FBO: 2012's Underachieving Teams

[fieryprophet]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8735927/nfl-kansas-city-chiefs-philadelphia-eagles-most-underachieving-teams

Carolina Panthers

What was supposed to happen?

Fresh off one of the great rookie seasons of all time, Cam Newton was supposed to lead a resurgence in Carolina. Further, after one of the most injury-ravaged seasons in recent history, a return to health among the front seven was supposed to lift the defense to the levels the offense achieved the year before.

What went wrong?

Not much, really. It feels like the Panthers have taken a step backward, but actually they've slightly improved, or at a bare minimum held their ground. They were 6-10 last year and they're 4-9 now -- it's hard to call that a meltdown. On a per-pass basis, Newton's yards are up, his interceptions are down and he's running for more yards this season, too. The Panthers' scoring defense has improved by nearly a field goal per game since last season, as well. Carolina's biggest weakness has been on special teams: The Panthers are 27th in field goal accuracy, 30th in net punting average, 21st in kickoff returns and 28th in punt returns.

Is there hope for 2013?

Absolutely. They've had a lot of bad luck in close games, going 3-7 in contests decided by eight points or fewer. That means they're only four or five plays away from being a potential playoff team. The 2011 season may have raised expectations to an unrealistic level, but there is plenty to work with here going forward.

[KJ89]

Yup.

[UNCrules2187]

Special Teams have plagued us for years. FBO and other advanced stat guys have always talked about ST regressing to the mean and improving, but it seems like that's never the case for us.

I have a sneaking suspicion that if the Panthers finish 7-9 Rivera is retained. He may be forced to make some changes on his staff, but I could easily see Big Cat letting him have one more season to prove he can grow as a coach.

Whether or not that's a wise decision is an entirely different story...

[Sapper]

Jerry will consider a lot of player advice on retaining RR. 7-9 would be a good finish, but remember teams play a lot differently when they have nothing to play for (so do players: Matt Moore).

Expectations really should have been tempered overall from the get-go.

What really does surprise me the most is the Special Teams. How do you screw up an off season in which a bulk of it is getting that specific unit in order?