Make or break year for Shula (I hope)

[CelticCat]

We actually didn't even rank that badly in red zone TD's, we were ranked 8th league wide. Yeah, we struggled in the game that mattered most so it may look worse than it actually was.

 

Its amazing that people can't grasp simple concepts like ball control offenses will tend to have fewer yards or points per game than heavy passing teams like the Lions. Would you rather have their win/loss record? The object of the game is to score more points than your opponent. Some teams actually believe limiting the other teams opportunities is a good way to achieve that.

 

Here are some neat stats from Shula's below average O (sarcasm)

 

9th in TD's per drive

13th in FG's per drive

12th in 3 and outs per drive

11th in yards per drive

10th in points per drive

7th in turnovers per drive

3rd in fumbles per drive

3rd in plays per drive

2nd in TOP per drive

5th in drive success rate

 

And all this was achieved having only 162 drives during the year, well below the NFL average of 186. Only San Diego had fewer and they had arguably the Top O in the league.

 

How many 4th quarter comeback wins did Cam have under Chud over 2 years? Cam had 4 last year so lets not pretend like Shula/Cam couldn't get the job done in the passing game when we needed to.

[CPantherKing]

Shula's 2013 offense produced at a higher level than Chud's 2012 offense. With virtually the same personnel.

 

Shula's 2013 passing game produced more touchdowns, less turnovers, and a better first down conversion percentage than Chud's 2011 passing game. Chud's passing game produced more yards though. So, you would prefer more yards and less of the rest?

 

Here is the difference. In 2011, the Panthers running game put up the points and Cam ran for several red zone touch downs. The red zone was open for the run game. The difference was the Panthers had multiple red zone threats in the passing game and forced defenses to spread out and use all of the field. This gave cam and the running backs more lanes and options to get in the end zone.

 

2011 Red zone passing threats: Greg Olsen, Jeremy Shockey, Legedu Naanee, and Brandon LaFell

 

2012 and 2013 red zone passing threats: Greg Olsen and Brandon LaFell.

 

2014 red zone passing threats: Greg Olsen, Kelvin Benjamin, Jerricho Cotchery, Ed Dickson, Marcus Lucas, and Brandon Williams

 

I have made previous posts showing the successful scoring offenses have 4+ red zone passing threats. A teams ability to strengthen the running game by weakening the defenses ability to defend the run in the redzone is the difference. Always has been. Defense, field position via special teams and red zone offense is what wins championships. Rack up all the yards you want anywhere else on the field, but when it comes down to it the team that can play the best in a 20 to 30 yard box will win it every time when the best play the best.

[FootballMaestro]

You know why fans always blame their offensive coordinator when things go wrong? Because fans are dumb. They think teams should value scoring at all costs when that can be a recipe for disaster.

In 2011 defenses didn't respect Cam at all as a passer so he started out ripping teams apart with the deep ball. But those days are long gone with Cam working on protecting the ball and the decline of Steve as a deep threat. And Ginn was not a replacement, he was a one trick pony with big catches and big drops. Teams actually respect our QB now and he has had to refine his game to eliminate the mistakes, which made his a bit over cautious at times. But he learned a lot that will help those explosive plays return this year if he gets the time in the pocket.

 

Wow!

 

Impressive analysis (minus the "dumb fan" comment)! Lol

[FootballMaestro]

For those talking about Ramsdell having this huge impact on our passing game, I wouldn't hold your breath. I asked Bill Voth about him and he didn't think, based on what he'd seen at OTAs, that Ramsdell would have a very influential role.

 

Unless ths is a joke: Come on SCP. That doesn't mean anything.

 

Unless, Voth is on the team, or receiving daily updates and briefings from Rivera and Shula regarding the offense, how would, what would he know?

 

[The Huddler]

Those who blindly blame shula are lost

[Gabeking]

Those who blindly blame anything* are lost

Fify

Sent from my iPad using CarolinaHuddle

[Ivan The Awesome]

Wasn't this said last year about Shula as well? "Make or break year for Shula.." It's always that way it seems. It think everything will be fine since players have been in this system for a while now and Shula has learned a lot. 

[SCP]

Unless ths is a joke: Come on SCP. That doesn't mean anything.

Unless, Voth is on the team, or receiving daily updates and briefings from Rivera and Shula regarding the offense, how would, what would he know?

Don't ask me, ask Bill Voth via twitter at @blackbluereview

Sent from my iPhizzle while pooping using CarolinaHizzle

[thefuzz]

I'm not a huge fan of Shula's, but I don't think he's the end of the World either.

 

My issue, is late in the season, when everyone could look at this team and say that we needed to be able to put the ball in the endzone more, we couldn't.  

 

If you don't have the talent, and our's is OK, not great, you have to scheme a little more, and I don't think that Shula can/will do that.

 

I wanted to grab Norv in the offseason, but that's a different ballgame all together.

[FootballMaestro]

Don't ask me, ask Bill Voth via twitter at @blackbluereview

Sent from my iPhizzle while pooping using CarolinaHizzle

 

OK. Lol

 

[MadHatter]

Our below average receivers must still be waiting on teams to pick them up right? Or were they signed long ago? It seems the league may think more of them than most here.

Sent from the Carolina Huddle App

Yep, they are all 3rd and 4th stringers on other teams right now

Our #2 WR last year is now fighting for 4th string WR or 3rd string TE on the Pats. Not exactly a glowing statement in my opinion.

[Gabeking]

So what this thread has taught me is that nothing is ever the coach's fault and nothing is ever the player's fault. Also nothing is ever my fault but that's just IMO.

[Goondal]

I was living in Tampa when he was there, the guy was terrible then and still is.  I feel we could be so much better on offense if someone else was calling the plays.

[hdevonxz]

Shula lacks creative play calling, and also lacks the ability to adjust to our players.  Why call long routes when our WR's don't create seperation, when our oline doesn't block very well.

 

Why is HB screen not used more often, when DWill is known for his field vision, and ability to excel in open space.