What's going on with Carolina? (1 Viewer)

[Ryan99]

For people who have actually watched the games this year, what is wrong with their team? Cam making bad decisions / poor throws? O-line not pass protecting / run blocking well? Bad decisions by the RBs? Bad play calling? WRs not getting open?

Is Steve Smith getting double/triple teamed on every play? I saw that he was 4 for 13 this week. Are the throws on target? Is he getting open?

 

[MAC_32]

Defense is just as bad as last year. Cam's taken a step back in his development and showed the mental issues I was wary of, at the QB position that can domino. I don't think Smitty's at the cliff, but he's not what he used to be and he's getting attention from defenses because no one else has stepped up. LaFell and Olsen are alright, but they need to be better to translate into wins since there are not difference makers in the run game - good players, but not difference makers. Generally speaking, coaching's been pretty bad. I put the Atlanta loss solely on them, they certainly didn't help vs. Tampa and Seattle either.

Getting more and more curious with each passing week what this offense would look like with a healthy Gettis, could be at least one answer to their questions.

 

[pantherclub]

The play calling has been atrocious at best. The defense has improved but always seems to have a breakdown at the wrong possible time.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

The play calling has been atrocious at best. The defense has improved but always seems to have a breakdown at the wrong possible time.

What adjective would you say is worse than atrocious?

 

[Clifford]

Abysmal, pathetic, horrific, there are quite a few

 

[solorca]

As pantherclub said, the play calling is terrible. They run out of a base set of the read option, and every hand off is delayed to a point where Deangelo or Stewart are getting hit behind the line. The defense is getting torched through the air and beaten up on the ground. Yesterday was actually the best st defensive day, and that was without Beason or gamble. Gamble is the only consistently good player on the team (on offense or defense), and everyone else is inconsistent as hell.

The team, for years now, plays up or down to their competition and is missing the ability to close out games.

Cam has played poorly, but I place a lot of the blame on play calling that is setting him up to fail. Don't get me wrong, he has been bad, but the calls are making it hard to get off this skid.

Underneath it all, the team is just a few pieces away from being a solid winner... But the front office is unable to make the moves (that have been obvious for years) to improve the weak areas of the team. Hurney needs to go, and Rivera is clearly not the right coach to take this team to the next level. A housecleaning from Hurney down needs to happen this offseason. Ideally on the coaching side, Carolina will hire an offensive minded HC and a very solid DC who can control the team. Rivera as a head coach was just a bad call, but McDermott never should have been the DC in the first place... He's just a bad coach. Chudzinski is an inventive play caller, but his ego has turned him into a guy that thinks gimmicks are the way to win. One season after showing tremendous skill as an architect of a great offensive turnaround, he now has ruined what he created by trying to turn every play into some kind of cute gimmick.

This season is a loss, and while their talent alone will get them to about 6 wins, I hope Richardson sees that this staff is not going to be able to make this team a winner. An overhaul is needed.

 

[packersfan]

Williams and Stewart had 10 combined rushing attempts on Sunday in a close game. I'm a Stewart owner and acknowledge my bias but both he and Williams should be getting the ball more in a close game. Both RBs should have combined for 20-25 rushing attempts against Seattle. I think Mike Tolbert is a good football player but there's no reason for him to be taking significant snaps away from Williams and Stewart. I think Carolina needs to gets its backfield in order and start focusing more on Williams and Stewart - especially with Cam not playing well.

 

[pantherclub]

Signing those running backs and using as they are is insane. I have a feeling 5 wins or less means hurney and rivera will be unemployed.

 

[MAC_32]

Chudzinski is an inventive play caller, but his ego has turned him into a guy that thinks gimmicks are the way to win. One season after showing tremendous skill as an architect of a great offensive turnaround, he now has ruined what he created by trying to turn every play into some kind of cute gimmick.

Exact same thing happened in Cleveland.

 

[solorca]

Williams and Stewart had 10 combined rushing attempts on Sunday in a close game. I'm a Stewart owner and acknowledge my bias but both he and Williams should be getting the ball more in a close game. Both RBs should have combined for 20-25 rushing attempts against Seattle. I think Mike Tolbert is a good football player but there's no reason for him to be taking significant snaps away from Williams and Stewart. I think Carolina needs to gets its backfield in order and start focusing more on Williams and Stewart - especially with Cam not playing well.

