The biggest issue with our offense nobody is talking about

[pstall]

the Panthers don't run the ball well/enough.

[mav1234]

Most teams play it differently when they are ahead or tied versus being behind. It is simple psychology. When you are ahead or tied you usually become more conservative knowing you don't need to score to keep up or get ahead. Almost all teams back off the pedal. Sometimes that bites you in the butt. When you are behind there is a natural tendency to try harder, take more chances, and risks with the idea that if you don't do something you are going to lose.

So I wouldn't agree that most teams are as aggressive when things are tied versus when they are behind. In fact I would think it is the very opposite.

That may be true, but Cam is pretty good when we're tied (at least better than when we're ahead). While he has a couple interceptions, he's still scored 3 TDs. So I'm not sure. I guess mentally there is a difference between being tied and winning.

[panthers55]

the Panthers don't run the ball well/enough.

Look at the numbers we went from in the 20s to ranked 13th running the ball. We are averaging 120 yards a game. Things are picking up.

[mav1234]

We may still not be running enough, but we certainly are running the ball better.

I think this forum caused D-Will to force the coaches to give him different running plays, because he's been on a mission the last few weeks, though Stew did better this last Sunday.

[footballisasport]

what part of "this is a message board and we like to talk about our team and the players on it" is so difficult for you to grasp?

I realize you don't care about this team and just enjoy posting here and pulling out random lines to complain about, but goddamn, even you have to understand what the point of a football forum is.

NOBODY is saying Cam needs to do it alone.

Judging by the many threads on Cam and barely anyone else, I'd say many of u don't care for the team as a whole either.

Also, I'm not sure what u mean by "pull out random line" but if u mean highlighting what I want to pinpoint in my reponse then, yes, I enjoy doing that.

Just for the record, I saw a thread that stated..."The biggest issue with our offense nobody is talking about." So I opened it thinking that it would be an interesting posting on the offensive team...But it's about Cam. Not one mention of Stevie, Nan, Olsen, or any of the other guys who make up the offense team. And the title is quite ironic because it's says "nobody is talking about." Every other day someone is analyzing Cam's game but not the whole offense. Isn't Cam part of a team?

When I come here, I click on the link that says, Carolina Panthers...U say that I don't care about the team, but the reality is, as an outsider reading this board, 75% of the threads are on Cam. Where are the threads for the rest of the team? Where are the daily analysis of the other players game on a weekly basis? Do u discuss Cam so much cause u like him or do u do it because u want attention.

Maybe u should rename this site the Cam Newton Huddle since the majority of the threads are on him anyway.

Don't be mad at me cause u're not promoting ur team on this board so folks like myself can get a little insight into the other players.

[chef17]

Judging by the many threads on Cam and barely anyone else, I'd say many of u don't care for the team as a whole either.

Also, I'm not sure what u mean by "pull out random line" but if u mean highlighting what I want to pinpoint in my reponse then, yes, I enjoy doing that.

Just for the record, I saw a thread that stated..."The biggest issue with our offense nobody is talking about." So I opened it thinking that it would be an interesting posting on the offensive team...But it's about Cam. Not one mention of Stevie, Nan, Olsen, or any of the other guys who make up the offense team. And the title is quite ironic because it's says "nobody is talking about." Every other day someone is analyzing Cam's game but not the whole offense. Isn't Cam part of a team?

When I come here, I click on the link that says, Carolina Panthers...U say that I don't care about the team, but the reality is, as an outsider reading this board, 75% of the threads are on Cam. Where are the threads for the rest of the team? Where are the daily analysis of the other players game on a weekly basis? Do u discuss Cam so much cause u like him or do u do it because u want attention.

Maybe u should rename this site the Cam Newton Huddle since the majority of the threads are on him anyway.

Don't be mad at me cause u're not promoting ur team on this board so folks like myself can get a little insight into the other players.

It is generally easier for fans to discuss a QBs game because the camera focuses on him. And no the title isn't ironic. There are plenty of threads about Cam but this is the only one discussing his play when we are ahead.

[chef17]

Actually ur posting is flawed. U spoke about the offense, yet u made it all about Cam. What happened to the rest of the players? What was their role and how well were their jobs executed? A QB is only as good as those around him.

When you have a QB playing bad the offense tends to become inept. That is how football works nowadays.

[TheOracle]

The Panthers have always been that way.

They always relax with a 3 point or 7 point lead. It was the same way when Fox was here, therefore, it's clearly just a product of being a bad team that can't put opponents away when they have a chance to.

They don't go for the jugular.

Nice guys finish last.

[Sword]

We may still not be running enough, but we certainly are running the ball better.

