Riverboat Rivera on not going for it on 4th and a centimeter on the first drive.

[tiger7_88]

11 hours ago, Snake said:

His obsession with running the ball isn't going to stop and we aren't going to beat good teams this year until he stops. 

And the only reason the Rivera Panther's have had any noted success "running the ball" is because his QB does all the heavy lifting.

ALL OF IT.

And then Rivera looks proudly at those rushing numbers and thinks "Look how good we ran the ball squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"

Rivera is a joke who probably continues to re-use the same Daily Planner he's had since 1982.

[tiger7_88]

11 hours ago, stankowalski said:

And yet Gruden went for it on their side of the 50...and went on to score a TD I think on that drive.  Gruden was coaching to win (and won) and Ron was coaching not to lose (and lost)

 

Stan, I have to say I think I remember you being full-blown Team Rivera not that long ago.

Have you changed your mind?

[RumHam]

BuT cMc CaN rUn BeTwEeN ThE tAcKlEs

[tiger7_88]

10 hours ago, beastson said:

I'm not ready to completely turn on Norv cause when we've been aggressive I've seen better results

Yeah, I remember being so excited the first two or three games with the play-calling and aggressiveness.

Then... it all of a sudden got WAY more conservative.  And its gotta make you ask yourself "Why?"

I think I know why.

[tiger7_88]

2 hours ago, DeAngelo Beason said:

He's used to having a defense that can keep the offense in the game.  He's forgetting that this defense is laughable now.  If we're go have any hope of getting the playoffs again, this offense needs to be thinking "touchdown" on every drive.  It's just a mindset that we lack and many other teams have.

Ron's philosophy:

Run the ball

(Narrator: Your QB is regularly your leading rusher)

Play defense

(Narrator: Your defense is terrible)

Keep the defense off the field by possessing the ball more than your opponent 

(Narrator: The Redskins had almost 60% of ball possession)

Rinse, repeat, over and over and over

[tiger7_88]

6 minutes ago, RumHam said:

BuT cMc CaN rUn BeTwEeN ThE tAcKlEs

Actually I think he is fine between the tackles against regular fronts.

Against 9 man fronts (which we face regularly since, you know, RON RIVERA IS THE DEFINITION OF PREDICTABLE)?  No.

[hepcat]

Patriots were in literally the same situation against KC on their first drive last night. They went for it. They didn't get it, but the fact they went for it sets the tone. Ron Rivera showed he was a pussy, Washington capitalized. 

[juliosantos]

We have a big freak at qb and we don't sneak it lol rivera is a pussy 

[Raleigh PF]

Those last two pass plays encapsulate the issues, overall, with the Panthers. The best options they have for converting a third down involve CMC, Olsen and Wright. It kills me how much the middle of the field was essentially being ignored for out patterns. The Panthers had available timeouts, but chose to ignore more than half of the available field. 

Some of that is on Cam and his choices of where to throw the ball. The other is on the coaching staff for not drawing something that involved our best playmakers. It was really tough to watch.

 

[NorthTryon]

29 minutes ago, juliosantos said:

We have a big freak at qb and we don't sneak it lol rivera is a pussy 

If at anytime you are Riverboat Ron, this was it.  And Gruden did it with Alex Smith.  When they got the less than a yard sneak with Smith I was furious.

[Riv]

12 hours ago, Saca312 said:

Today's loss was ugly. It wasn't a case of superior talent beating inferior. It was simply a case of superior talent unable to surpass questionable coaching while piling on critical mistakes.

However, if I were to press forth a main factor for most of these losses, I'd have to say Ron Rivera's a prime contributor for some of this.

First off, personnel decisions were a mess. Deciding to not utilize Curtis Samuel this whole game was completely baffling, especially considering how good his tape was from a week prior. To decrease the snaps of our best receiver by far was pretty incredible to see in a negative way. Also, starting Chris Manhertz over Ian Thomas is a funny thing to see. 

And, most criminal of all, CJ Anderson has been noted as pretty much "did not participate" for the day. He barely got to see the field despite him clearly being one of the better options as a pure runner. At the very least, just give CJ more snaps and stop trying to use CMC like a damn bellcow all the time and limiting his efficiency.

Next, decision making and coaching was bad, and the post game comments worse. First off, Rivera actually blamed the loss on the fact the Redskins were able to run the ball more. Like how out of touch can you get? 

And then opening up with five straight runs. Which, predictably, was later fished out and set up the famed 4th and a centimeter we were all sure Cam would QB sneak through for an easy first down. But nope, Rivera decided to nope out of the single thought despite his former life as "Riverboat Ron."

Sure, you can argue "but what if it failed?" Then at least Ron tried to do something offensively and show that he understands the defense isn't as good as it once was. The strength of this team is by far the offense, yet Ron is hindering it to the max.

Plus, this statistic should've made it a no-brainer:

And, best of all, the last two offensive drives were prime examples of just what happens when the coaching staff removes itself out of Cam's way and lets him take hold the reigns. He was able to lead efficient drives down the field with the play-makers they have and pass. This can be a prolific modern offense if Ron keeps his stupid "run run run" mentality away.