The run game isn't working because of the idiotic read option play calls. Every hand off is delayed to a point where the defense is in the backfield by the time the hand off actually happens. Rather than identify thus as a play calling issue, they apparently see it as an issue of ineffective running, and move to the passing game. This staff as a whole can't see that the obvious problem with the run game is their inability to put Deangelo and Stewart in a position to run effectively. It's infuriating to watch, play after play.

 

[FDC]

As others have said, the play calling is the main problem. But adjustments and game prep are bad as well.

An example is yesterday vs Seattle. Everyone knows Seattle DBs are beastly and you should probably avoid throwing to WRs if you can. Cam did not seem to even look at Olsen the whole game and he was open often. Yes that is Cam's fault, but coaching is part of it as well.

 

[MAC_32]

As others have said, the play calling is the main problem. But adjustments and game prep are bad as well.An example is yesterday vs Seattle. Everyone knows Seattle DBs are beastly and you should probably avoid throwing to WRs if you can. Cam did not seem to even look at Olsen the whole game and he was open often. Yes that is Cam's fault, but coaching is part of it as well.

Tunnel vision for Steve Smith was in full effect yesterday.

 

[ponchsox]

Steve Smith is borderline droppable right now. He's the Steven Jackson on fantasy WR.

 

[FDC]

Also, Cam isn't letting the game come to him

He is trying to get a TD every play instead of taking what he can, check downs etc. I don't blame him though, Panthers defense is terrible. Consider yesterday with Gamble out, Panthers starting cornerbacks were a 5ft 9 7th round draft pick, and a 5th round rookie from Coastal Carolina.

 

[FDC]

Steve Smith is borderline droppable right now. He's the Steven Jackson on fantasy WR.

15th in the NFL in receiving yards. 7 20+ receptions. He is fine and the TDs will come.

 

[Shutout]

Williams and Stewart had 10 combined rushing attempts on Sunday in a close game. I'm a Stewart owner and acknowledge my bias but both he and Williams should be getting the ball more in a close game. Both RBs should have combined for 20-25 rushing attempts against Seattle. I think Mike Tolbert is a good football player but there's no reason for him to be taking significant snaps away from Williams and Stewart. I think Carolina needs to gets its backfield in order and start focusing more on Williams and Stewart - especially with Cam not playing well.

The run game isn't working because of the idiotic read option play calls. Every hand off is delayed to a point where the defense is in the backfield by the time the hand off actually happens. Rather than identify thus as a play calling issue, they apparently see it as an issue of ineffective running, and move to the passing game. This staff as a whole can't see that the obvious problem with the run game is their inability to put Deangelo and Stewart in a position to run effectively. It's infuriating to watch, play after play.

This and ego (in the play calling, thinking they are mad geniuses or something and with Cam, allowing him too much freedom to do too much on his own).Those two things have stymied this team completely.

 

[LawFitz]

1. poor OL play

2. bad play calling/game scheming

3. Cam pressing

 

[Maven]

Who should they have beat that they didnt?

1 Sun, Sep 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Tampa Bay (0-0) L 10 - 16 FOX

2 Sun, Sep 16 New Orleans Saints vs New Orleans (0-1) W 35 - 27 FOX

3 Thu, Sep 20 New York Giants vs NY Giants (1-1) L 7 - 36 NFL

4 Sun, Sep 30 Atlanta Falcons @ Atlanta (3-0) L 28 - 30 FOX

5 Sun, Oct 7 Seattle Seahawks vs Seattle (2-2) L 12 - 16

.

 

[packersfan]

Who should they have beat that they didnt?1 Sun, Sep 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Tampa Bay (0-0) L 10 - 16 FOX 2 Sun, Sep 16 New Orleans Saints vs New Orleans (0-1) W 35 - 27 FOX 3 Thu, Sep 20 New York Giants vs NY Giants (1-1) L 7 - 36 NFL 4 Sun, Sep 30 Atlanta Falcons @ Atlanta (3-0) L 28 - 30 FOX 5 Sun, Oct 7 Seattle Seahawks vs Seattle (2-2) L 12 - 16 .

Tampa Bay and Seattle were very winnable games. They should've at least shown up for the Giants game too.

 

[simey]

Who should they have beat that they didnt?1 Sun, Sep 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Tampa Bay (0-0) L 10 - 16 FOX 2 Sun, Sep 16 New Orleans Saints vs New Orleans (0-1) W 35 - 27 FOX 3 Thu, Sep 20 New York Giants vs NY Giants (1-1) L 7 - 36 NFL 4 Sun, Sep 30 Atlanta Falcons @ Atlanta (3-0) L 28 - 30 FOX 5 Sun, Oct 7 Seattle Seahawks vs Seattle (2-2) L 12 - 16 .

