Bill Barnwell: Worst Coaching decision of the year goes to.....

[panthers55]

agreed.

i have an issue with people who talk about the fact that we had them down on the 1...but even then, what were the chances that we were even going to get that? i mean how good had our rookie punter been to that point? how trustworthy had he been? and then our special teams unit? not exactly a proven corps there. were they not one of the worst in the league? what are the chances that they were going to be able to stop the ball on the one yard line? miniscule.

it was a bad idea because of the personnel they had on the field in STs and on defense. it was a bad call because they weren't doing well. they were the weakest aspects of that team. they were the weakest of the three phases and instead of going for the closest thing to a sure thing, we gave it to them.

and we did it quite often this year. the players should have been able to carry out their assignments, but the coaching staff should have known they were limited in their ability to carry them out as had been proven quite often. you play to your strengths. we didn't.

I was thinking much the same as you when he called the punt. It might be the textbook thing to do but given how we had dominated in short distance situations and how our defensive secondary had been prone to giving up big plays we should go for it. I kept thinking, Belicheck would have gone for it. He has faith in his offense that they will make the play. And they do most times. Obviously Rivera doesn't trust his offense to get the first down. You know all the Atlanta fans breathe a sign of relief when we bring on the punting squad. When we punted, I was expecting a touchback, so when we downed it on the 1, I thought, Okay maybe it wasn't as crappy a decision as I thought. Surely the way we pressured them all day, they wouldn't have time for a huge play. One sack here and it gets tough to move the ball in time. Then we rush 3 and play a loose prevent zone and I am livid when White comes down with the ball. Calm down, I think, Okay, if we really pressure them we should be able to hang on and at least make it a long attempt. Stunned, I watched us still play a loose zone and we don't even protect the out of bounds where we know they are going to throw in order to preserve the clock. They march right down and kick an easy field goal. Awful.....

If that would have been the extent of it, I could have been okay. Not good, given it was Atlanta and we had them by the nuts and let them go. But okay. What was not okay, was that we caved late which presaged some games that followed, where we were passive and strayed away from doing the things we did all day on defense to put ourselves in a good position.

When we went on a mini run you could tell the defense was tougher as we played more man coverage and actually denied the ball and defended the pass instead of waiting for them to catch it and "limiting" them to a 15 yard completion. Quarterbacks had to go to more than their first read and it allowed time for our rush to get there. Linebackers did a better job of limiting the dumpoffs and screens to short gains. We remained decent against the run despite losing Edwards in the middle.

Hopefully Rivera has learned that if you want to play Jim Johnson ball you live and die by the blitz and the pressure you can generate. You have to stay aggressive and dictate to the offense instead of the other way around. If he still hasn't learned that by now, I don't know what to say.

[Delhommey]

In hindsight it absolutely was a terrible call given what happened with Nakamura. The question is not whether it turned out to be a bad call looking at it after the fact, but was it a bad call at the time. I was personally in the group that would have gone for it on the road but honestly given he called a punt and the Panthers downed it at the 1, it wasn't a bad idea. If we had played aggressively like we did all day instead of going to the prevent we would have won that game and others as well. It wasn't a play here or there so much as going to the prevent which we all know just prevents you from winning.

Saying the play was okay due to us downing it on the one is just as much hindsight as saying that it was bad because of Nakamura's screw up.

It was a bad call at the time due to percentages, regardless of outcome. It was a bad call if the punt returner fumbled it and we recovered. It was a bad call, full stop.

[jtm]

Not attempting a 50 yard FG with a kicker that was brought in bc he had a huge leg with seconds left before the half, takes the cake.

[The Golden Child]

Yup. totally agree.

[panthers55]

Saying the play was okay due to us downing it on the one is just as much hindsight as saying that it was bad because of Nakamura's screw up.

It was a bad call at the time due to percentages, regardless of outcome. It was a bad call if the punt returner fumbled it and we recovered. It was a bad call, full stop.

I don't know if it was worse by the percentages if you are being conservative. If you don't make the first down then Atlanta gets the ball near midfield and has only 30 yards for an easy field goal and almost a minute left. Much higher percentage than going at the worse 50 yards and the way it worked out 70 yards to make a field goal. But if you look at how proficient we were on short yardage situations and the flow of the game of course we should have gone for it. But the reality is even that situation could have worked out fine if we had stayed aggressive and realized they had to throw it deep. By sending 4 or 5 you force the offense to throw underneath while you sit on the outside routes to force receivers to stay in bounds over the middle. But as I said, I was thinking "what would Belicheck do" and we all know that the best way to stop their offense is keep them off the field trusting your offense to get the first down. A first down seals the deal and it is a 1 measly yard.

I am just saying it was not just that play but the ones that followed that together were so awful........

[Proudiddy]

That one play could have changed our entire season. I truly believe that.

Yup. Only thing I can do is try to forget that play, otherwise, I quickly realize how keeping him was about money and we're stuck looking at another horrible season coming up.