Sure, the last three plays are questionable in part of Cam and everyone else. Second down, Cam was pressured. Third down, Cam missed wildly compounded with the refs missing a blatant push off on Funchess before the ball got to there (this was based on what I heard from the radio broadcast. They really hounded the refs on that one.) Fourth down he missed Wright while the receiver himself was clearly held. Either way, missed opportunities on there.

Otherwise, the drive down the field showed what happens when the Panthers are able to pass and act well in a no-huddle situation. Give the keys to Cam and let him drive. Let him pass, get a few good playcalls in if you need, and create a balance of good passing and running. Ron does not need to force his "run run run" fetish on an offense that could do far better and a defense that can't stop an offense to save its life.

Those are my thoughts.

My feelings exactly.  I told my wife we were going to lose immediately after Ron set the tone with that early punt.  Leaving Samuel out of the game plan after last week also was mindbogglingly stupid.  Meanwhile, we continued to push Torrey Smith, who has been pretty useless minus the one scoring drive yesterday.  It's also very obvious that the offense gets into a different sort of rhythm when we are in hurry up mode, yet we only do it when we are up against the wall.

I've been a pretty staunch Ron apologist for some time, but yesterday was it for me.  He does a lot of things very well, but his conservative nature caps his ceiling and quickly makes you forget about his high floor.  If he doesn't right the ship quickly, it'll be time to move on.  Let Norv finish the season as the HC and go find someone who can maximize the talent on the roster and stop going against the enormous tailwind that current NFL rules have created for passing offenses.

[Riv]

I think you guys are forgetting that we almost (and should've) won a SB just 3 years ago.  You can still win his way, but you need the right ingredients.

Right now we don't have those ingredients and Ron is refusing to change based on the strengths (or lack thereof) of his personnel. 

The defense will get better as TD and Reid integrate into the scheme.  We have a great young player in Jackson who is just scratching the surface.  Our D-line has been embarrassing, but the NFL has basically given up on flagging holding by offensive linemen.  A lot of people are being hard on Luke, but it's obvious things aren't clicking around him and it's causing some major frustration and pressing.  Several times yesterday Reid left him out to dry on PA and misdirection.

Reid has been a solid tackler, but he looks lost in coverage. 

[tiger7_88]

https://www.derp/2018/10/15/17976816/monday-morning-optimist-im-done-with-ron-rivera-carolina-panthers

 

Quote

 

Ron Rivera is going on eight years of trying to establish the run in the Carolinas and it is past time he gave it a rest. If I thought he knew who I was then I would think he opened the game yesterday with five straight runs just to spite me. This is the part in the Optimist where I am supposed to point to the Panthers’ 3-2 record. I should say that there is still plenty of season left and that the Panthers are only getting healthier as they approach the meat of their divisional schedule. All of that is true. But can you really look at the rest of the schedule and tell me you trust Rivera to lead the Panthers into the playoffs?

I have long been critical of Ron Rivera’s conservative decision making as head coach of the Panthers. I have also long been one of his biggest supporters. He has led the Panthers to their best successes. Records of 12-4, 15-1, and 11-5 are no accidents in the NFL. That they haven’t had those successes in back to back seasons was always, to my eyes, a testament to how close Rivera is to being great and not damning evidence of his flaws.

I started a weekly column on this blog to point out the critical moments in games where he routinely and intentionally makes choices that lessen the Panthers chances of winning football games. These are moments that we have all seen game in and game out since his first season here. He doesn’t do this because he wants to lose, just as I didn’t point out the errors because I wanted him gone. He did what he thought was right. I wrote because I believed he could be better. We were both wrong.

We can stop pretending now. Rivera will only ever make the playoffs in the NFL on the strength of a great quarterback performing Sisyphean tasks. He is a brilliant coach. His teams are good. His decisions are bad. I have said time and again that punting a ball at midfield on 4th and 1 with Cam Newton as your quarterback should be counted against the Panthers as a turnover. Yet that is exactly what Rivera elected to do in the first quarter yesterday. The Panthers might have been able to overcome three turnovers in the first half but four was too many.

 

 

 

Quote

 

The NFL is designed by rule to promote the success and safety of quarterbacks and wide receivers. Throwing the football and scoring points are not in Rivera’s terms. He calls a game like he values the clock more than the scoreboard and with that valuation he has taken the quarterback equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci back to the stone age and is now forcing him to advocate for square wheels.

Look back to what the Panthers were able to do on their second half drives. These were not garbage time possessions. This was a close game. Washington was not surrendering the field to slowly burn the clock. Cam took it anyway. Imagine an offense where that is the game plan and not the emergency plan. If you want optimism from this team then start there.

Cam is a great quarterback, but save your optimism for his next coach. Rivera will never run that offense. Rivera doesn’t want that offense. He has spent the better part of eight seasons trying to establish the run in a league that nakedly favors the pass.

 

 

[Cat Fanboy]

While I agree I wish we had went for it I did stop shouting at my tv.  I remembered the week before vs Giants and we didn't go for a 4th & 1 at midfield.

The punt, the fumble, Panthers TD as a result.  A good punt and good defense pins them back and gives us the ball back with great field position.

So I get it - I understand why - I just wish we had more Riverboat.  Trust your offense for once.