Tampa Bay and Seattle were very winnable games. They should've at least shown up for the Giants game too.

They would have beat Atlanta had Cam not fumbled near the end.

 

[Todem]

In simple terms I see an OL that is playing awful. Just awful.

I still think Cam Newton is a major stud and is a star in this league. But you can't put up numbers when you under constant pressure.

Just ask Aarron Rodgers.

 

[simey]

In simple terms I see an OL that is playing awful. Just awful.I still think Cam Newton is a major stud and is a star in this league. But you can't put up numbers when you under constant pressure.Just ask Aarron Rodgers.

I think the play calling hasn't done him any favors this season either.

 

[Ryan99]

Who should they have beat that they didnt?1 Sun, Sep 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Tampa Bay (0-0) L 10 - 16 FOX 2 Sun, Sep 16 New Orleans Saints vs New Orleans (0-1) W 35 - 27 FOX 3 Thu, Sep 20 New York Giants vs NY Giants (1-1) L 7 - 36 NFL 4 Sun, Sep 30 Atlanta Falcons @ Atlanta (3-0) L 28 - 30 FOX 5 Sun, Oct 7 Seattle Seahawks vs Seattle (2-2) L 12 - 16

Are you implying that there's nothing wrong with this team?Newton 2011310/517, 4051 yards, 21 TDs, 17 ints, 3 fumbles126/706/14, 2 fumblesNewton 2012 (16 games projected)256/436, 3693 yards, 13 TDs, 16 ints, 10 fumbles128/669/10, 6 fumblesIn addition to an enormous drop in TDs (which is not being made up for by the running game) and a slight decrease in completion percentage, he's on pace to lose the ball 32 times. That's getting up into Mike Vick territory.

 

[Buck Stop]

This team turns the ball over as well as UNC cheats.

 

[MAC_32]

Who should they have beat that they didnt?1 Sun, Sep 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Tampa Bay (0-0) L 10 - 16 FOX 2 Sun, Sep 16 New Orleans Saints vs New Orleans (0-1) W 35 - 27 FOX 3 Thu, Sep 20 New York Giants vs NY Giants (1-1) L 7 - 36 NFL 4 Sun, Sep 30 Atlanta Falcons @ Atlanta (3-0) L 28 - 30 FOX 5 Sun, Oct 7 Seattle Seahawks vs Seattle (2-2) L 12 - 16 .

Tampa Bay and Seattle were very winnable games. They should've at least shown up for the Giants game too.

They would have beat Atlanta had Cam not fumbled near the end.

Or if the defense hadn't have let a 60 yard hail mary connect then continue to let Atlanta get 7-10 yards on the sideline in the next 2 plays getting out of bounds to stop the clock despite the Falcons being out of timeouts.Awful coaching and defense at the end of that game.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

terrible offensive play calling. run the football, keep your terrible d off the field, win

 

[Hendo]

Your seeing the poor decisions of alloting all that money in the RB position in two guys not only not pay offbut the play calling and coaching is so inept they dont even try to utilize it.... really hope management cleans house.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Steve Smith is borderline droppable right now. He's the Steven Jackson on fantasy WR.

15th in the NFL in receiving yards. 7 20+ receptions. He is fine and the TDs will come.

 

[ImTheScientist]

As pantherclub said, the play calling is terrible. They run out of a base set of the read option, and every hand off is delayed to a point where Deangelo or Stewart are getting hit behind the line. The defense is getting torched through the air and beaten up on the ground. Yesterday was actually the best st defensive day, and that was without Beason or gamble. Gamble is the only consistently good player on the team (on offense or defense), and everyone else is inconsistent as hell. The team, for years now, plays up or down to their competition and is missing the ability to close out games. Cam has played poorly, but I place a lot of the blame on play calling that is setting him up to fail. Don't get me wrong, he has been bad, but the calls are making it hard to get off this skid.

