Does Rivera trust the offense?

[CamMoon]

Merry Christmas everybody. As I finish off a different type of tree this holiday season I think about Ron Rivera and his apparent hot and cold relationship with going for it on 4th and short. A few years ago it wasn't uncommon for us to go for it on 4th and 5 or 6 if we were close to scoring territory. I can't remember one circumstance where that has happened this one, save the game being on the line or over at that point.

The offense was especially dreadful early in the season and Riveras coaching more or less reflected that. So did Shulas to an extent. We were incredibly conservative, maybe to a fault. But the lack of speed or real talent limits what you can do on offense. It makes more sense to control the clock and try to win time of possession so your defense, the better unit is in a better position to win the game for you. This also forces you to be more methodical when deciding when to be aggressive. Putting your defense on the field to defend a short field is disastrous when your offense can't match.

This is what seperates Rivera from middle of the pack coaches like John Fox and into top tier status. He and Cam deserve great credit for dragging 11 wins out of this team. However Shulas play calling is still inexcusable in most situations.