Oher to get everyone in a panic and create controversy whether justified or not.

So when Indy would sit Peyton every year in the preseason and go 0-4 and then put him in during the record season somehow the momentum carried over even though they did much better in the regular season and rested him to limit the chance of injury. Likewise if we continue to rest Funchess, Star and Charles Johnson among others this game, somehow the momentum will carry over to the regular season even though we dont have all the starters playing? Got it....... Why not do a comparison of preseason results and regular season results and see if one predicts the other. I havent done it but I would assume there is a correlation but not one you mentioned. I would think doing well in the preseason means our 2nd and 3rd stringers may be better than other teams which also means our depth is better. So in the cases of injuries with improved depth we may fare better in the regular season. Any other conclusion appears to be very tenuous at best.

So if I follow this storyline, last year we didnt gameplan or take the Patriots seriously in the third game and got blown out so that was a harbinger of the future and what would happen in the regular season when we actually did gameplan and take each one seriously?????? And because of that loss last year we are taking them seriously this year and by gameplanning and playing better, it will somehow help us do better when the regular season starts this year?? That makes absolutely no sense at all unless the goal might be to better be able to predict how we will do early in the regular season based on this game. While that is still a tenuous conclusion, assuming the result of last years game had anything to do with how we finished last year or that doing better this year will make this year more successful seems to be a huge nonsequitur..

Even with youth peppered throughout the roster there are still veterans in every positional grouping. I am not sure that we will wholesale let go of some proven veterans who are not impressing this season for guys that have never done anything period, but have shown flashes. But in either case we should field a better team than last year from a talent point of view. I don't know that we would ever let age be the deciding factor unless all other things were equal. I would think it comes down to who can help the team more this year not 3 years down the road. But some of these new guys are playing so well that it is making roster choices very difficult.

I guess no one else besides the huddle cares about that kind of thing.

first of all Harper was fine against the run but not against the pass. That has been the case for years. His veteran leadership is more than being on the field. It is teaching the young guys how to be a veteran, how to read film, how to react when things go good or bad. That happens every day not just in games. I love how folks like you think that you can instantly insert a rookie into the lineup and have them perform that well in this defense. If you know what we run then you also know that there are multiple responsibilities and reads for everyone on the defense on every play. It takes time to learn it. Guys were put in when they were ready. If as you say they were put in due to injury or bad play that just meant that Rivera and his staff had to cram that much more into days instead of weeks due to an immediate need. They weren't ready but it was the next man up and they would have to do the best they could. The fact the rookies played as well as they did is a testament to Rivera and his defensive staff. Not something to criticize them for because they didn't do it sooner. Rivera has shown as has Gettleman that they put out who they think is the best option at the time and if it doesn't work out will make adjustments.

Then why did they not sign him back and look elsewhere? Maybe the same reason we shouldn't be barking up that tree either.

That is ridiculous. Harper isnt a free safety and wont be playing that position. He is a liability in coverage and everyone knows that. He is a thumper and a strong safety. Rivera played 7 rookies in the playoffs last year and has shown he will play the best players. If Harper is starting he will be the best we have at that position hands down. That is plain to anyone but people with a story and preconceived agenda.

I dont know what an outlier is in football frankly given that every team runs multiple offensive schemes and even teams like New England who most folks think pass all the time still run the ball over 40% of the time. We are very similar to Seattle and while we havent had the same success we use a similar formula and hopefully will have similar success this year. We have been in cap hell the last few years which they have not but might be soon. So dont be surprised if the worm turns and they fade while we start to surge.

First of all you dont ignore Wilson's runs just like you dont ignore Newton's runs as part of the running game unless you want to change the facts to suit your argument. Seattle ran the ball 525 times out of a total of 1021 plays for a run percentage of 52% which is what I said. They run the ball more then they pass. Secondly they absolutely use play action all the time. Here is an article discussing it. This was analysing the 2013 season but it noted that Seattle led the league in play action while we were 4th. http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2014/2013-play-action-offense As for the spread versus other offenses, all teams run versions of the spread as well as several other offenses so saying that a team is a spread offense when talking about most any team besides Philadelphia is not very accurate. Here is an article that might help explain to you why Seattle utilizes a power run game but does so often out of the one back set and how that compares to traditional power running schemes. The modern day power running game uses a lot more deception and multiple sets than in the past but it is still considered a power running game. http://www.fieldgulls.com/2012/12/27/3808788/an-old-favorite-returns-to-the-seahawks-offense So the reality is that absolutely Seattle uses play action and a power running game to match their strong defense. That is their offensive formula and it is exactly what we are going to try to do this year as well.

yeah because Seattle runs the ball more than they pass and look how well they did last year. They weren't successful at all. What? You say they made it to the superbowl with a strong defense and rushing attack. But they were just lucky one year right? What? You said they went to the Superbowl 2: years in a row with the same formula? Oh well then never mind........