Having just watched them for the first time this year against the Seahawks most of it was on Newton. They didn't move the ball and had tons of 3 and outs. Newton was not accurate all day. To me his fundamentals have not changed and so he will continue to struggle. He forced throws to Steve Smith. He wasn't even accurate on little dump of passes...he needs to work on his footwork. He also doesn't deal well with playing from behind or struggling. He seems to be mentally weak at a position where the ability to have "amnesia" is necessary. His lack of development from year one really has me questioning his work ethic. If its not that then what is it? The last issue I think he is having is he has expectations now. He isn't getting the "garbage time" stats he got last year.

 

[solorca]

As pantherclub said, the play calling is terrible. They run out of a base set of the read option, and every hand off is delayed to a point where Deangelo or Stewart are getting hit behind the line. The defense is getting torched through the air and beaten up on the ground. Yesterday was actually the best st defensive day, and that was without Beason or gamble. Gamble is the only consistently good player on the team (on offense or defense), and everyone else is inconsistent as hell. The team, for years now, plays up or down to their competition and is missing the ability to close out games. Cam has played poorly, but I place a lot of the blame on play calling that is setting him up to fail. Don't get me wrong, he has been bad, but the calls are making it hard to get off this skid.

Having just watched them for the first time this year against the Seahawks most of it was on Newton. They didn't move the ball and had tons of 3 and outs. Newton was not accurate all day. To me his fundamentals have not changed and so he will continue to struggle. He forced throws to Steve Smith. He wasn't even accurate on little dump of passes...he needs to work on his footwork. He also doesn't deal well with playing from behind or struggling. He seems to be mentally weak at a position where the ability to have "amnesia" is necessary. His lack of development from year one really has me questioning his work ethic. If its not that then what is it? The last issue I think he is having is he has expectations now. He isn't getting the "garbage time" stats he got last year.

As you said, this is the first time you've watched the Panthers this year. Newton was bad yesterday (as I mentioned earlier in this thread I believe), but the playcalling is what's killing the team. Newton is being put in a position where he is forced to throw on every down because the running game is ineffective as a result of idiotic playcalling. His work ethic has never been a question, as he's typically one of the first on and one of the last off the field. He puts in the time to improve and get better, but when you have a coach who clearly calls plays that set you up for failure, it's tough to play at a really high level. This is the one thing that I don't worry about with Cam Newton. His maturity is a concern though, when it comes to the way he sulks when the game is going poorly. That's a big area of improvement for him, but he is TRYING to get better in this area, based on what I've seen the past few weeks. He's an emotional player and has to find a way to avoid the negativity when things aren't going his way in a game. If he's going to ever be the top level NFL QB that I think he can be, he has to fight through the bad times and try to turn them around on the field. Off the field, I have no problem with him sulking when the team/he plays poorly...it shows that he cares about the game and desperately wants to win. It's the on-field reactions I have an issue with.I'm not taking blame off of Cam, because he has played really poorly at times this season, but the play calling and poor coaching is issue #1 in Carolina. For the record, it isn't just Cam that isn't improving since last season, it's the entire team. No one is playing better, because we don't have a coaching staff that is taking advantage of their playmakers on offense. On the defensive side, Hurney and the front office have done little to bring in improvements other than attempting to strike gold on late round draft picks (like Josh Norman who is talented, but raw).*For the record, "garbage time" didn't really do much for Cam last year. Like this year, Carolina was frequently in the lead or playing close in the late part of games last year. Much the same as this year, the team was great at being in a position to win...they just didn't have the ability to actually close out a game.

 

[Ryan99]

For people saying that the play calling is bad:

Let's talk about just the passing calls. Is it really the plays themselves, or is it that Cam can't or won't check out of certain plays / change blocking assignments / etc. The reason I ask is that I'm an Eagles fan, and a lot of blame is put on the play calling but I think the real problem is that Vick just lines up and calls the play as is, regardless of if there's going to be an unblocked rusher or if the defense is lined up wide and he should be checking to a run up the middle.

I don't follow college football so I have no idea about Cam's understanding of playing QB. Obviously his physical skills are fine.

 

[solorca]

For people saying that the play calling is bad:Let's talk about just the passing calls. Is it really the plays themselves, or is it that Cam can't or won't check out of certain plays / change blocking assignments / etc. The reason I ask is that I'm an Eagles fan, and a lot of blame is put on the play calling but I think the real problem is that Vick just lines up and calls the play as is, regardless of if there's going to be an unblocked rusher or if the defense is lined up wide and he should be checking to a run up the middle.I don't follow college football so I have no idea about Cam's understanding of playing QB. Obviously his physical skills are fine.

