22 replies to this topic

[Achilles]

Haven't seen too much direct discussion of this MAJOR issue for the Panthers this year...

As I'm watching preseason games (namely the Houston and Pittsburgh games) I'm still seeing the special teams play poorly. Results have been mediocre to bad throughout the preseason.

My question is: How much blame does Brian Murphy deserve?

You'd think the coach would ultimately take responsibility for the seeming lack of preparation and focus. But...what does a special teams coach really do? Do they have a game plan? Do they have a scheme?

Why is our special teams so weak? THis goes back to the John Fox days and that loser he had in there for 3 or 4 years (name?) that he wouldn't fire.

Is it the players faults for not being in the right position on returns and coverage? How much can Brian Murphy control of this? I mean, he's not the one missing tackles. How much ownership can Rivera take of this problem?

Overall...why do we suck and whose fault is it?

[Daddy Uncle]

he puts the best non-starting tacklers on the field, tells them to stay in their lane and expects them to make tackles.

[fieryprophet]

A lot of our special teamers struggle with shedding their blocks. Unfortunately our defensive scheme's emphasis on smaller, faster players leaves them vulnerable to blocking.

[Jackofalltrades]

Dunno, we haven't had a real one in years. We ran the last one out of town because he wasn't nice.

Lane discipline is key and obviously isn't emphasized here as you rarely see it happen.

[Floppin]

THis goes back to the John Fox days and that loser he had in there for 3 or 4 years (name?) that he wouldn't fire.

Danny Crossman.

[Jackofalltrades]

Yep, Crossman replaced Scotty O'Brien and it's been a train wreck ever since.

[Floppin]

Danny Crossman wasn't just here for 3 or 4 years, he was here from 2003 to 2009, or 7 NFL seasons. That's a lot of suck.

[Keith Moons Liver]

Bad coaching is a big part of it, but a bad roster hurts too. The bottom third or so of our roster is awful. When you waste valuable roster spots on non-NFL caliber guys like Edwards and Clausen you have less room for special teams contributors.

[DangerClose19K]

Bad coaching is a big part of it, but a bad roster hurts too. The bottom third or so of our roster is awful. When you waste valuable roster spots on non-NFL caliber guys like Edwards and Clausen you have less room for special teams contributors.

finally someone hits the nail on the head. i guess i am not taking crazy pills after all!

[Roger Dorn]

In Charlotte they steal paychecks.

[chknwing]

I say, on special teams, any player with a miss tackle resulting in a return over 30 yards, has to wear a girlieman sticker on their helmet.

[Jackofalltrades]

Check.

Mate.

[Floppin]

Bad coaching is a big part of it, but a bad roster hurts too. The bottom third or so of our roster is awful. When you waste valuable roster spots on non-NFL caliber guys like Edwards and Clausen you have less room for special teams contributors.

Load of horseshit. The bottom feeders of your roster don't play Special Teams either unless there are injuries. The bulk of your special teams players are your second stringers. Keeping Clausen or Edwards has absolutely no bearing on being able to field an effective special teams unit. Teams don't keep 11 special teams aces on their roster. An effective special team requires quality players from all units.

[WolfpackRob]

Starts with special team coach but if they suck this year its on Rivera too. Same as if the defense sucks again thats also on Rivera.

[brainless wuss]

I'm not sure if this shows it's the players or the coaches, but it does demonstrate our continued (at best) mediocrity.

Per ESPN:

OPPONENT OPPONENT
AVG KO RETURN AVG PUNT RETURN AVG KO RETURN AVG PUNT RETURN
YDS/RANK YDS/RANK YDS/RANK YDS/RANK
2011 (Range 18.6-27.2) (Range 3.4-15.7) (Range 20.4-30.7) (Range 4.8-13.5)

Panthers 23.7/16 5.5/30 27.0/3rd worst 13.4/3rd worst

Detroit 24.0/14 7.9/26 25.6/7 13.4/2
(Crossman's current team)

I couldn't find the all the same numbers for 2009 (Crossman's last year):

Per NFL.com:

Panthers 19.9/31 8.3/16

Detroit 21.4/16 8.3/16
(Range18.2-26.3) (Range 4.4-13.5)