Shula proved me wrong. Philly has defined his role, and Ginn is a real, play-making WR.

[top dawg]

I didn't think that Mike Shula could figure out how to fit puzzle pieces together, design a game-plan, and make it work in today's modern NFL. I afforded Ron Rivera, patience. Cam? Patience. Gettleman? Patience! It would seem that I would have afforded Shula that same patience, but I didn't, and he proved me and a lot of people wrong by stepping up his game and coming into his own. Evolution is abound with this team, and Shula's offense has essentially developed into a well-oiled machine. His philosophy is like ground and pound on steroids. He has gone into the garage, taken some old overlooked pieces---especially at receiver---and tinkered and tweaked his 1980s motor into an efficient engine that can run with the best offenses of the modern NFL.

Who would have thought that Ted Ginn Jr., Jerricho Cotchery, Philly Brown and Devin Funchess would successfully be the supporting cast to Greg Olsen that would lead the Panthers to a berth in Super Bowl 50? Shula believed that someone would step up, and he was right. He assumed it would be Corey Brown, but in fact the whole entire corps stepped up to fill the void left by Kelvin Benjamin's unfortunate injury. Shula hasn't called on any one of them to do too much, and Cam has spread the ball around as much as any QB I have seen over the years. All of the receivers are dangerous in their own way, and they have certainly been enough to relieve pressure from each other, as well as the run game. The sum is truly greater than any one part (and the same can be said of the team in general).  The receivers were supposed to be the weak link on an offense that was purportedly disjointed and lacked imagination, on a team that would be carried by its standout defense. Well, Shula, Cam and company turned that narrative around in a hurry, and every receiver has met the call. 

During the summer I said that we would be in trouble if we went into the season with Brown as a starter. I was obviously wrong. Philly, as well as Cotchery and even Funchess have all made big plays for us this season. But it is Ginn who has arguably been the go-to receiver that is the lightning to Olsen's thunder this championship season. He may not be a genuine WR1 (or two or three) in many person's eyes, but he has the speed and talent to light up any defense in the NFL on any given Sunday. Other than Michael Oher, Ginn has arguably been the greatest epiphany this season. Dave Gettleman said that his hands were "good enough" when he first brought Ginn to Carolina, and his words seem absolutely fitting with Ginn's encore performance that belies Ginn's mentality to overcome a drop here or there. 

I dare say that Ginn, his hands, and the rest of the receiving corps have been more than good enough, and Shula has played his hand like a shark this season.

______________

On an off note:

So many great decisions on and off the field that began with the belief by J-Rich have come to fruition this season, that it has been wondrous to watch.  J-rich believed in Ron "Chico" Rivera. Rivera believed in Shula. They both believed in Cam Newton. Richardson believed in Gettleman. G-man believed in Chico. Every one of them believed that as team and organization that we were absolutely headed in the right direction. And I dare say that we've gotten to the destination  a lot faster than anyone before this season began probably would have believed.  The belief as a team is what has been the capstone to the Panthers' success as an organization and team.  

 

 

 

 

 

[Gregg S]

Is it game time yet?  Can't hardly wait.  

Damn, another week and 2 days.    

Great write-up, BTW.

[stankowalski]

At least you're admitting it.  Hell I wasn't thrilled with Shula early on but I changed my tune fairly quickly.  It takes time for an offense to gel.

[t96]

I hate to say I told you so, but....

[shaqattaq]

57 minutes ago, top dawg said:

But it is Ginn who has arguably been the go-to receiver that is the lightning to Olsen's thunder this championship season.

Nice metaphor!

I think the O-line falling into place was the missing piece in Shula's puzzle. Shula's plan rotates around Cam having time to take the best option available. If we had this line from day 1, Shula would have been heralded a genius from him appointment as OC.

[PandaPancake]

[TheWiz]

I am happy to admit that I was wrong about Shula... He has certainly progressed and done so nicely. It really leads me to believe that alot of times in this league, keeping a core together is really beneficial. And I have no problem admitting it every single time. 

But I do believe that KB's injury was a blessing for Cam and Shula. It forced them to balance the offense out in the passing game. You cant get much better than 17-1, leading the league in Scoring. But I still take issue with how we manage the clock when we're ahead big. The playoff game vs Arizona was the first time that I actually witnessed our coaching staff stay aggressive through 4 quarters of play.

I believe that we have had the firepower to avg around 35 pts a game if we played this way all year long. I think we're going to see the true growth of Shula in the SuperBowl. It's exciting. 

[beastson52]

41 minutes ago, TheWiz said:

I am happy to admit that I was wrong about Shula... He has certainly progressed and done so nicely. It really leads me to believe that alot of times in this league, keeping a core together is really beneficial. And I have no problem admitting it every single time. 

But I do believe that KB's injury was a blessing for Cam and Shula. It forced them to balance the offense out in the passing game. You cant get much better than 17-1, leading the league in Scoring. But I still take issue with how we manage the clock when we're ahead big. The playoff game vs Arizona was the first time that I actually witnessed our coaching staff stay aggressive through 4 quarters of play.

I believe that we have had the firepower to avg around 35 pts a game if we played this way all year long. I think we're going to see the true growth of Shula in the SuperBowl. It's exciting. 

I wish more people would be happy to admit they were wrong about Cam instead of using the "He has matured" card.

[Mr. Scot]

6 hours ago, top dawg said:

Who would have thought that Ted Ginn Jr., Jerricho Cotchery, Philly Brown and Devin Funchess would successfully be the supporting cast to Greg Olsen that would lead the Panthers to a berth in Super Bowl 50?

These guys did.

Happy they were right.

[BIGH2001]

that's TLDR man

[frash.exe]

I think the important thing is whether you thought the moves the Panthers made since 2010 were the right moves or the wrong moves, they were all moves that led us to this point. It might very well lead to the Panthers winning the Lombardi. So everything that I thought was a dumb move at the time will cease to be relevant in my eyes.

[The Huddler]

21 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

These guys did.

Happy they were right.

Holy poo dude..

 

Gettleman looks like the FUGGIN MAN!!

[iamhubby1]

5 hours ago, shaqattaq said:

Nice metaphor!

I think the O-line falling into place was the missing piece in Shula's puzzle. Shula's plan rotates around Cam having time to take the best option available. If we had this line from day 1, Shula would have been heralded a genius from him appointment as OC.

 

Not sure you can say this for certain. Who knows what Shula would do if our O-line was this good from the get go? Would he stick with the traditional Power Run, with a sprinkling of Read Option? Would he have evolved into Cam's best friend in regards to play calling?

 

IMO, the evolution of this Offense is a compilation of the communication between Shula and Cam. Shula asked Cam what he likes and what he didn't like. They tweaked this Offense to fit Cam. Not sure whether the O-line was a factor in their thinking. I just think it was a fortunate by product of having the Gman in control.

 

Sure the O-line has made things easier. I just don't think it was a consideration on how this Offense was built.

[pantherclaw]

I'll just put this here....

 

http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/01/26/mike-shula-panthers-super-bowl-50-don-shula

 

"The biggest game of all looms for the Panthers, and a Shula is back in the Super Bowl, after a long 31-year wait. That’s a pairing on Super Sunday that feels meant to be."