If you read one fiz post in 2009, read this one (serious post)

[Fiz]

because it's actually serious.

I think what we saw last night was the culmination of every single bad thing that could happen to the Panthers along with the exposure of every single thing that has been going wrong with the team since the bye week.

The explosion of the running game led offense since the Oakland game, I feel the necessary criticisms from the national and local narrative about the Panthers has been diluted or, especially among fans, ignored.

The first thing that we have to come to grips with is that on defense, the Panthers are not nearly as talented as we like to think they are. i would go out to war with Gamble, Beason, Davis, and Harris any day of the week. There are almost no other players I would take over them, especially Beason, with the exception of the top tier guys who are untouchable.

On the line, Brayton has gotten better all season. There were rumors that he had been ruined by playing out of position in Oakland and was getting the rust off. He has a motor that goes and respectable skills. I'm alright with him being on the other side. Lewis is strictly a rotational player, and it's not fair to him to expect him to play more than 70% of the snaps. He needs to be platooned, but that can be fixed with another good UT from the draft (ricky jean-francois) or in FA (Jovan Haye). Kemo is very good at the two gap position and stopping the run. However, when Fox's defense was in its prime (2002-2004) they were getting pressure from every position along the defensive line. That's not happening anymore. Kemo can't be pushed back, but he doesn't push much of his own. I'm not sure where he fits to be honest, and I suspect he might be trade bait. There are possible defensive switches for other teams upcoming in the offseason (green bay might possibly be switching to a 3-4) and an experienced NT is going to be a big commodity.

This brings me to peppers. I am of the belief that Peppers is one of the greatest athletes to play any game, and that sometimes that is enough, usually early in the game. However, he doesn't have the technique to battle through skilled blockers, or the emotional drive to overcome fatigue. He is a white elephant (too valuable to lose, too expensive to keep) and in a strict value sense, he's not worth what we would have to give up. When he was the youngest guy on a line with vets (ruck and buck) that could keep him motivated, he was at his best. He was competitive all game. It looks now though that without a strong emotional presence on the line (who is the guy that gets them pumped up between snaps? Brayton? Kemo? Of course not) that he's going to be wasted. Recent comments indicate he doesn't want to be here either. I suggest tagging and trading him for whatever they can get, thank him for the memories, don't burn any paraphernalia, and both sides move on. However, the only bad part about the impending (i feel) D Line explosion is that fox and co have a terrible track record at developing defensive line talent. Before you point to Peppers, let me just point out that he's just about as effective as he was out of college, he has terrible technique, and they really couldn't fug that up. After him, what player would you point to as an example of a dlineman the panthers have developed?

The safety position is fine. I'd take Harris over almost anyone, and Godfrey isn't playing like a rookie anymore. Gamble is fine, though they probably need another corner, since Lucas looks done and Marshall has regressed terribly. In regards to Lucas, I wonder how much of an effect the punch had on him. Not in a physical sense, but in a mental one. It has been documented that he wasn't really a part of the team prior to the incident. Maybe that allowed him to play with a chip on his shoulder that allowed him to overcome his physical liabilities. maybe he just got old quick really quick. whatever it is, he can drink his metamucil somewhere else next year.

At linebacker we're fine. Beason is probably already the best 4-3 mlb in the nfl, and when teamed with Davis they're one of the best duos. Diggs is fine, and there's good young talent waiting to make a push to start next year.

However, this defensive lineup is almost the exact opposite of what Fox started with. The talent has swung dramatically towards the back 6/7. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Teams like the Eagles use talented secondary and quick linebackers to play tight defenses that allow the lines to get to the QB, in theory. The only problem is that Fox hasn't changed his play calling. It doesn't matter how good Chris Gamble is when we're calling coverages for Dante Wesley. You cannot call packages for Rucker and Jenkins when you have Brayton and Lewis.

There is a fundamental disconnect with Fox between the style of defense he wants to call and the players he has. We all scream when Fox drops the players back into soft zones and blitzes 3 or 4; there was a time when that worked, but no longer.

On offense, I think we're almost perfectly fine at every position. Peppers' comments have almost certainly pointed us in the direction of Gross. Jordan is more entrenched in the community, is a better team mate, and though he doesn't have the physical prowess, he probably plays harder all the time than Peppers does. It sucks that he doesn't have that dirty instinct a lot of the great tackles have and had, but he's effective, and you can't shirk off the results we had this year.