I agree we are going to run it more and that we still have one of the best tight ends in the league. I dont think that the receiver situation is as dire as you suggest. Sure Benjamin is a big loss but last year we didn't have Ginn, Brown was a rookie, and Bersin was not very strong or polished. Funchess could have a good year, Cotchery is still a reliable vet and Boykin showed a flash or two in the exhibition game. The biggest problems for the passing game last year was lack of running attack, a poor offensive line, and Cam who was healthy for roughly 4 games last year. With those things improved and the ability to gain chemistry between Cam and the receivers this year given he is here for the offseason and preseason, I think we will actually be better than last year. I have faith in Proehl to maximize what we have and get Funchess ready to play at a high level. Now that Benjamin is gone he is going to have to step up as are everyone else. Finally I think that we will pick someone up in preseason to fill the gap if we don't think we have the guys already here.

What is laughable is thinking your opinion is more knowledgeable than Rivera or Gettleman. Talk about megalomania.

When was the last time we knew that our cast offs will most likely make a team. And we are hoping to stash them on our practice squad instead of picking up other folks players. The depth has surely improved.

Is it possible a bunch of those issues last year were having no wide receivers who had been in the system except for Bersin and a very inexperienced O line?. If Williams and Stewart were doing the same thing after being in the system then blame Shula. But they weren't making those mistakes. If it was the OC alone then things wouldn't have gotten better over the course of the season and yet they did as the new guys gained more experience and learned the system. seriously, why can't we wait until until the regular season to bash him for this year. The first preseason game hasn't happened yet and the whining is ridiculous about something that hasn't even happened this year.

Considering those supporters are Rivera and Gettleman, the joke is on you.

In 2012 it was 22.4 and in 2013 it was 22.9. Not the same. As for 2011 versus 2014, given Cam only played 14 games total and he was only healthy for 4 of the 16 it is hardly a fair comparison. Botton line under Chud we won 13 games while under Shula we won 19. Sure the defense was better but Shula's ball control offense is a part of the reason the defense is better. Chud worried about moving the ball in chunks and didn't focus on controlling the clock or moving the chains. So we had plenty of yards but a bunch of 3 and outs and gave the opponent the ball too often with short fields. It was fun to watch but didn't result in the wins it should have.

Problem is that total yards which you are using, counts for nothing in terms of wins or losses. Points do. Go look up if we scored more points per game in 2012 under Chud or in 2013 under Shula. Hint: it wasnt Chud. Quantity stats like total yards may make a difference to casual fans but not to serious posters. Plus relative ratings like top 10 or top 15 are meaningless as well. The difference between a top 10 or top 20 offense in terms of total yards may be one series or perhaps 50 yards a game..

I suspect he will be able to scheme around the O line. He has plenty of experience doing it the past 2 years. But don't be surprised if he is still here going forward. The people in the orgnization making decisions dont seem to have any problem with him.

Stats dont always equate to wins. Many of Chud's yards and points where scored when we were behind and in losing efforts with clearly the best talent we have had on offense in the past 4 years. He was more out for himself and the numbers than he was for the team and for wins.

And how long have we had the physical talent? The general consensus across the league last year was that we had the poorest offensive talent in the league. Frankly this year there are those who still who question our offensive talent. Many of the guys we are expecting to be major contributors this year are rookies or very young. Given what he has had to work with, he has done a very good job in my opinion. You can be the best chef in the world but if you get handed a pile of crap it is probably still going to taste like crap.

Cam gets his unfair amount of criticism as well but you have to admit that there are a lot more folks who give Cam a pass then give Shula one. Honestly, I hate having to defend the guy all the time given I dont think he is that great, but I feel that he gets a lot of unfair criticism stemming back from what happened a decade ago. As for Newton you obviously dont remember that I was one of the first posters to advocate drafting him and defended him from the unfair criticism he received. I have his jersey and proudly wear it to many games. Truth is it took many of you time to join me. The same with Kuechly and this year with Funchess. I have been on the bandwagon of these guys from day 1.