How will Mike Shula change our offense?

[Woodie]

How many teams were looking at Shula as an OC before we were forced to? Zero

How many teams wanted Shula as an OC over the past decade? Zero

 

Why do you think that is? Just a huge mistake? Or do teams value the history of any given coach?

 

I suspect Shula will struggle at times and rely on our defense to keep us in games. I don't expect him to be a good OC, although I welcome the opportunity to be surprised. This will be his last chance at a higher level coaching job in the NFL, for his sake he better knock it out of the park.

 

The thing is that despite all of your arguing that he will suck, you really don't know.  And neither do I.  That's why I'm saying we need to wait and see.  I agree that there are questions about him, but I would not presume to say why and if he hasn't been considered for an OC spot since Alabama because it would be nothing but unsubstantiated speculation (i.e. smoke out of the ass).

 

I know you watched Tampa during those years, and I have no doubt that some of your issues are warranted, but you must admit that his time there also smoked of Tony Dungy's tendencies as well.  And since he was there for several years and was such a young coordinator, it would be logical to assume that Dungy signed off on and was satisfied with what he was doing with the offense.

[Zod]

It wasn't that the offense was conservative. It was that the offense was 100% completely predictable.

I'm fine with conservative if it works. But it didn't work, and he couldn't get it working. Thus, the GM stepped in and fired him.

[rayzor]

How is being part of a consistently good team and having one of the better running games not successful?  How is taking a college team hit with major sanctions and improving them every year until the last one not successful?  Are there questions about him?  Yes, most certainly.  But to act like he has had no success at all is ridiculous.   

 

Listen, I understand your reservations, I think we all have them to some degree, but I really do not understand your total and absolute pessimism about him.  It's almost as if you are trying really hard not to give him any benefit of the doubt, despite the fact that logic would dictate that he has learned something since his last stint as an OC. 

his team struggled to put more than 2 TDs on the board per game.

 

2.

 

that team succeeded because and only because of that defense. they won in spite of an offense that couldn't put points on the board.

 

while shula was their OC they were held to under 2 TDs 24 times...within 4 years. they were held to less than 7 points 13 times. they were shut out completely 4 times.

 

'96...13.8 ppg on offense (30th...out of 30 teams)

'97...18.7ppg (23rd)

'98...19.6ppg (18th)

'99...16.9ppg (27th)

 

then he was fired.

 

what happened next?

in '00 scored 24.2ppg (6th)....with SHAUN KING as QB.

 

same HC.

 

what was the difference? why the sudden change in direction of offense? signs point to the guy that is now our OC.

[CRA]

It wasn't that the offense was conservative. It was that the offense was 100% completely predictable.

I'm fine with conservative if it works. But it didn't work, and he couldn't get it working. Thus, the GM stepped in and fired him.

Fox's offenses where predictable and conservative.....when healthy it worked often bc he had more talent than just runners.

Shula didnt have a Delhomme, Smith and Moose

[TheRumGone]

It wasn't that the offense was conservative. It was that the offense was 100% completely predictable.

I'm fine with conservative if it works. But it didn't work, and he couldn't get it working. Thus, the GM stepped in and fired him.

 

How do you make it unpredictable with Dilfer/King and a RB and FB as your key talents and questionable WR? I'm not trying to be a dick just wondering what your thoughts were. There is only so much you can do.

 

[TheRumGone]

his team struggled to put more than 2 TDs on the board per game.

 

2.

 

that team succeeded because and only because of that defense. they won in spite of an offense that couldn't put points on the board.

 

while shula was their OC they were held to under 2 TDs 24 times...within 4 years. they were held to less than 7 points 13 times. they were shut out completely 4 times.

 

'96...13.8 ppg on offense (30th...out of 30 teams)

'97...18.7ppg (23rd)

'98...19.6ppg (18th)

'99...16.9ppg (27th)

 

then he was fired.

 

what happened next?

in '00 scored 24.2ppg (6th)....with SHAUN KING as QB.

 

same HC.

 

what was the difference? why the sudden change in direction of offense? signs point to the guy that is now our OC.