I think this forum caused D-Will to force the coaches to give him different running plays, because he's been on a mission the last few weeks, though Stew did better this last Sunday.

if you watch D-Will's livestream he does say that they were planning to run the ball more but got down and it didn't work out, but he has been asking to run the ball more; though he said he doesn't ask for specific plays to go to him during the game. Edited this because I missed the part about running the ball more lol Says we are a pass first team though and we are only going to run to keep the other team honest for the most part.

[Razzy]

You can't put it all on the offense. Cam is still a rookie. Give him three years. Worst case scenario he makes no improvement, even then probably that puts him in the middle of the pack. I think he will improve and become better than Delhomme or Beurlein ever were and that's good enough for me. Put together a complete team around him and suddenly we have a chance at a title.

[Marguide]

Most commenting in this thread are basing their judgements off their memory or a stat line.

I challenge you to go back and watch the 2nd half of the Atlanta game with this specific topic in mind.

There was nothing wrong with the play calling. Our run game produced results. With the exception of the picked screen, Cam threw the ball well, and that was a great play by Peters of Atlanta. We had a couple of critical penalties and Byron Bell was getting abused by Abraham.

This whole playing from behind thing vs. ahead has no validity at least against Atlanta.

[Catalyst]

This is when the running game is supposed to kick in. I put that on playcalling.

[Lumps]

Blasphemy. Not the almighty Cam.

Cam is learning how to lose and I am actually glad its sooner than later. This season I bask in the upside. I am back in 2009/2010 mode, I no longer watch games to win but enjoy looking at young players and their potential. I am very comfortable watching the games now.

[rayzor]

i'm just happy that we have an offense that can score and take the lead. keeping it will be something that happens in time. there's a lot mpre going on than just QB play or the offense.

I have some time on my hands today, so I went back and watched every possession in the 2nd half. My observations:

• The play calling was very good. Nice balance between run and pass. No issues here.
  
• 1st possession, we put together an 8.5 minute drive for a TD.
  
• Our 2nd possession was single-handedly killed by Byron Bell. 1st play, near sack given up by Bell, Cam has to throw it away. After a short run on 2nd down, Cam is sacked on 3rd, again with Abraham beating Bell.
  
• 3rd drive featured holding calls on Naanee and Bell and we are forced to punt.
  
• 4th drive starts with a nice run by DWill for 18 yds. 2nd play was the intercepted screen to DWill. This was simply a great play by Peters of Atlanta. The throw was good and the design was good. If Peters doesn't get that ball, DWill is still running.
  
• Last drive featured some nice throws by Cam in garbage time until ultimately there was 4 seconds left and he threw up the hail mary.
  

Forgetting about the defense for a minute, our problems on offense in the 2nd half were due to some pretty spotty play by Byron Bell, and an exceptional play by Peters of Atlanta.

In my opinion, neither Cam nor DWill nor Chud have "playing from behind issues".

agreed and well said.

byron bell really hurt things, but i'm not sure what we expected starting a UDFA rookie up against abraham and edwards. it sucks that we have a "monster" RT who can't play half the time.

an INT on a screen play is a pretty rare thing, btw. peters did make a great play more than cam made a bad one. it and that tipped pass were both fluke plays that weren't really newton's fault. it was just uncharacteristically good play from a couple ATL defenders. that last INT didn't matter. not sure why people keep bringing it up as a factor in the game. the game was over at that point.

For those who want to look at his stats when winning/losing, head over to http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id/13994/cam-newton and scroll down. Should make it easier than picking them out manually.

Without going back and watching the videos, I frequently felt like the offense was going for home run shots too often when it was up, instead of methodically working down the field.

i actually don't have a problem with this. in fact i like it and hope that we keep working on it. at some point we should get good at that. the reason that we are doing that is because we have a "go for the jugular" mentality. once these guys get in the groove of things, it should be a nightmare for opposing teams t deal with.

Obviously working methodically down the field and running the clock makes sense when you are ahead. Taking shots down the field makes sense when you are behind or you feel you have to keep scoring because the defense can't be counted on to pick you up if you fall behind.

I don't know that we have figured it out yet. The offense is still in flux though it has gelled more than the defense which is shuffling in bodies across the board every week. It doesn't seem we can keep enough folks healthy to have any consistency on defense from week to week.

this is a huge problem. it's hard to progress if you are constantly working with a new group of starters every week. once we get some stability, we should see things improve.

Most commenting in this thread are basing their judgements off their memory or a stat line.

I challenge you to go back and watch the 2nd half of the Atlanta game with this specific topic in mind.

There was nothing wrong with the play calling. Our run game produced results. With the exception of the picked screen, Cam threw the ball well, and that was a great play by Peters of Atlanta. We had a couple of critical penalties and Byron Bell was getting abused by Abraham.

This whole playing from behind thing vs. ahead has no validity at least against Atlanta.

again, well said.