Why are slow starts so bad for Panthers?

[Zaximus]

Just now, Navy_football said:

I agree, playcalling has always been iffy. But that's not directly Ron's fault. Indirectly, yes he's responsible for every call on every play. 

His time management continues to be terrible as well.  

[Navy_football]

Just now, Zaximus said:

His time management continues to be terrible as well.  

Now that is all Ron. No way to spin it otherwise. 

[Mojo]

I think our slow starts end up being so destructive because Ronnie is a very, very slow adjuster.  When you combine the two it just increases the amount of time to lock things in.  If Rivera was quicker to adjust, see, or change things I don't think it would be such a problem.  I've always said this, and I like Ron, but he has molasses in his brain and his recognition skills are poor.

[Mr. Scot]

Slow starts are bad for any team.

Under Rivera, the Panthers have tended to start slow not only in games, but in seasons as well. That's generally caused by a loose training camp.

Some coaches go the opposite route and run a tough training camp, which usually leads to a more crisp start to the season. Go overboard though, and your team starts to get overly fatigued as the season drags on (Coughlin was notorious for this).

The hard part is finding a middle ground.

[Manos]

1 hour ago, Mojo said:

I think our slow starts end up being so destructive because Ronnie is a very, very slow adjuster.  When you combine the two it just increases the amount of time to lock things in.  If Rivera was quicker to adjust, see, or change things I don't think it would be such a problem.  I've always said this, and I like Ron, but he has molasses in his brain and his recognition skills are poor.

I don't think Ron is slow he is just stubborn. He is convinced everything he does is going to work because he/the team is smarter and tougher than the opponent. However most the time we aren't and he just can't seem to wrap his head around that. It's why we never make adjustments, like ever.

[Mr. Scot]

4 minutes ago, Manos said:

I don't think Ron is slow he is just stubborn. He is convinced everything he does is going to work because he/the team is smarter and tougher than the opponent. However most the time we aren't and he just can't seem to wrap his head around that. It's why we never make adjustments, like ever.

There's a scene in Remember The Titans where Coach Boone talks about having only six offensive plays, which he says if you 'give em time, they'll work just like novacaine'.

That's kind of an extreme example, but there are plenty of coaches in the NFL who believe their system will always prevail if you 'give em time' and the players do exactly as they're told.

Plenty of people have speculated that Rivera may be one of those guys.

The biggest evidence of that? Last year's Super Bowl. Remember all the Bronco players surprised that they "didn't change anything", even in the second half when it was pretty clear adjustments probably would have been a good idea?

If Rivera is indeed one of those coaches who believes you don't need to adjust so much as you just need to give the system time to work, it would explain a lot.

[Mojo]

33 minutes ago, Manos said:

I don't think Ron is slow he is just stubborn. He is convinced everything he does is going to work because he/the team is smarter and tougher than the opponent. However most the time we aren't and he just can't seem to wrap his head around that. It's why we never make adjustments, like ever.

I wouldn't say either or.  I think they both are interchangeable in this case.  If you're stubborn you're still slow in a sense.   I didn't mean to imply he's dumb as a rock.   Good point though.

[iamhubby1]

13 hours ago, Steve_Smith_Sr. said:

Over and over again I hear that we need fast starts.  Sure, it's nice to jump out to an early lead as it takes pressure off and lets the play calling be more aggressive - but doesn't EVERY team want to jump out to an early lead????

"We're not built to come from behind" - what the hell does that even mean?  I understand it this year, but even last year I heard that.  It's crap.  Every team has the ability to make plays on defense, put the ball back into the offenses hands and score more points than the opponent.  This isn't rocket surgery.

Are we so emotionally fragile that we MUST jump out to an early lead so we can kick it into neutral and let the other team come roaring back for a last minute nail biter?  That's pretty much what it feels like.

This has bugged me for a long time, not just this season... and I think it's a really lame excuse.  If you get down early, step up and keep fighting.  Do you EVER count the Steelers out when they're down?  How about the Patriots, or the Seahawks?  Nope.  I expect them to come back, and they usually do.  When we're down - you can just feel the game slipping away.

Does anyone else feel this is just a cop out for a team that has a hard time believing in itself?

Feel free to flame me - I'll just reply with fantastic .gif's of Cartman.

 

I think most teams want to score every time they get the ball. But you know, that probably isn't really a real possibility. You do want to score and put your opponent in "Come Back" mode. If you are so inclined, you can be a tad more aggressive. Take the team out of its normal rhythm, and you can, hopefully, dictate the flow.

 

Last year we got ahead and coasted quite a bit. But we seemed to a bit more aggressive later in the year. Although maybe that is just me. And I think RR has to learn how to play with a lead. You don't plan on getting up on people like we did, so you are never really prepared for how to play from ahead. I think.

 

There really are few coaches that don't, for some strange reason, keep the pedal to the medal. I don't know if it isn't somehow a requisite for being a coach?