Officially Concerned about the Offense

[Anybodyhome]

We were scoring 30+ points a game mid season this year.  So, either you think that the playcalling has miraculously changed since then...unlikely.

 

Or, that the players are just not executing right now.....more likely.

 

The Panthers scored 30+ a game until mid season, MH. Only once in the second half of the season did they put up 30 against the Jets and 27 against the Bucs.

 

Other than that, the offense was pretty inept, averaging just over 20 a game in the second half.

[frash.exe]

if the offense doesn't improve we'll be out of the playoffs quickly and things will get interesting. Yes we staggering

talent deficiencies on that side of the ball that are masked a good bit by Cam, but Shula was about the only person

who would take the job when Chud left.

Every other OC in the league knew that there was a very, very strong possibility that Ron would be gone after this season.

At least Shula knew the system. He was promoted more as a stopgap for one season to give the new headcoach his choice of OC's.

The decision made by RR, who seems loyal, and Getty, who seems more than ready to do what's best for this team, is going to be interesting.

Well if Norv becomes more accessible things are definitely going to get interesting when you look at the context of everything that has happened with the offense the past few seasons. Norv could walk in being the most successful offensive coordinator the panthers have ever had.

[hepcat]

Look guys, Mike Shula was hired for two reasons - his familiarity with Cam, and the fact that his style of offense compliments the defense.  You don't have the #1 scoring defense in the NFL unless your offense can keep your defense on the sideline.  The Panthers lean heavily on their defense and it's worked in almost every game this year except @ New Orleans.  There are some teams in the playoffs the Panthers could face that could turn into a shootout (see: Philadelphia, New Orleans, Green Bay), so the offense will need to be better. The biggest thing will be having Steve Smith back and healthy because even after 13 seasons he's still the only receiver Carolina has that shows up consistently for every game.  

[Darth Biscuit]

I coulda sworn Lafell dropped a real easy pass early in the game that basically hit him in the hands... but I was watching from a crappy stream

 

He did.  It was slightly high but catchable.

 

Across the middle and he had beat the coverage.

[BANE]

Unfortunately there is a lack of talent on the offensive side of the ball. From a hodge podge WR corps to a patch work O-Line, this team doesnt have the stars the D does. However, this offense has Cam Newton and he can over come that stuff, i mean 12 wins proves it. I think the offense needs to be upgraded in the off season, but im not worried about it now. We won 12 games, beating some really tough teams on the way and even putting up some big points at times. These guys just need to over perform a few more times(as they've shown they can do) and they'll be holding that Lombardi. 

[Swaggasaurus]

To me all of our offensive problems stem from the line and Cam. Don't scape goat Byron Bell, he's bad but so is Nate Chandler, Chris Scott, and Travelle Wharton. Jordan Gross is hanging in there but he isn't dominant. You can bitch about the wide receivers all you want but they didn't drop any easy ones vs. ATL. Cam has been struggling with his accuracy. It makes me wonder if he is feeling pressure from his success. You guys will sit here and say no one is open but that just isn't true. Windows are small and you have to anticipate them. Cam hasn't been doing that. Maybe he is afraid to turn the ball over but he doesn't throw the ball unless guys are wide ass open. Cam is our star, we need him to play like our star. Stop blaming the role players.

 

I would like to think our offense would be more aggressive if the situation called for it. But with a strong D we can play close to the vest.

I somewhat disagree. The O-line lets Cam get poo on sometimes and the right side it garbage, but more often than not perform like an average group. Cam has a much time as any other QB in the league. Cam struggles, and it's often when he has time that he struggles with the overthrows, like he is overthinking it, last week on the big through do Ginn the protection wasn't good and a defender had a hand on him, Cam threw it on a rope without stepping in to it. Now the playcalling plus the WR personnel make no sense, Lafell constantly running streaks and outs, when in reality for him to get open he needs to cross the face off the defender and put his frame between them and the ball.

[Zod]

You don't have the #1 scoring defense in the NFL unless your offense can keep your defense on the sideline.

 

Up until 3 games ago the Panthers were averaging roughly 33 minutes in time of possession.

 

Over the last 3 games they averaged 26:35 all against average to poor defenses.

 

Thats nearly a seven minute swing which is HUGE. A season long 26:35 would put them dead last in the league.

 

The offense is getting worse, not better. Going into the playoffs this is a HUGE concern.

[PantherFanOne]

Let's face it,the Panthers go as Cam Newton goes. That could be said for most teams and their QB, but Cam  is such a huge part of our offense because he's responsible for a big chunk of the rushing yardage in addition to all of the passing numbers.

The problem is Cam currently has a  mediocre supporting cast by NFL standards. In my opinion,we have just two legitimate receiving targets: Steve Smith and Greg Olsen. . 

 We have to find a future top wideout soon. Their No. 2 receiver right now, Brandon LaFell probably shouldn't be a starter in this league, as he struggles to get separation and drops balls at critical times that he should catch.. The problem is that we don't have anyone else turn to. The team will have to make the receiver position one of its top priorities next spring.

