2012 vs. 2013: Cam versus the Seattle defense

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

Thought it might be fun to go through the comparison on the statline from last year to this year, seeing as how it was against the same opponent in the same location and yadda yadda yadda. I also needed a break from writing a eulogy so sue me. Anyway, what's being overlooked far too much in the doom and gloom over the loss is the significant improvement that Newton has shown between the two games.

First, let's talk about the obvious one that no one will shut up about, the career low yardage total. 125 yards, yikes. What no one seems to be mentioning is that his career low before that was 141 yards against the Seahawks. So...a drop off of 16 whopping yards. I'm not particularly concerned about that, especially since Carolina as a team managed to put up 42 more yards rushing this year than last year.

Outside of the drop in actual yardage, Newton's results improve in almost every category. A big part of that is probably due to the Seattle D-line being hampered by injuries and suspensions. I can't find a decent comparisson between hurries and knockdowns year to year, but sack totals took a sharp drop. Last year, Newton was sacked 4 times for a total loss of 33 yards. This year, he was taken down once for a loss of 6 yards. Not surprisingly, two guys who accounted for three sacks last year (Bruce Irvin and Chris Clemmons) weren't on the field yesterday, so there ya go.

Now then, how about scoring? Last year, the Panthers had exactly one scoring drive on offense. This year, same thing. The difference is that this year, the offense managed to punch it in for a full fleged touchdown rather than having to settle for a field goal like last year. So, even with such a low score, they actually managed to improve their results by four points. Yay....?

Next, there's the good really good stuff, such as pass completion percentage. In the previous matchup, Newton posted an awful 41.38% completion rate, his career low. Yesterday, he was good for 69.57%. A roughly 28% improvement. Actual numbers of completions and attempts are markedly similar here, as he threw six times less yesterday than he did last year but completed four more passes. Despite the lower overall number of yards, his yardage per passing attempt turned upward as well, from 4.86 Y/A last year to 5.43 Y/A this time around. All of that adds up to an improvement in his QB rating from 56.8 to 97.2. Not a whole lot to complain about here.

I hear you saying "but INGBA, he didn't throw it deep!". Try this on for size: according to PFR, he had more yardage on "deep" throws this time around than he did last year. In the previous contest, Newton had one completion over twenty yards, a 24 yard pass to Greg Olsen. This year, he also had one completion over twenty yards, a 27 yard pass to the same guy. The difference is, last year he wiffed on five passes to targets 20+ yards out, while this time he only got scored for one miss...and that was a blatant drop by Olsen. Mayhaps, heaven forbid, he's actually worked on something he got slammed for last year, namely needing to focus on his short game and not try to force home run plays every chance he gets, and managed to show that work off on the field against the best secondary in the league? The numbers would suggest that.

Then there's running. Cam didn't run well or as often, the masses cry! False. Last year against Seattle, he ran 7 times. This year, he ran 5. Considering the work the rest of the backfield was putting in (again, 40+ more yards on the ground this year than last), of drop of two carries isn't all that unexpected so let's not get all hung up on how often he's running. Production wise, he was better this year, averaging 7.6 YPC this year as opposed to 6.0 last year. Total drop in yardage? Four. He ran for four yards less this year than he did last year. Woe is us.

I know the result at the end of the day was the same, and it's just damn heartbreaking that we couldn't pull off the win. Oh well. Once you get past that though, there's a lot to like here and a lot to look forward to. Case in point, a remarkably noticeable improvement in our beloved and much criticized quarterback when placed in a strikingly similar situation two years in a row. I'd rather take the win, but I'll take what I can get.

TL/DR - He done did got better. Quit yer bitchin. Buffallo is up next.

[jasonluckydog]

also DWILL has had 9 fumbles in his career, 3 of those happened against Seattle

[teeray]

Here is the tl;dr version I posted in another thread, about the offense as a whole, not just Cam

 

 

 

Our Shula ran offense was better in every facet over Chud's offense against Seattle last year

 

Last year:

 

First downs: 13

Third down efficiency: 2-11

Total plays: 52

Total Yards: 190

Yards per play: 3.7

Possessions: 12

Yards per pass 3.7

sacks: 4

Rushing yards: 82

Yards per rush: 4.3

Red Zone TDs: 0/2

TOP: 24:14

Points:  6

 

 

This Year:

First downs:  17

Third down efficiency: 5-11

Total plays:50

Total yards: 253

Yards per play: 5.1

Total Possessions: 9

Yards per pass: 5.4

Rushing yards: 134

Yard per rush:  5.2

red Zone TDs: 1/1

TOP: 29:46

Points:  7

 

 

 

So according to that we were actually more aggressive and way more successful than we were last year in every facet.  All in 3 less possessions!!!

 

 

So what am I supposed to be worrying about again?

 

If our defense brings it every week like yesterday, we are going to be fine.

 

 

Shula >>>> Chud

 

[carolina-chuck]

I'm ready for Buffalo.

[WolfpackRob]

7 points and a loss isn't good enough. Applaud this garbage if you want. We scored more points than 1 other NFL team...the Stinky Jags! Even through your rose colored glasses, it still looks like crap.

[Proudiddy]

[PhillyB]

definite improvement. here's to hoping it shows next week.

[teeray]

7 points and a loss isn't good enough. Applaud this garbage if you want. We scored more points than 1 other NFL team...the Stinky Jags! Even through your rose colored glasses, it still looks like crap.

 

Well yeah, 7 points is not good.  But if we score a TD on that last drive we are at a .250 TDs per drive which would be top 10 in the NFL and if we don't have some drops we may have had even more points/TDs..

 

But we didn't so it doesn't matter.

[jasonluckydog]

 

 

as you can see by my thread I know a lot of stuff.

[CelibatePimpv2.0]

I don't even get the huddle. No one person on here thought we were going to go 16-0. If we were going to lose, it was going to have to be against good teams. People are acting as if we lost against Miami. I liked the coaching, it shows that they actually planned for the game and it almost worked. Lets see what they have in store against the Bills.

 

#Keeppounding.

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

7 points and a loss isn't good enough. Applaud this garbage if you want. We scored more points than 1 other NFL team...the Stinky Jags! Even through your rose colored glasses, it still looks like crap.

 

Seahawks scored twelve....which would currently be better than four other teams (possibly 5 if the Texans can't pull it together EDIT: Nevermind). They are everyone's sexy pick to get to the Superbowl.

Also, are you saying a win of 7-6 would somehow be less crap?

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

 

I know. I wrote it better than you did.

Ok, actually I completely forgot about that thread.

[Proudiddy]

Lol, you actually went into greater detail and I find yours to be much more concise and to the point. Just wanted to show I at least thought about it. Great minds think alike.

[WolfpackRob]

Seahawks scored twelve....which would currently be better than four other teams (possibly 5 if the Texans can't pull it together EDIT: Nevermind). They are everyone's sexy pick to get to the Superbowl.

Also, are you saying a win of 7-6 would somehow be less crap?

Of course a 7-6 win would be less crap. We would actually be 1-0! But we lost. And since we are throwing around IFs and MAYBEs, the seahawks could have scored more instead of taking a knee in victory formation.