The bad passes are on Cam. The problem that I (and other Panthers fans) have with the playcalling is their continued reliance on running out of a read option over and over. This causes a slight delay in the handoff, and allows the opponent to read the run. Teams have been keying in on it since week one, but they continue to run it over and over. The read option is fine, but not when it's your base set for almost every running play. When they are playing out of a base set and just hand the ball off like every other team in the NFL, the Deangelo and Stewart are doing just fine. That's why it's so infuriating to see it, over and over.Every game is the same...1. Start the game attempting to run the ball, but it doesn't work because the playcalling is horrible.2. Abandon the running game because it's not working (because of bad play calling), and opponents are reading pass on nearly every play.Cam has never been a tremendously accurate passer, but he succeeds by using the run threat to make big plays through the air. He is still making big plays through the air for the most part (although yesterday the Seahawks coverage prevented that), but the short game, which should be reliant on the run game, is now being forced to rely on short, precise passes...and that isn't Cam's strong suit. Hopefully he improves in that area, but better playcalling overall with allow for a noticeable improvement in the passing game as a whole, in addition to the obvious improvements in the running game.

 

[BassNBrew]

I don't know. The backs seem open every single play and Cam insists on going down field. On a rare occasion he checks down and the back drops the ball.

 

[otb_lifer]

Having just watched them for the first time this year against the Seahawks most of it was on Newton. They didn't move the ball and had tons of 3 and outs. Newton was not accurate all day. To me his fundamentals have not changed and so he will continue to struggle. He forced throws to Steve Smith. He wasn't even accurate on little dump of passes...he needs to work on his footwork. He also doesn't deal well with playing from behind or struggling. He seems to be mentally weak at a position where the ability to have "amnesia" is necessary. His lack of development from year one really has me questioning his work ethic. If its not that then what is it? The last issue I think he is having is he has expectations now. He isn't getting the "garbage time" stats he got last year.

Kid is a classic "front runner" ... and the league has caught up to him.When I see him play, BINGO ... everything you alluded to is so evident. It's not pretty.

 

[meanjoegreen]

The backs seem open every single play and Cam insists on going down field.

That has been a big head scratcher.

 

[meanjoegreen]

The last issue I think he is having is he has expectations now. He isn't getting the "garbage time" stats he got last year.

They lost a lot of close games last year. He didn't have a lot of "garbage time" stats.

 

[FDC]

His lack of development from year one really has me questioning his work ethic. If its not that then what is it?

The last thing that should be questioned is his work ethic

 

[FDC]

Having just watched them for the first time this year against the Seahawks most of it was on Newton.

Panthers are 2 failed short yardage situations from being 3-2. Given the personnel, how can the play calling not receive blame?I think Cam has tried to play perfectly because he thinks that is the Panthers only chance to win. If you watched the Panthers play every game, that feeling is impossible to ignore. Panthers can't stop the run, can't run the ball, can't defend the pass. Because he is trying to play perfect he is holding the ball too long waiting for the big play to open up. And as would be expected from a 23 yearold with that much pressure, its hard to maintain perfection all game, which is why we have seen 4th quarter collapses often. I think we are programmed to think stud QB = wins. When historically it just hasn't happened often with younger QBs that haven't had much help from a run game and defense. Why should we hold Cam to a different standard?

 

[Hipple Long Ware & Peete]

Who should they have beat that they didnt?1 Sun, Sep 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Tampa Bay (0-0) L 10 - 16 FOX 2 Sun, Sep 16 New Orleans Saints vs New Orleans (0-1) W 35 - 27 FOX 3 Thu, Sep 20 New York Giants vs NY Giants (1-1) L 7 - 36 NFL 4 Sun, Sep 30 Atlanta Falcons @ Atlanta (3-0) L 28 - 30 FOX 5 Sun, Oct 7 Seattle Seahawks vs Seattle (2-2) L 12 - 16

Are you implying that there's nothing wrong with this team?Newton 2011310/517, 4051 yards, 21 TDs, 17 ints, 3 fumbles126/706/14, 2 fumblesNewton 2012 (16 games projected)256/436, 3693 yards, 13 TDs, 16 ints, 10 fumbles128/669/10, 6 fumblesIn addition to an enormous drop in TDs (which is not being made up for by the running game) and a slight decrease in completion percentage, he's on pace to lose the ball 32 times. That's getting up into Mike Vick territory.

