Coach the Panthers

[1789Cardiac Cats9020]

You are John Fox. You've received all the game tapes from the Cardinals' games of the earlier season. With these you can devise a strategy to beat them on offense and defense. We all know our boys can destroy anyone with the run, but which run package do you use? Do you see the Cards as a team that you can pound into submission with between the tackles run, or do you try to outrun the defense on the outside?

How do you attack their secondary? Adrian Wilson, Rodgers Cromartie and Hood have all come into their own lately. Also with their fire-zone defense, how do you get the big play and still have adequate QB protection?

Kurt Warner has the quickest release in the NFL next to Houston's Matt Schaub. (If you don't believe me, watch some film). How do you compensate for that? Do you try to blitz Warner or do you play zone defense and not give up the 20+ yards play? Or do you play tight man coverage and disrupt the timing of their plays, while risking the big play if caught flat footed? Or do you play the quarter defense and take away as much of his passing lanes as possible?

I think the Panthers should study extensively the Pat vs. Arizona game of a few weeks ago. That game is the perfect blue print of how to beat the Cards secondary. shallow drag routes, z n outs with the quick Steve Smith, quick slants with the big Moose against Cromartie, and SCREEN PLAYS with Wililams. We have an offense modeled in some ways after NE, so this should be a game that if done right, should be a blowout.

Last time we faced Warner, we couldn't get stop him. We played zone defense even dropping our LBs deep in coverage (hence why Beason got that interception). This is a game WE MUCH frustrate Warner's receivers and not the QB. Forget about Warner for a second, this game should be about taking the receivers off their intended routes by all means possible. Jam them off the line, bracket defenses, whatever it takes to disrupt the route timing.

But that's just me. Most of you think you can do better than John Fox, so this is your chance to explain exactly how you would do better in this pivotal game. Have it.

[Cardinal Nation]

You are John Fox. You've received all the game tapes from the Cardinals' games of the earlier season. With these you can devise a strategy to beat them on offense and defense. We all know our boys can destroy anyone with the run, but which run package do you use? Do you see the Cards as a team that you can pound into submission with between the tackles run, or do you try to outrun the defense on the outside?

How do you attack their secondary? Adrian Wilson, Rodgers Cromartie and Hood have all come into their own lately. Also with their fire-zone defense, how do you get the big play and still have adequate QB protection?

Kurt Warner has the quickest release in the NFL next to Houston's Matt Schaub. (If you don't believe me, watch some film). How do you compensate for that? Do you try to blitz Warner or do you play zone defense and not give up the 20+ yards play? Or do you play tight man coverage and disrupt the timing of their plays, while risking the big play if caught flat footed? Or do you play the quarter defense and take away as much of his passing lanes as possible?

I think the Panthers should study extensively the Pat vs. Arizona game of a few weeks ago. That game is the perfect blue print of how to beat the Cards secondary. shallow drag routes, z n outs with the quick Steve Smith, quick slants with the big Moose against Cromartie, and SCREEN PLAYS with Wililams. We have an offense modeled in some ways after NE, so this should be a game that if done right, should be a blowout.

Last time we faced Warner, we couldn't get stop him. We played zone defense even dropping our LBs deep in coverage (hence why Beason got that interception). This is a game WE MUCH frustrate Warner's receivers and not the QB. Forget about Warner for a second, this game should be about taking the receivers off their intended routes by all means possible. Jam them off the line, bracket defenses, whatever it takes to disrupt the route timing.

But that's just me. Most of you think you can do better than John Fox, so this is your chance to explain exactly how you would do better in this pivotal game. Have it.

Two things from this post. Firstly, I don't think that blitzing Warner is a very good idea generally, simply because he is so viciously good against it. If you can rush 4 and get good pressure then that is where you will have success.

Secondly, I don't recommend looking at the Pats game against us for a blueprint of how to win. I recommend the Eagles game, it was a much better blueprint for success against us.

[The Link]

We can stop their WR's by not giving them 10-15 yard cushions every friggin play.

[1789Cardiac Cats9020]

I don't think blitzing is a good idea either. However, if you can have tight coverage, you can get a few coverage sacks. That's the only way we're going to sack Warner

[dksmith17]

Will Ariz do what worked against us the first time we played them and drop into 4 and 5 wr sets in shotgun? Or will they do what worked in the Atl game and run single back with 2-3 WR sets and run the football?

To me that one question should be the main question mark going into this game. I think Whisenhut finally realized recently that Ariz just could not win games against good teams if they could not provide lengthy drives on offense and give their def time to rest. So I think the answer to this game will depend on the score. If ariz is up or close, watch for the run. If Ariz gets down big, its ball game if Ariz cannot sustain long drives. Car's run game allows them to control the clock for to long especially against a defense that cannot stay fresh and will end up killing the cards in the event of a big Car lead.

Also, Car defense works much the same way. With Kemo and Lewis being out for quite a while, I beleive that their conditioning will be extremely off. So our rush def could hurt late in the game.

So having said that here are my keys:

1) Watch for quickness at the snap from Ariz's d line.

I am not sure what it was about the Atl game but everyone seemed to be gettting off the line with ease. To me, that is what won Ariz the game (Rolles fumble ret TD was the winning score). We just simply cannot let Jake fumble it. Okeafor and Berry could be big problems for us. Note: their quickness was extemely slowed late in the game.

2) Who will gaurd Smitty? I think DRC will end up on him. This could be huge. He is a rookie but also an elite talent that could possibly give smitty problems. I dont think Hood is quick enough for Smitty, hopefully Whisenhunt doesn't agree.

3) Who will gaurd Fitz? Please Gamble. Fox is known for putting Lucas on the tallest receiver. I just don't agree here especially if Boldin sits.

4) Get pressure on Warner. I know Warner never gets sacked but our lack of pressure on him the first time was key to allowing him to pick us apart. If you have those 3 talented receivers run around enough they will get open somehow. Warner is great at getting the ball out but not all that mobile in the pocket and usually throws quickly when sensing pressure. Carolina needs to use that to their advantage. Warner has done a great job this year with a mediocre offensive line.

5) My final and most important key to the game for the PanthersL: STOP THE RUN. haha sounds funny I know against the Cardinals. But as mentioned above it is very important for their defense to remain fresh. A lot of Falcons inability to stop the run was due to Edges ability to run through arm tackles. Their offensive line is really not a run blocking group so a lot of their run plays come from deception and rely on the runners ability to break tackles. Against Atl, Edge was running through arm tackles all over the place. Brooking was the main culprit. For some reason this doesn't worry me with Beason.

My final assessment- 2 weeks for Trgo Fox and company is just to much time to examine the cards. Extra time usually gives the defense the advantage. With Ariz relying on their offense, I like Carolina handedly here. Although, if their defense stays off the field, watchout we are in for a dogfight. Those pass rushers are great when healthy, I really don't want to get down in this game.

[pantherj]

I'd watch to see if Lewis was getting pressure up into the middle of the pocket. If he wasn't, I dial up LB blitzes up the middle to pressure Warner. In addition, I would tell Lewis that if his lame ass isn't going to get pressure, then he had better get his hands up and try to bat the ball down. Same goes for Kemo, get your hands up!