 

[mav1234]

Up until 3 games ago the Panthers were averaging roughly 33 minutes in time of possession.

 

Over the last 3 games they averaged 26:35 all against average to poor defenses.

 

Thats nearly a seven minute swing which is HUGE. A season long 26:35 would put them dead last in the league.

 

The offense is getting worse, not better. Going into the playoffs this is a HUGE concern.

 

agreed.  and it isn't all on Cam, imo, but I don't think playcalling is letting him get going so he's looking worse until he's allowed to play free in our 2m offense.

[TheMaulClaw]

I don't think the offensive line played as poorly as most think yesterday. They gave up one sack and created some holes.  I think Deangelo is the primary concern at least that I have along with Lafell's inconsistency.  Dwill had plenty of opportunities to gash the Falcons yesterday, but he tripped all over himself, or has the big fumble.  He's a great 3rd down back because of his ability to catch out of the backfield though.  I really hope we utilize Tolbert more has a runner in the playoffs if we're wanting to go with a power run game.  Dwill, just isn't built for that, and I don't think his physicality strikes fear into the hearts of defenders.  It would be a huge benefit to have Stewart healthy and motivated in the playoffs as well.

 

My hope is, is that we've been going a little vanilla on offense the past couple of weeks trying to shake up opposing game plans.  If we want to get far in the playoffs we're going to have to take the leash off of Cam and truly use him as a dual threat.  I get him being more pocket oriented during the regular season to prevent injury and things like that.  But now that we're in the playoffs with a legitimate SB shot, we need to sprinkle in more read option, cleverly designed QB runs, and misdirection screens.  We seem to move the ball better in games when we get Cam outside the pocket and let him do what he was built to do.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

Up until 3 games ago the Panthers were averaging roughly 33 minutes in time of possession.

 

Over the last 3 games they averaged 26:35 all against average to poor defenses.

 

Thats nearly a seven minute swing which is HUGE. A season long 26:35 would put them dead last in the league.

 

The offense is getting worse, not better. Going into the playoffs this is a HUGE concern.

 

the saints are a top 5 defense, and the jets have been dipping in and out of the top 10 over the second half of the season.

 

[fieryprophet]

Up until 3 games ago the Panthers were averaging roughly 33 minutes in time of possession.

 

Over the last 3 games they averaged 26:35 all against average to poor defenses.

 

Thats nearly a seven minute swing which is HUGE. A season long 26:35 would put them dead last in the league.

 

The offense is getting worse, not better. Going into the playoffs this is a HUGE concern.

 

That is definitely a big concern. However, neither the Jets nor Saints defenses are poor, they are 11th and 13th respectively in defensive DVOA:

 

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef

 

Again, Cam needs to get back to utilizing his checkdowns, he's gotten a bit erratic in his footwork and reads lately. I'm hoping he spends the entire next two weeks drilling the fundamentals.

[hepcat]

Up until 3 games ago the Panthers were averaging roughly 33 minutes in time of possession.

 

Over the last 3 games they averaged 26:35 all against average to poor defenses.

 

Thats nearly a seven minute swing which is HUGE. A season long 26:35 would put them dead last in the league.

 

The offense is getting worse, not better. Going into the playoffs this is a HUGE concern.

 

I'm more worried about a QB like Aaron Rodgers or Chip Kelly's hurry-up offense (that gashed Carolina's defense in the pre-season) tearing up the secondary early in the game and forcing Carolina to come back from a two+ score deficit than I am Carolina's offense winning the time of possession battle.  Bottom line, Carolina leans on the defense.  They are built to keep games close and win it at the end.  The offense isn't built to score a bunch of points and this has been a concern all year, but it still led to 12 wins.  Why is it a huge concern now?  It's worked all year.  Just hope the defense keeps doing what it's been doing all year and they'll have a chance against any team.

[KendrickPanther]

I somewhat disagree. The O-line lets Cam get poo on sometimes and the right side it garbage, but more often than not perform like an average group. Cam has a much time as any other QB in the league. Cam struggles, and it's often when he has time that he struggles with the overthrows, like he is overthinking it, last week on the big through do Ginn the protection wasn't good and a defender had a hand on him, Cam threw it on a rope without stepping in to it. Now the playcalling plus the WR personnel make no sense, Lafell constantly running streaks and outs, when in reality for him to get open he needs to cross the face off the defender and put his frame between them and the ball.

 

I'm not so down on the oline in protection. They are bad but consistent. Cam knows he doesn't have time vs. elite pass rushers and he should be able to work with that.

 

What I don't like about our oline is the running game. I see interior lineman blowing up our run plays in the backfield way too often. Cam is constantly in 3rd and 11 because we lose yards on 1st down. We need to be able to get 4 yards on first down every time and we often get nothing.