Cosell: Cats a mirage

[panthersphan]

These same people will argue that the Colts are the better team (who needed a fumble for a TD to beat the sorry Browns)

...the most unconsistent "good" team in 2008

Okay we beat:

-an underachieving San Diego (but it was the first game when all the hype was there, in SD, and they had Merriman) pretty handily and then let them back into the game.

-Beat a good Chicago, needed a 4th down stop and got it

-Killed Atlanta

-Killed KC

-Killed New Orleans

-Beat a really good Arizona team (who, if held onto that onside kick may have beat the Giants)

-Beat Oakland (no TDs scored on us)

-Beat the Lions (bad game)

-Beat Green Bay in the cold, rain, and snow.

Face it, good teams find ways to win.

It's funny, yea the Giants came out flat in 1 game and lost...we've lost just 2 more...if the Giants were 9-3 they'd be saying how great they are...They'll be saying the same thing when we come out Monday night w/ the "W" anyways..screw em...

[Newtcase]

We are VERY predictable, only a fool would argue otherwise.

Your posts are very predictable and only a fool would argue otherwise.

[engine9]

Or perhaps you think running a draw out the Power I and running a delay out of the shotgun are the same play because they're both runs up the middle.

bless you for telling us or we'd have never known just how dynamic our offense really is.

[Newtcase]

Let all the "Realists" that believe they're NFL coaching material flame away.

[RockECU]

Damn Cossell is throwing percentages and numbers out there like he is a professor.. But where are the percentages for every other team at to show that they really matter??

I doubt any of those percentages mattered when a statistically inferior Giant team beat a statistically superior New England team in the SB last year.

Last I checked, this was a business based on wins and losses, and not percentages and statistics.

While a lot of his points have merit, he probably should have left the stats out of it, because a win is a win.

[engine9]

Let all the "Realists" that believe they're NFL coaching material flame away.

You're a much better coach than them, you know the difference between a delay and a draw!!!!

[PanthersAlv]

I see exactly what he's talking about each week I watch the games.

I expect more consistent pass rushing, I expect to get 4-5 yards or more a running play.

I expect our passing game to be more consistent (passing and catching).

The team over all is inconsistent, but when one part is low, another plays up. (as of late)

[hairybeanbag]

that was an interesting article. i think it is still very vague in the fact he is generalized. it was sorta like he did enough research to prove his point but not enough to make a definitive argument.

[mountainpantherfan]

Actually, the perdictablity is the element of Fox's philosiphy I like the most. If a team knows what you are going to do and you are still able to do it, that is the definition of a dominant team. It isn't always pretty but when a team is able to do it, it produces wins.

[joemac]

It's like the popular thing in the national media these days is to pick apart the Panthers and try to convince everyone that we are not as good as our record says....ever since the Oakland/Detroit games people have been all over us.

Pretty much every team in the league is inconsistent in some areas of the game, thats just how it is.....no team is bad ass in every phase

[panthers55]

While I don't know I would be as negative as he is, he is right in several areas. We were horrible in zone coverage last Sunday. Rodgers often had his pick of open receivers. We were the same against Tampa and Atlanta.

Our linebackers often overrun their lanes and gaps running past the runner and the quarterback when they run blitz. Our blitzes are telegraphed and we rarely change up by faking from one side and bringing heat from the other. It is child's play to hit the hot read exactly where the linebacker just vacated. Who else gets pressure but Peppers??

How many times do you see us not cover a slot guy because the safeties are playing back 15 yards and the guy drags across the middle and is wide open. Or our corners play so far off that a simple out route is availalbe all day.

On offense how many 1 and 2 yards runs do we get when everyone in the stadium knows we are going to run every time the other team shows pressure and then backs out to play the run? How many times do we run on first and second down and end up in third and 6 or more?? How effective are we throwing on third down??

What he said is that we are a hit or miss offense who makes big plays but lacks consistency. He said we are a break don't break defense who lets other teams nickle and dime us down the field and we often get very little pressure and play poor zone defense. Again he is right.

What he fails to account for is that our guys play physical tough ball and play as a team. When you analyze each play we are average or worse but often the lack of effectiveness in one area is made up by good play by another and the whole performance is better than the sum of it's parts.

That is gestalt, baby!!!!

[2jakefansinva]

Pretty much spot on and I'll give him this.........atleast he DID watch the film. The thing he didn't mention is ......we can adjust as Dec. moves on.

[bredy087]

Ive said this before and Ill say it again....Who the HELL cares about yahoo sports. They work for yahoo for a reason!

[Urrymonster]

Panther55 was spot on. Come on guys, think back to the game day threads. Everyone is going spare when we get stuffed at the line on 1st and 2nd down and forced into a long third down. We get frustrated when we do not challenge the opposing offense and prevent the big play but let them march on us.

Then we cheer when someone makes an incredible play. D-Will busting a 70 yarder, Jakes bomb to Smith last Sunday, Pep getting a sack and fumble.

That is our team. Boom or bust. It is no surprise one tiny bit that when we lose. We lose BAD. The reason those games happen is because we get a ton of the bust (3 and outs) and we don't manage the boom to go hand in hand. So I can't see why everyone is up in arms about this article when it is describing EXACTLY what everyone discusses after every game. Every game we can pretty much pick out one play that 'turned the tide' because we had been getting beat bad and then someone conjured something amazing up. This does not mean we are a bad team i any way. It's a sentiment to the natural abilities of our players that they can consistently draw on their reserves and change the game single handidly.

Unfortunately we are playing against statistics and as everyone knows maths never lies. Other than the crap he talked about our 4 yard run potential all the stats proved bad reading. It is VERY unlikely that we can keep relying on single moments of brilliance from our players to change the game and eventually these other problems will catch up with us. It is just a matter of when.

Hopefully sometime after the superbowl...