Rhythm - It Matters

[Jeremy Igo]

There will be a lot of talk about the Monday night game. There is plenty of awful game tape to look through and blame throughout the team to place. One thing that won't be shown or talked about is the lack of rhythm the entire offense has displayed.

 

In the 4th quarter I tweeted out that Cam was being kept in to help him find a rhythm.  After the game, Rivera confirmed this by saying he kept Cam in the game to force him to develop a "rhythm". While I agree with that notion, it isn't that simple.

 

The rhythm with the offense is dictated by the offensive coordinator. It is manifested in a couple of different ways:

 

1) Play Calling - The play calling needs to have a flow, a palatable feel to the overall game plan. Philly's offense definitely showed this at times last night. Carolina's offense never did. The offensive play calling was confused and mangled, and at times embarrassing.  The same was true in Tampa Bay, and it was detrimental to Trent Dilfer's career. This probably explains Dilfer's extra harsh criticism of the Panthers offensive staff.

 

2) In execution - The physical act of getting plays called in to the quarterback is also a big problem. Plays are very slow to come in, which kills any momentum the Panthers may have gained on a particular play. In the 3rd quarter, with the game still somewhat in reach, the offense still took nearly the entire play clock to call and prepare for the snap. No urgency, no excitement, no rhythm.

 

This all may seem silly and meaningless to you left brained stat peepers. But to this right brained intuitive observer from the playing field, it speaks to the heart of the matter (or lack thereof). 

[CRA]

Did Rivera address that 4th and 1 playcall? Don't care if Olsen was open....who calls that?

[the_philosopher]

Yes, this has always bothered me about the offense under Shula. I'm all for ball control offense and chewing up clock, which we did pretty well last year, but there's no reason for Cam to perpetually only have 8 seconds to survey the defense, make adjustments, etc. It's ridiculous. You can chew up the clock while doing that stuff too.

[Daeavorn]

There is no fire under the offense. I can't believe how bad Shula is. But here is the biggest question to me. Is the FO aware of the OC limitations or are they placing all of the blame on Cam and the OL? Because old people like Rivera never will admit they are wrong.

[Ezrider1423]

Did Rivera address that 4th and 1 playcall? Don't care if Olsen was open....who calls that?

He wasn't open. But typical shula play call. I was in disbelief nonetheless

[Jeremy Igo]

He wasn't open. But typical shula play call. I was in disbelief nonetheless

 

Olsen one on one in the back of the end zone is called being open. You have to trust your best players to make plays.

[ZeroZeroSeven]

I thought we all agreed Shula just calls plays by throwing darts.  It's just frustrating to watch something work, not that much worked last night, and then transition to a completely different offensive package and personnel.  There's no continuity or tempo to allow anyone to get in a rhythm.  Shula changes up the play-calling and packages so much that it keeps the offense off balance, instead of the opposing defense.

[osd22]

Did Rivera address that 4th and 1 playcall? Don't care if Olsen was open....who calls that?

 

I coundn`t shut my mouth for two minutes, so stunned about that call. It is the OCs call. 4th and 1 out of the Shotgun for a deep ball to a covered receiver who is almost out of bounds. Unbelievable.

 

Back to the topic, I agree with Jeremy 100%. While our opponents usualy show great offensice rhythm, our O always appears slow, pathetic, unprepared.

[CRA]

He wasn't open. But typical shula play call. I was in disbelief nonetheless

He didn't throw at Olsen. All reports was Greg was open and pissed.

But the point is on 4th and 1....with Cam. How do you not just sneak him

I don't mind a random shot on 3rd and short out of scoring territory. Those occur. Ron allowing that on 4th and 1 in scoring territory does show he is blind or literally has no clue what his O is doing

[Icege]

during the radio broadcast, Jordan Gross said that even though the Panthers were working in a no huddle that it was at the same speed as the Eagles worked while huddling up. He even made a comment as to how long it takes for plays to get called in.

[jamos14]

How many times did we run a vertical route with Cotchery?  How many times did Cam have pressure in his face and our entire receiving corps were running deep with their back turned?  It makes no sense.  Our offense is terrible. Players executed very poorly but the majority falls on terrible scheme and play calls.

 

 

[*FreeFua*]

Cotchery running double moves on the outside. Just have to sit back and laugh at some of these.

[ThPantherFan]

Rhythm, yes.  Time, yes.  We're lacking both.  It takes way too much time to get the ball out of Cam's hands.  Long complicated routes?  Probably, or is there a lack of confidence?

[Guest]

He didn't throw at Olsen. All reports was Greg was open and pissed.

But the point is on 4th and 1....with Cam. How do you not just sneak him

I don't mind a random shot on 3rd and short out of scoring territory. Those occur. Ron allowing that on 4th and 1 in scoring territory does show he is blind or literally has no clue what his O is doing

 

Stewart was wide open in the flat for a first down too. Or maybe we're talking about different wtf plays, I dunno.