Wide receivers are fine. I think Moose will give it another year, Steve Smith is Steve Smith, and I really like what I saw from Jarrett, especially yesterday. He broke free twice against the Cardinals and if Jake wasn't too busy trying to knock over Arizona corners he'd have scored.

Jake had the worst game of his career yesterday, and while I would like an upgrade, there really isn't one available in free agency or the draft. I think Cassell is wildly overrated and will be prohibitively expensive, Jeff Garcia tends to be cancerous, and Warner is going to be overrated. I don't care about what Flacco and Ryan have done this year, we're not going to draft a QB in the bottom of the second that will come in and start. Unless Moore or McCown go nuts in the offseason, jake will be the starting qb in 2009, for better or worse.

The offense's problems lie in the coaching. Who cares how good our running game is if we don't use it? Who cares how many points we can score in the first three quarters if we can't get a first down in the fourth? Who cares how quickly we look early if we don't stay with it?

I guess I'll end this by saying that the coaching staff is incredibly resistant to in game or week to week adjustments. We keep saying that it started after the bye, but to be honest it was probably just because teams finally got caught up on the tape of us. A boring scheme can be made effective with great intensity, especially up front (tennessee) but we don't have that. As loud and demonstrative as Beason and Harris are, they're the exceptions. Boring players playing a boring scheme that doesn't play to their strengths are getting blown off the ball and dominated.

Ridiculous playcalling that takes the ball away from our best players late in the game negates anything good that is done early.

I think John Fox is like Bobby Cox in a lot of ways. He runs a great organization, the players like him, and he's always going to be somewhere from average to good....never great, never terrible. He won't let the team collapse, but he won't let it soar either, to use a kind of cheesy metaphor. His strengths as a coach (calmness, loyalty and consistency) are also his largest hindrances. Firing Trgo won't change the defensive scheme. Firing Davidson will not change what we do in the 4th quarter. They are extensions of fox's philosophy and will stay as long as he's here.

jesus that was a book

[Ncstatefan]

f*ckin brilliant post

I really like what I saw from Jarrett, especially yesterday. He broke free twice against the Cardinals and if Jake wasn't too busy trying to knock over Arizona corners he'd have scored.

Amen to that, I love Jarrett and I think he is a stud for years to come

[AKPantherFan]

good post-

whats with the dogs?

[bigskypanthersguy]

That was surprisingly lucid, given the psychological minefield this place has been. Very well done.

[goodlay]

good post-

whats with the dogs?

I was wondering that too.....

Good post though, can't find much that I disagree with.

[Acewalker]

Good post

lol @ the subtlety

[King Taharqa]

One of your best posts ever Fiz. Good work.

[Carolina Husker]

Fiz is one of the best posters here.

[Fiz]

good post-

whats with the dogs?

just to break up all the words.

also dogs are cool.

[The Answer]

I like dogs.

vick?

[PanthersFanNY]

Absolutely great post. Spot on. Well done sir.

[grateflday]

............I guess I'll end this by saying that the coaching staff is incredibly resistant to in game or week to week adjustments. We keep saying that it started after the bye, but to be honest it was probably just because teams finally got caught up on the tape of us. A boring scheme can be made effective with great intensity, especially up front (tennessee) but we don't have that. As loud and demonstrative as Beason and Harris are, they're the exceptions. Boring players playing a boring scheme that doesn't play to their strengths are getting blown off the ball and dominated.

Ridiculous playcalling that takes the ball away from our best players late in the game negates anything good that is done early.

.......

This part is something that has bothered me over the years, and kind of pissed me off when I read the transcript from Fox's interview today. When asked about why the zone coverage, and how they played Fitz - he basically said- "thats how we played them in the first game". It just seems like to me when something or a game plan is not working that Fox just sticks to it no matter what.

And the part about play calling and getting the ball to the playmakers - how about trying to some screens or short passes to D'Angelo or what about that end around play to Smitty or something to change it up. I dont know but it was like the same plays on offense play after play with no changes while Jake kept throwing picks.

It feels liks Fox's attitude is either this game plan is either gonna work or we are gonna go down no matter what tryin to make it work - both on Offense and Defense.

[Fox007]

Ok so point in case, fire Fox and bring in the Chin.

[Doc Holiday]

good post, just right at the end I doubt anyone wants Davidson Fired, I believe most here agree with me that some of our previous 4th Q problems on offense have been a result of Fox calling off the dogs instead of stepping on they're throats and finishing them off.

IMO it would be a huge mistake if we let Davidson go.

Trgovac on the other hand has out lived his welcome IMO, the last 2 seasons the defense hasn't been very good, and something need to be done about it.