Classic case of overemphasis on qb. Out say TEAM and yet only list qb stats. this defense has such more to do w the losses than cam.Also how Rivera didn't go for it vs the falcons is beyond me...

 

[Ryan99]

Classic case of overemphasis on qb. Out say TEAM and yet only list qb stats. this defense has such more to do w the losses than cam.

Also how Rivera didn't go for it vs the falcons is beyond me...

I'm not saying it's all Cam's fault, or even any Cam's fault (well I guess the fumbles are his fault), I haven't seen the games. But his stat line indicates that something is very wrong with the offense. It sounds like the defense is also bad, but I only care about the team for fantasy purposes so I'm more concerned about the offense.That comment of mine was in response to someone who seemed to be implying that there was nothing wrong with the offense or defense. Cam's line certainly suggests otherwise.

 

[solorca]

Classic case of overemphasis on qb. Out say TEAM and yet only list qb stats. this defense has such more to do w the losses than cam.

Also how Rivera didn't go for it vs the falcons is beyond me...

I'm not saying it's all Cam's fault, or even any Cam's fault (well I guess the fumbles are his fault), I haven't seen the games. But his stat line indicates that something is very wrong with the offense. It sounds like the defense is also bad, but I only care about the team for fantasy purposes so I'm more concerned about the offense.That comment of mine was in response to someone who seemed to be implying that there was nothing wrong with the offense or defense. Cam's line certainly suggests otherwise.

I'm assuming you're talking about me, and I think you misunderstood my comments. I never said that it's not the offense or defenses fault. The actual play of the team on both sides (and special teams as well) has been terrible.The reason that the coaching keeps getting brought up is that in spite of the offensive and defensive failures it's the coaching that is so ridiculously bad.

In spite of all of this, this team is about two yards away from being 3-2. It's tough as a fan to see that the team has the ability to be a winner, but they just can't seem to put things together to get over the hump in close games. This has been going on since the beginning of last season. One game can be blamed on the failure of a specific player to make a play, but when it happens over and over, coaching has to be blamed.

One of two things will happen on offense during this bye week.

1. The coaching staff pulls their heads out of their asses and moves away from the gimmick plays that sets the team up for failure, focusing on getting the running game started and using the play action/Cam's legs to beat opponents.

2. They stubbornly stick to their game plan and continue to under perform, week after week.

On defense, I'm hoping that they make the move to switch Keuchly to MLB. He looked much more comfortable in that position, and I feel confident that Jon Beason can play the OLB spot with success. Gamble getting healthy will obviously help at CB, but I think Munnerlyn should regain his spot at the other starting CB spot. He's not great, or even good for the most part, but Josh Norman is just a little too raw at this time. Let him be the nickle and work on getting better overall. There isn't much that can be done on the D-Line and the safety positions, as the personnel is just not there. As a whole, hopefully they just work on teaching tackling (something the team hasn't been able to do for about five years now). Ideally, Ron Rivera would take over the defensive play calling, but I don't see that happening.

 

[DoubleG]

Signing those running backs and using as they are is insane.

 

[Slapdash]

Carolina's problem has been the same for a few years: They refuse to lean on the NFL's best rushing game. The defense is weak but the playcalling never gives them a chance because they can't control the game clock and field position.

 

[Da Guru]

I don't know. The backs seem open every single play and Cam insists on going down field. On a rare occasion he checks down and the back drops the ball.

Newt took defenses by suprise last season and now they have caught up to him. Right now Newt looks just like a second year QB who is struggling, plus he is not used to failure. Last year he was putting up good numbers even though the team was losing so he was OK mentally. Now with the team still losing and with Newton struggling as well the pressure seems to be getting to him. The NFL can be a very humbling league for young QBS.

 

[Ryan99]

That comment of mine was in response to someone who seemed to be implying that there was nothing wrong with the offense or defense. Cam's line certainly suggests otherwise.

I'm assuming you're talking about me, and I think you misunderstood my comments. I never said that it's not the offense or defenses fault. The actual play of the team on both sides (and special teams as well) has been terrible.

My original comment was directed at Maven.There seems to be general consensus that the play calling is primarily to blame but that the players aren't helping things.

 

[Bad_Mo]

I watched one game earlier this season when Stewart was inactive. The Newton to Williams "hand-offs" looked painful...like Newton was hugging the guy and decided right before the defender tackled them to keep the ball or give it to Williams.

Not sure how any NFL coaching staff can't see that its easier to cover/tackle people when they are impersonating conjoined twins.

