Mike Shula: Cam Newton is not to blame solely

[truthjuice]

NFL | Carolina Panthers | Mike Shula says Cam Newton shouldn't shoulder all the blame | The Charlotte Observer

Even while the losses have stacked up this season, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton still likes to cut loose with a few dance steps while the team stretches before practice.

But it’s Newton’s footwork in the pocket that has drawn criticism as last year’s league MVP remains stuck in the worst passing slump of his six-year career.

Newton limps into the season finale Sunday at Tampa Bay having failed to complete at least 50 percent of his passes in five of the past six games. He only had six sub-50 percent games in his first 86 games.

Everyone from former players to barstool coordinators has an opinion on what’s wrong with Newton, with most theories involving his mechanics. Specifically, critics say Newton throws off his back foot too often, causing his passes to sail high and wide.

Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula has heard the criticism, and says Newton’s problems are not that simple -- and they’re not limited exclusively to Newton.

“If you could just say, ‘Hey, all we have to do is just fix this and then all of a sudden we’re going to be where we were last year.’ If it were that easy, man it’d be that easy. But it’s a combination of things,” Shula said Monday.

“It’s not a 1-on-1 game, or a quarterback and a wide receiver versus a (defensive back),” Shula added. “It’s everything involved -- and that includes scheme, which obviously brings us into it. You’ve got to look at all those things and that’s what we do each week.”

Newton has never been known for his accuracy.

He played only one season of major-college football before the Panthers drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2011. Even before Newton’s struggles this season, no other quarterback had thrown a higher percentage of off-target passes since 2011, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

That figure has only gotten worse this year.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera says he’s seen occasional flaws in Newton’s mechanics that cause him to mutter, “Ah, come on. Let’s have better footwork.”

Former Panthers general manager Bill Polian and others believe the Broncos established a blueprint on how to defend Newton in Super Bowl 50, with their “green dog blitzes” and other pressures.

Rivera doesn’t necessarily agree, but he does think the hits Newton took early this season have had a lasting effect. The Broncos sacked Newton three times -- and hit him throughout the game -- in the Super Bowl rematch in Week 1.

The Vikings had eight sacks against Newton two weeks later in left tackle Michael Oher’s final game this year.

Oher went in the concussion protocol five days after the loss to the Vikings. Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil later joined him on injured reserve with a shoulder injury that required surgery.

While the Panthers mixed and matched along the line, Newton seldom looked comfortable in the pocket.

“I think a lot of it is reflective on how much pressure he had received earlier in the year,” Rivera said. “I think sometimes it sets you back a little bit.”

Shula said too much is made of Newton’s back-foot throws, saying Newton has the arm strength to make such throws when the pocket breaks down and he can’t step into his passes.

Shula mentioned former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson as another passer capable of making back-foot throws.

“There’s a lot of guys, too, that make throws off their back foot. Now, that’s not how you teach it. Sometimes you have to do that,” Shula said. “Cam has the ability to be able to do that and make some great throws, whereas other guys couldn’t do that.”

Compounding matters is the fact Newton has been playing with a sore throwing shoulder.

Newton didn’t show up on the injury report until two weeks ago, although Shula indicated it’s been an issue for the past month or so. But Shula said it’s tough to gauge how much the shoulder is affecting Newton.

“He’s such a tough guy. That’s one of the hardest things to read, if I can read it at all, if it’s bothering him,” Shula said. “I know we’ve rested it at times maybe the last month in practice a little bit more so than we ever have. He’ll probably be mad that I said that.”

Newton has said little about his shoulder, adding he doesn’t want to make excuses for his erratic play. It has been a significant drop in productivity: Newton has thrown only 18 touchdown passes, with 11 interceptions, following his 35-touchdown, 10-interception MVP season.

Newton would have to complete an NFL-record 58-of-58 passes, with a passer rating of 148.0 against the Bucs on Sunday to avoid finishing the season with the lowest completion percentage and passer rating of his career.

By any measure, he has taken a big step backward in his career trajectory. But Shula says Newton’s regression involves many factors.

“We as a passing offense need to be better -- coaching, throwing, catching, protecting, getting to the right spots,” Shula said. “You can’t just look at a completion percentage and say, ‘Oh, well, he’s not very accurate.’”

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article123139409.html

[KillerKat]

Even though Shula should be fired, he takes more accountability than Rivera.

[CPF4LIFE]

Much as i have criticized  Shula, he was the one that went up to Gettleman and Rivera an told them the offense needed to evolve in the off season and they ignored him. I salute him for that and dont shoulder all the blame on him either as a coordinator.

[Kakarot]

Despite all this, Cam won't blame anyone else or throw anyone under the bus. He will hold himself accountable. One of the main reasons I'm a fan of the guy. He's played horribly, as I've noted all season but this isn't all his fault. He will do his part this offseason to correct any issues that plagued him this season. Let's see if the coaches and Gettleman do the same. 