I don't understand how people who are backing him just nonchalantly shrug his history of poor decision making and game management off, because "the guys didn't quit on him."

It's a joke.

[rayzor]

I was thinking much the same as you when he called the punt. It might be the textbook thing to do but given how we had dominated in short distance situations and how our defensive secondary had been prone to giving up big plays we should go for it. I kept thinking, Belicheck would have gone for it. He has faith in his offense that they will make the play. And they do most times. Obviously Rivera doesn't trust his offense to get the first down. You know all the Atlanta fans breathe a sign of relief when we bring on the punting squad. When we punted, I was expecting a touchback, so when we downed it on the 1, I thought, Okay maybe it wasn't as crappy a decision as I thought. Surely the way we pressured them all day, they wouldn't have time for a huge play. One sack here and it gets tough to move the ball in time. Then we rush 3 and play a loose prevent zone and I am livid when White comes down with the ball. Calm down, I think, Okay, if we really pressure them we should be able to hang on and at least make it a long attempt. Stunned, I watched us still play a loose zone and we don't even protect the out of bounds where we know they are going to throw in order to preserve the clock. They march right down and kick an easy field goal. Awful.....

If that would have been the extent of it, I could have been okay. Not good, given it was Atlanta and we had them by the nuts and let them go. But okay. What was not okay, was that we caved late which presaged some games that followed, where we were passive and strayed away from doing the things we did all day on defense to put ourselves in a good position.

When we went on a mini run you could tell the defense was tougher as we played more man coverage and actually denied the ball and defended the pass instead of waiting for them to catch it and "limiting" them to a 15 yard completion. Quarterbacks had to go to more than their first read and it allowed time for our rush to get there. Linebackers did a better job of limiting the dumpoffs and screens to short gains. We remained decent against the run despite losing Edwards in the middle.

Hopefully Rivera has learned that if you want to play Jim Johnson ball you live and die by the blitz and the pressure you can generate. You have to stay aggressive and dictate to the offense instead of the other way around. If he still hasn't learned that by now, I don't know what to say.

100% in agreement. and props on using the 'presaged'. i used it once in an article a few months back and my proof-reader/editor changed it for me saying that she hated doing it, but she didn't think that it was easily understood by people with less than 7th grade reading comprehension which is pretty much most of the populace. anyway....

i would probably feel better about rivera if we had been in close situations like we were accustomed to losing and pulled out the win. what i learned this past season is that if we're going to win, we're going to have to blow the other team out because in a close game, we're going to give it away. nothing i saw at the end of the season leads me to believe that is any different.

[rayzor]

I don't know if it was worse by the percentages if you are being conservative. If you don't make the first down then Atlanta gets the ball near midfield and has only 30 yards for an easy field goal and almost a minute left. Much higher percentage than going at the worse 50 yards and the way it worked out 70 yards to make a field goal. But if you look at how proficient we were on short yardage situations and the flow of the game of course we should have gone for it. But the reality is even that situation could have worked out fine if we had stayed aggressive and realized they had to throw it deep. By sending 4 or 5 you force the offense to throw underneath while you sit on the outside routes to force receivers to stay in bounds over the middle. But as I said, I was thinking "what would Belicheck do" and we all know that the best way to stop their offense is keep them off the field trusting your offense to get the first down. A first down seals the deal and it is a 1 measly yard.

I am just saying it was not just that play but the ones that followed that together were so awful........

i would add that those last few plays that were so awful should have been expected, because that's what we had seen all game and we only made it easier by going into prevent mode.

and i totally agree with that comment that the best way to stop an offense is by keeping the ball out of their hands. you anticipate failure by your defense, whether it's warranted or not. this is especially true when you're playing an offense that has been getting the best of your defense and your offense has been the more competant of the two.

[Mother Grabber]

Surprise, Surprise another Grantland article bashing the Panthers. The worst coaching decision this year was John Fox deciding to stay conservative (in a playoff game) and run the ball on 3rd and 7 to ice the game against the Ravens. You've got Peyton Manning as your QB and you run the ball to ice the game?!?!? Everyone knew it was coming, it's John fugn Fox.

Bill Barnwell is a fat looking assclown why anyone posts his poo is beyond me.

I'm with you, but in the first half. I think the knee down with 30sec before half time, two timeouts and Manning at the helm was the dumbest call I've ever seen.

As far as the ATL game. I agree with the punt. They made their move on 3rd, bobbled it, so you punch them back and trust your D to hold. You can't risk giving them the ball on their 40 with only a 2pt lead. You have to pin them back and trust that they won't make 65yds in 30sec.

[KSpan]

of all teams to lose to in a bullshit way it had to be the falcons

Carolina has lost many a game to Atlanta in a bullshit way. Mike Vick and "the knee", a pick 6, Alge Crumpler butterballing a Joey Harrington pass into the end zone...

[frash.exe]

[unicar15]

I don't even know if that was his worst decision this year...just shows how much the dude sucks.

[rayzor]

lol the panthers war cry.

that and "it's a process"

[Lumps]

takes time