Really Interesting article on at what point in the game we "knock out" our opponents

[KB_fan]

The Washington Post has an article speculating about whether we could be vulnerable to losing late in the game given how we've let teams hang around until the final minutes in just over half of our games this season.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fancy-stats/wp/2015/12/03/panthers-biggest-flaw-may-be-letting-foes-hang-around/

It's an interesting article.  Personally, I think we've gotten quite a bit better in the past 3 weeks at shutting down our opponents earlier, and the stats show this, but still it's something we perhaps need to be mindful of:
 

Quote

 

To review, there were six knockouts that occurred at the very end of games, where the Panthers’ opponent either led, or had possession with 2 minutes (or less) remaining and trailing by 8 (or fewer) points. There were also three blowouts, against Tampa Bay, Washington, and Dallas, where the Panthers knocked out their opponent early. And there were  two games against Jacksonville and Tennessee, where Carolina’s opponent last had the ball in a one-score game very early in the fourth quarter.

On average, the Panthers have knocked out their opponents after about 48 minutes, or with just over 12 minutes remaining. How does that compare to other teams? The Patriots, for example, have “knocked out” 10 of their opponents after an average of 37.1 minutes, or with 22.9 minutes remaining; in New England’s lone loss, the Patriots weren’t knocked out until the game ended, as Denver won that game in overtime.

 

 

[Zaximus]

It's a legit concern that many of us have, but that's been the Panthers for the last decade, under Fox AND Rivera.  Not sure why.  

[Donald LaFell]

50 minutes ago, Zaximus said:

It's a legit concern that many of us have, but that's been the Panthers for the last decade, under Fox AND Rivera.  Not sure why.  

Ball control offense and trusting the defense to a fault 

[UpstatePanther]

i mean... last i heard, our strength of schedule was on par, or stronger than, New England's... may have changed in the past two weeks or so

[Bartin]

39 minutes ago, UpstatePanther said:

i mean... last i heard, our strength of schedule was on par, or stronger than, New England's... may have changed in the past two weeks or so

It's slightly weaker now, but in the end it will probably be about even. Our upcoming SoS is stronger than theirs.

[CPF4LIFE]

3 hours ago, Zaximus said:

It's a legit concern that many of us have, but that's been the Panthers for the last decade, under Fox AND Rivera.  Not sure why.  

Because they are not that different as coaches. And it's what JR has always preferred -hires.

[LinvilleGorge]

Meh, just win.

I'm more concerned with how we've let teams back into games late after "knocking them out" than I am with how long it takes us to knock them out.  

We could've easily lost those games against the Packers and Colts when those games shouldn't have even been close.  The Packers/Lions game last night showed what can happen when you dominate the majority of a game but leave the door cracked open.  Those Packers and Colts games could've ended for us the same way the game last night ended for the Lions.

[KSpan]

I think the team has turned a corner in this regard. They've dominated teams they SHOULD dominate in the last two weeks and Tennessee had a solid defensive gameplan that held the offense in check for a while. 

[stankowalski]

I think the difference with this Carolina team is the way it responds when in these situations.  In the past we'd have lost a lot of those games where we let the opponent hang around.

[Silent Majority]

Comparing the Panthers to the Pats or anybody, *rolls eyes*...'cuz all things being equal or something like that, right?

[frash.exe]

4 hours ago, Zaximus said:

It's a legit concern that many of us have, but that's been the Panthers for the last decade, under Fox AND Rivera.  Not sure why.  

It's the brand of football Jerry Richardson looks for. You'll never be able to score points running the ball as fast as you can by throwing it. So you put more pressure on your defense, and the margin for error is much lower because the scoring is lower. In contrast, if you're up by 30 by the half because Cam Newton threw four TD passes to WRs that can get separation or are physically dominant, it lets you pin your ears back on defense, and the opposing team basically has to throw out whatever gameplan they had against you and throw against a team that knows they have to throw if they want a shot of getting back in the game. 

[JawnyBlaze]

3 hours ago, CPF4LIFE said:

Because they are not that different as coaches. And it's what JR has always preferred -hires.

 

2 hours ago, frash.exe said:

It's the brand of football Jerry Richardson looks for. 

Yep, defensive minded coaches is the common thread.  Offensive minded coaches (Payton) run up scores when they can and that's part of the more reckless mindset of an offensive minded coach, defensive minded coaches tend to try to keep things in control which leads to tighter games.  Belichick is the main outlier to this theory though, as he is a defensive coach.

[csx]

I saw that article earlier today and thought it was a pretty silly "statistic" just made up to have something to write an article about.

[2jakefansinva]

As long as the Pats get to play 6 games a year vs. the AFCE

stats will always be skewed......