[The Lobo]

I've backed you long enough Shula. This is too little too late. Great comments but this should have been said a month ago. 

[truthjuice]

11 minutes ago, KillerKat said:

Even though Shula should be fired, he takes more accountability than Rivera.

Yes, that last paragraph said it all. It's everything from the coaching to protection to catching to running routes. It's more than Cam making bad throws. I'm no fan of Shula, but he does recognize the problem. Just like he asked to bring in another TE for the offense. He gets credit for that. 

[The Lobo]

12 minutes ago, CPF4LIFE said:

Much as i have criticized  Shula, he was the one that went up to Gettleman and Rivera an told them the offense needed to evolve in the off season and they ignored him. I salute him for that and dont shoulder all the blame on him either as a coordinator.

I said this earlier this year. I completely agree. At least he tried. Someone will fall on the sword though and i bet it's him.

[csx]

11 minutes ago, The Lobo said:

I've backed you long enough Shula. This is too little too late. Great comments but this should have been said a month ago. 

If he knows it who cares if or when it is said? If he needs to go or not I can't see any relevance of public statements to that. 

[CPF4LIFE]

4 minutes ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

No he didn't. He said we needed more talent. Big difference. A good OC can work around weak pieces. A bad OC begs the GM for a juggernaut.

LMAOOOOO.....Sure

[Castavar]

4 minutes ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

Igo reported on it, you dingbat. He mentioned quote a few times in different threads, Einstein. It's known by most of the Huddle that Shula is not innovative, you damn fluffer. 

Yeah, Shula of all OCs, stood up to the evil GETTLEDOUCHE and his flying monkey Ronnie, and demanded we evolve... that's exactly what transpired... 

Nevermind that Shula did the exact same thing very fugging week.

Evolve? That term is clearly not found in Shula's word a day calenders. You're barking up the wrong tree, Columbo.

[panthers55]

13 minutes ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

Igo reported on it, you dingbat. He mentioned quote a few times in different threads, Einstein. It's known by most of the Huddle that Shula is not innovative, you damn fluffer. 

Yeah, Shula of all OCs, stood up to the evil GETTLEDOUCHE and his flying monkey Ronnie, and demanded we evolve... that's exactly what transpired... 

Nevermind that Shula did the exact same thing very fugging week.

Evolve? That term is clearly not found in Shula's word a day calenders. You're barking up the wrong tree, Columbo.

Why all the nasty comments especially when it isn't true. Most offensive gurus like Jon Gruden commented on Monday night how creative and complicated our offense was to defend. He noted we use many different looks and can run or pass out of any set.  Most knowledgeable folks recognize that inconsistent receivers and a make shift OLine has hurt the offense across the board and limited how creative they could be. If you are teaching subs the basics, you can't work on the complicated points. Last year he completely revamped the running game into the most creative in the league in response to Benjamin going down.  If he can be innovative and creative one season it hardly follows he can't do it the next unless there are reasons for it. Then again, like Newton, Shula won't throw people under the bus even though many fans do that to him.

[Saca312]

Sad to say for Shula, but this offense needed to evolve a while ago.

As for you Gettleman bashers, in no where did Shula say the issues were because of a lack of talent. The only thing coming close to such would be because of the injuries that occurred and disarranged the chemistry between the team.

When you're down to your practice sqaud 4th string center as your primary starter, and had pretty much 4/5 players on the O-line out of position, there's an issue with injuries, and Shula alluded to that.

However, this does bring up hope. Rivera started the conversation concerning the offense needing to evolve, and looks like everyone else is picking up on his memo. Shula acknowledged there was an issue with scheme and his own coordinating; certainly a step in the right direction.

Certainly hope Shula does indeed improve. I never put it past anyone to actually improve and learn from their mistakes. Owning up to there being a problem is the first step - learning and fixing it is the next.

I will say that I put blame too easily on Shula from knee-jerk reactions, but I certainly think he's capable of creating beautiful plays. He just needs to be able to adapt on the field and use the best kind of calls for certain situations (i.e no more read-option when it obviously doesn't work; no stupid long plays on 3rd and 1; no read option when 1 yard from the goal line)

 

[csx]

16 minutes ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

Igo reported on it, you dingbat. He mentioned quote a few times in different threads, Einstein. It's known by most of the Huddle that Shula is not innovative, you damn fluffer. 

Yeah, Shula of all OCs, stood up to the evil GETTLEDOUCHE and his flying monkey Ronnie, and demanded we evolve... that's exactly what transpired... 

Nevermind that Shula did the exact same thing very fugging week.

Evolve? That term is clearly not found in Shula's word a day calenders. You're barking up the wrong tree, Columbo.

You need a Xanax my friend. It's just a football conversation 

[The Lobo]

50 minutes ago, csx said:

If he knows it who cares if or when it is said? If he needs to go or not I can't see any relevance of public statements to that. 

It would just feel like he is trying to fix problems. Now it feels like he's trying to save face know what I mean?