Tempo

[capfolly]

I wonder what the equivalent of TEMPO is on Shula's chart..?

PUNT?

If a successful drive is under 8 minutes or hike the ball with more than 10 seconds on the play clock.

[panthers55]

Funny that most of the commentators on the WBT 1110 radio as I was coming home from the game were noting that while fans are blaming Shula for all the problems, apparently inside the organization they are not feeling Shula is the problem.  They don't think the playcalling is the problem.  I wonder if that is because they know what is actually being called and what options Shula gives Cam and what should happen.  When it doesn't they know who is blame and apparently the inside word is that it isn't Shula according to them.

 

Maybe Jeremy and others with insider knowledge can confirm or dispute these comments from Robinson and others.

[pstall]

Oh it's play calling. When block head Heath Evans can show 5 plays on 3rd then it's troublesome.

[thefuzz]

While standing on the sidelines last night near the Saints bench, I looked over at Sean Payton who was reading his large play card, looking over which plays to call next.

 

 

On top of the card in hand written bold red letters and underlined was the word "TEMPO".

 

 

I thought to myself, yes, that is it. That is a big part of what distinguishes the explosive Saints offense from the slovenly Panthers offense. It's the tempo. Yesterday we saw Thomas Davis blitz and get to Drew Brees immediately after the ball was snapped. Unfortunately, Brees had already checked down that blitz and threw a completion within less than one second.

 

Fast forward to the fourth quarter when Cam Newton, under heavy pressure, is forced to wait for four entire seconds while his receivers run long, slow developing ineffective routes. Routes that the defensive players were actually running for them.  The result? A feeding frenzy for the Saints defense featuring Cam Newton as the main course.

 

Sadly, it is too late to fix this issue this season. An up-tempo aspect of the passing game is something that has to be implemented in May during OTA's and practiced throughout training camp. Remember all of those comments and tweets about how dreadfully long each passing play took to develop this offseason? How every other pass completion would in reality be a sack? It is painfully obvious now that what we were then witnessing then is now one of many big issues with Mike Shula's offense.

 

Was watching the game last night with a very close friend of mine who is from Philly, big Eagles fan, and very educated football fan....

 

Anyway, when they took a 21-7 lead I told him it was over and he started laughing....."dude, it's only the 3rd, plenty of time left on the clock"  I asked him if he had seen the offense of the Panthers this year?  "yea, good call, this one probably is in the books".  We were talking about how brutally slow, almost trudging, the offense was.  

 

With Shula there is no flow, no creativity, and certainly no tempo.

[Semaj]

When Cam gets sacked I like to pause the game right when he finishes his drop back. There is usually a slew of rushers attacking the line and then about 10-15 yards of green. His receivers aren't even in the picture. That would normally be were the running backs and tight ends go. But they are helping the line.

What happened to the 5 yard completion? When are we going to adjust? What happened to the crossing route? Running back into the flat? We have to get some quick and easy yards in the passing game. We can't send three receivers vs. 5 dbs on every play.

The truth is that if the coaches haven't been able to see this as of yet, they're never going to. They're refusing to adjust out of sheer stubbornness or stupidity. Not sure which one. Either reason is unacceptable. Sad that the average person on the huddle would do a better job adjusting the offense.

[PntherPryd]

This offense had a nice drive to open the second half.  I could see Rivera pumping up the defense on the bench even before we scored and really thought we had a chance to get back in the game.  The crowd got back into it 

 

Then the saints marched right down the field with 3rd and 9 followed by 3rd and 7 conversions.  Granted, the D had some nice hits and stops but they really didn't have an answer for that offense even fresh off a locker room chew out session and seeing the offense get them back in the game.

 

I usually hate negativity but there is something rotten on this team and blaming it on just the offense, or one guy, one coach, one front office gm is not dealing in reality.  

[rodeo]

This offense had a nice drive to open the second half.  I could see Rivera pumping up the defense on the bench even before we scored and really thought we had a chance to get back in the game.  The crowd got back into it 

 

Then the saints marched right down the field with 3rd and 9 followed by 3rd and 7 conversions.  Granted, the D had some nice hits and stops but they really didn't have an answer for that offense even fresh off a locker room chew out session and seeing the offense get them back in the game.

 

I usually hate negativity but there is something rotten on this team and blaming it on just the offense, or one guy, one coach, one front office gm is not dealing in reality.  

 

That drive was in the no huddle (they did huddle a few times, but it was hurried), with Cam audibling at the line every play. That's the only drive we scored on.

[PntherPryd]

That drive was in the no huddle (they did huddle a few times, but it was hurried), with Cam audibling at the line every play. That's the only drive we scored on.

 

 

I disagree.  we did not run the "no huddle" on that drive until we got close to the red zone.  And then only for one or two plays.

 

The opening play certainly was not a no huddle with the screen pass big gain.

 

 

 

But my point was that I saw the team make an effort.  A weak effort but I was searching for anything after watching them booed off the field.

[PantherFanOne]

I realize that slow tempo and ball control has always been  Shula's mode of playcalling but I wonder if this is also Rivera's offensive mindset? If this  is the case, then we need to get them both the heck out of Dodge (Charlotte) as soon as possible.

[Darth Biscuit]

The sad/weird part is that Cam seems to play so much more naturally in the no huddle. I do not understand why we avoid it so.

[Raskle]

The sad thing is, is that the plays being called in could very well work for us. I just think that they are in the wrong order, don't flow well together, and this stymies the tempo of our offense. I also think a lot of this goes on the players for not executing, but can't exactly say I blame them. How much effort could you give, if the guy making the calls continuously puts you in a bad spot and increases your chances to fail?

 

 

My solution would be to fire Shula and let Proehl take over calling plays, at least for the short-term. He's been in enough offenses to have a feel for what would work in a given situation. He was a pretty savvy player and from what I've read has a decent head on his shoulders. This way, we could keep the play book and not completely screw up what little rhythm we've established from training camp to now, and I have a damn good feeling Ricky would know which plays to call for us to succeed.

 

Or, I could just be looking for anything to put a little hope in my day. Who knows if this is a good idea or not though, as it most likely won't happen mid-year. Especially since JR has a hard time paying coaches not to coach.

[Kuhndog94]

Rivera/Shula needs to understand Tempo does not strictly mean going fast. It can mean no huddle, quick hitters in the pass game, quick hitters in the run game, screens or, in other words, keep the defense off balance. You can still play ball control offense and tempo the defense. Want an example? See the Saints last night. They controlled the clock and the tempo.

I don't understand why we don't have more short pass plays. Like how effective New England's offense has been for the past 10 - 15 years.

[CPF4LIFE]

The kinda offense we run is a big reason Chud isnt here anymore. Chud was all about picking apart defenses and scoring as many points as possible. That didnt sit well with Rivera who likes ball control, time possession and keeping the defense fresh. Basically John Fox ball, Rivera doesnt care about the offense and the philosophy he has is a big reason why he shouldnt be a head coach.

[CPF4LIFE]

Cotchery was not running streak routes and flea flicker routes when he was in Pittsburgh, they didnt use him like that because they knew what his weaknesses and strengths were. We have players in roles they have no business in and that falls back on coaching completely.