Awful Panther Stat

[bleys]

I'd take Jones' consistency at returning the ball with the top 5 in the league than him hit a home run once or twice and not be anywhere as consistent as he was.

It's not like we had any issues scoring to make a big deal about 1 or 2 returns for a TD over the course of a year... The most TD's returned for was 3 and only 3 out of 32 teams had someone do that...

And I beg to differ on the Bears comment.. To compare anyone to Hester is a joke. And with that said, I guarantee you Hester isn't the sole reason they made it to the Superbowl that year.

[rayzor]

guess who led the league in return TDs last year?

raiders: 5

saints: 3

bills: 2

there were 14 teams who did not score a return TD last year. we are part of that group of losers. also in that group of pathetic teams are the steelers, giants, titans, colts, dolphins, and ravens.

teams HAVE to return kicks and punts for touchdowns to be successful. why can't we be good like the saints and the raiders?

[phatpanther21]

Our special teams need to work on keeping the punts from being blocked.. seems we have a few each season

I believe our last PR/KR for a touchdown come from Smitty in the game against Seattle

[pstall]

I think STEADY great field postion is key as well as LONG td drives to REST the D.

I'm sure the short fields work early in a game but you do want to play ball control and keep the other teams offense OFF the field and your D resting.

[bleys]

guess who led the league in return TDs last year?

raiders: 5

saints: 3

bills: 2

there were 14 teams who did not score a return TD last year. we are part of that group of losers. also in that group of pathetic teams are the steelers, giants, titans, colts, dolphins, and ravens.

teams HAVE to return kicks and punts for touchdowns to be successful. why can't we be good like the saints and the raiders?

hey! that's a good point! I wish we were ballin' like Oakland... sheesh...

[rayzor]

hey! that's a good point! I wish we were ballin' like Oakland... sheesh...

yep...much more valuable stat than something silly like leading the league in rushing TDs.

[PanthersFanInGA]

Hmmm

Darn well nearly won the Bears a superbowl not long ago with Hester back there. All they had was defense and special teams...

In fact, don't most coaches define special teams as often being the deciding factor in many tight games?

Never said that a punt return or kickoff return has never made a difference. It's just not the number one element of a good football team. Alot of those punt returns and kickoff returns for touchdowns are just flat luck from a few blocks.

[PanthersFanInGA]

guess who led the league in return TDs last year?

raiders: 5

saints: 3

bills: 2

there were 14 teams who did not score a return TD last year. we are part of that group of losers. also in that group of pathetic teams are the steelers, giants, titans, colts, dolphins, and ravens.

teams HAVE to return kicks and punts for touchdowns to be successful. why can't we be good like the saints and the raiders?

Exactly. That stat he brought up almost means absolutely nothing. The Raiders are number 1 in that category and look how impressive they were last year....... :confused:

[Nu Guns]

Speical teams are very important.Never mind td's what about Field position?

So scoring TD'S on special teams makes you losers?

[Ashor]

The only touchdown return that we had recently was Steve Smith against the Seahawks in the playoffs and that wasn't recent at all. Before Smith, the only other player to have a touchdown was Rod "He Hate Me" Smart during our magical year.

[top dawg]

I wouldn't actually call it an "awful" stat. It's notable, but I wouldn't say that it has played a major part in the success of the team, or lack thereof. Would we welcome it, and in theory could it have possibly won us another couple of games? Sure. But it has really been injuries, a lack of depth, an inconsistent run game, and/or defensive breakdowns that have had the biggest impact upon our team since 2004. We certainly can't blame the failure to return a kick for a TD for as a big contributor for our shortcomings last year.

[AKPantherFan]

see- i dont see this as too bad, that means the % are on our side.

(i.e.- we are due to break the trend soon)

[DaveThePanther2008]

IMO, the key is getting the 35 or so. This opens the entire playbook to our offense. While breaking one is exciting and a back breaker for the opposing team it puts our defense right back on the field after just giving up points. (unless it is start of the game or half)

You take points any way you can get them but give me a solid return to the 35 and beyond I am content.

[Urrymonster]

Hell, I'd love to stay in that cellar if our backfield has another year like last. Kickoff returns are hightly over rated. Sure, they pump up the fan base. But they take very little time off the clock and that's where it's at...

We actually had a pretty good season in terms of returns. It helps us play our game to be honest. Shorter fields mean that we can patiently pick up a couple of first downs and be assured of picking up points as we are already within field goal range.

And I beg to differ on the Bears comment.. To compare anyone to Hester is a joke. And with that said, I guarantee you Hester isn't the sole reason they made it to the Superbowl that year.

Of course they had more than just Hester. They had a defense that was simply incredible and took the ball away a ridiculous amount of times. What they did not have was an offense that could run the ball or pass it effectively. He simply was their 'X Factor'. Whilst I agree that he is THE best at doing that, there are a multitude of players who are nearly as good and make big big differences to their teams. I was merely saying that the Bears had him to thank for winning close games, that is all.

In my mind average starting point after a return is more important. I will take a consistently short field over scoring a TD or two and starting 10 yards further back.