 

Keyshawn Johnson may have helped.

[jarhead]

Sorry, I just don't see the talent (unless Shula is a genius) for our offense to be like the 49ers...The number of play makers just is not there...

 

Could be the team that has enough offense to help out our defense...yes...but we are not putting up numbers this year...

 

And we should not be expected to.

 

Our defense needs to be top five though.

 

 

We do not have to be like the 49ers but we do need to score more points.To peel back the onion how can we score 7 more points per game over last year? We have our center back and we brought in some depth at WR and OG. Gettlemen seems to think and based on what he said that Ginn should stretch the field so in reality we need 7 points extra with a modest improvements from last year to the roster.The way I see it Cam will have to improve his short and intermediate passing game for us to score these extra 7 points.Cam is 8th in the league in sack yards lost which must improve because it kills drives.

 

My point here is from his body of work that the only concrete way I see Shula helping the offense is by making Cam more productive and in making less mistakes.I just do not see him as a potentially good OC .

[AKPantherFan]

I hope that having cam will elevate his coaching. Just like it made chuds look good.

You know, kind of like how belicheck was horrible as a coach in Cleveland before he got Brady in New England.

[Zod]

He was winning with Bledsoe wasn't he?

[La Pantera]

Sorry, I just don't see the talent (unless Shula is a genius) for our offense to be like the 49ers...The number of play makers just is not there...

Could be the team that has enough offense to help out our defense...yes...but we are not putting up numbers this year...

And we should not be expected to.

Our defense needs to be top five though.

Huh??? The 49ers are loaded with talent on offense??? What weapons do they have, that we don't?

[AKPantherFan]

He was winning with Bledsoe wasn't he?

Yup, another great Qb

[jarhead]

I hope that having cam will elevate his coaching. Just like it made chuds look good.

You know, kind of like how belicheck was horrible as a coach in Cleveland before he got Brady in New England.

 

I think it is the other way around...he better hope he can elevate Cams performance and reduce his mistakes

[rodeo]

Huh??? The 49ers are loaded with talent on offense??? What weapons do they have, that we don't?

 

An offensive line that can make Alex Smith look good.

[rayzor]

posted these before...

Tampa Bay is averaging only 13 points a game and regressed when Eric Zeier replaced Trent Dilfer as the starting quarterback in last Sunday's 20-3 loss to Detroit.



Much of the criticism is focused on offensive coordinator Mike Shula, whose complicated game plans tend to fall on the conservative side. Because Dungy is steadfastly loyal to his coaching staff, there is speculation he would rather resign than make widespread changes if asked to bump Shula at season's end.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1999-11-07/sports/9911060428_1_mike-shula-tony-dungy-coaching

My distinct memory of Mike Shula is a white plastic lawn chair. I remember watching the 1999 NFC championship in the old Sport Shak on Neptune Street in Tampa. (It's not there anymore, but the fact that I know where I was when this game happened should tell you how horribly traumatic it was.) That was the game where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers turned in one of the best single-game defensive performances in NFL history. They held the Greatest Show on Turf to nine points and kept them out of the end zone until there were five minutes left in the game. The Rams got two more points on a safety, for a total of 11.

And yet the Rams won 11-6, because Mike Shula conjured up one of the most horrific offenses in the history of anything. It was a terrible scheme, but he made up for it by being incredibly slow to call his terrible plays, like on a fourth-down conversion in St. Louis territory that was canceled by a delay of game penalty, forcing a punt. His offenses had been bad ever since opposing teams realized that if you put eight men in the box, he wouldn't be able to solve it. (Note: This had happened at least two years earlier.) But squandering that heroic defensive effort on that day was the last straw. Ownership finally fired Shula a couple weeks later, since Tony Dungy was too loyal and possibly ignorant to do it himself. He hasn't been an offensive coordinator in the NFL since then, and he's followed it up with a thoroughly mediocre stint as the Alabama Crimson Tide's head coach, among other things.
http://tampabay.sbnation.com/2011/12/9/2625165/this-mike-shula-as-gators-offensive-coordinator-thing-cant-actually