 

[fightingillini]

I live in CAR, so what I have seen:

1) their OL isn't really good. They aren't running the ball well and Newton is scrambling too much and getting sacked a lot..too much for a QB with such athletic ability....much of it is due to #2

2) the playcalling is bad, as others have noted. Defenses know what's coming. CAR needs to throw it more on 1st down and early in the game. CAR should be very hard to defend when it's 3rd and 2, but they have been a lot of 3rd and long this year. They need to get the ball to Smith in space more often.

3) Cam isn't real accurate over the middle. Couple of times he had Smith on a seam route and missed it badly. One of them Smith likely takes to the house.

4) Cam needs to dump it off more often to the backs and taking what's given. I have seen plenty of spots where Olsen was wide open but Newton tries to force it downfield to Smith or LaFell.

5) Cam appears to be a headcase. You can get under his skin. You can guarantee opponents take advantage of this.

And as others have said,

6) their run D is pretty bad, which makes it harder for the O to get into rhythm.

 

[solorca]

I watched one game earlier this season when Stewart was inactive. The Newton to Williams "hand-offs" looked painful...like Newton was hugging the guy and decided right before the defender tackled them to keep the ball or give it to Williams.

This is issue #1 with the offensive playcalling. They have been doing this on almost EVERY hand-off, all season long. Every person who watches the games sees how horribly it's working, but for some reason, they keep running out of this set. Opponents are able to read it instantly and are typically in the backfield to make a play, because it adds just a small amount of time to the hand-off (when typically the runner would already be making his read/cut). This is the reason the run game isn't working, and it's insane that the coaching staff has yet to adjust this playcalling.Last season, even though the team still took advantage of Cam's ability to run, the run game was fairly standard with simple hand-offs to the back (just like 31 other teams in the NFL do)...and it worked just fine. I don't know why they felt the need to change this, but it's awkward and continues to be a miserable failure...and the main reason why the running game is unable to get started in nearly every game.

 

[solorca]

I live in CAR, so what I have seen:1) their OL isn't really good. They aren't running the ball well and Newton is scrambling too much and getting sacked a lot..too much for a QB with such athletic ability....much of it is due to #22) the playcalling is bad, as others have noted. Defenses know what's coming. CAR needs to throw it more on 1st down and early in the game. CAR should be very hard to defend when it's 3rd and 2, but they have been a lot of 3rd and long this year. They need to get the ball to Smith in space more often.3) Cam isn't real accurate over the middle. Couple of times he had Smith on a seam route and missed it badly. One of them Smith likely takes to the house.4) Cam needs to dump it off more often to the backs and taking what's given. I have seen plenty of spots where Olsen was wide open but Newton tries to force it downfield to Smith or LaFell.5) Cam appears to be a headcase. You can get under his skin. You can guarantee opponents take advantage of this.And as others have said,6) their run D is pretty bad, which makes it harder for the O to get into rhythm.

I agree on all except #1. The O-Line has looked bad this season, but I don't think they are a bad unit. This is the same unit that was fantastic last year (and has been for a few years now, with little change in personnel), so I refuse to believe that they suddenly suck. I place the O-Line failures back on the coaching (which you alluded to as well) for trying to constantly run out of a set that should be used as an occasional option. The read option that they consistently run is negatively affecting the performance of everyone on the offense. The one weak link on the O-Line is Geoff Hangartner...but I have a feeling he won't be reclaiming his starting job after the bye (he was injured in week 5).

 

[Yenrub]

Who should they have beat that they didnt?1 Sun, Sep 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Tampa Bay (0-0) L 10 - 16 FOX 2 Sun, Sep 16 New Orleans Saints vs New Orleans (0-1) W 35 - 27 FOX 3 Thu, Sep 20 New York Giants vs NY Giants (1-1) L 7 - 36 NFL 4 Sun, Sep 30 Atlanta Falcons @ Atlanta (3-0) L 28 - 30 FOX 5 Sun, Oct 7 Seattle Seahawks vs Seattle (2-2) L 12 - 16 .

Tampa Bay and Seattle were very winnable games. They should've at least shown up for the Giants game too.

They would have beat Atlanta had Cam not fumbled near the end.

Sure if he doesn’t fumble the Falcons have no chance to win that game but the defense has to hold that lead. They had the Falcons pinned inside their own 5 with only 48 seconds left and zero timeouts.