Offense or Defense? Which will be ranked higher after the season?

[panthers55]

What makes you think we are going to a ball control offense?

Nothing to date of Newton/Rivera suggests that....nor does simply having a QB of Cam's caliber.

Maybe I have missed what everyone read...not being a smart ass but I am legitimately curious since it keeps being repeated.

Ball control doesn't mean that all we do is run.  Ball  control means we that we will emphasize keeping the ball and moving the sticks instead of trying to hit homeruns and using trickery. Chud's offense seemed too gimicky and used misdirection more than using power running and traditional means to move the ball. As many times as not we had 2nd and 10 or sometimes more than 10 when the read option got stuffed.  I think with Chud gone we will go more traditional which still mean will pass quite a lot but we may have more 3rd and 2 after 2 runs instead of 3rd and long.  Don't get me wrong, I like trickery and mismatches but it seemed that we struggled at times to move the ball against teams with good defenses.

[iamhubby1]

Ball Control=Control the Ball=Keep it out of the oppositions hands=Win field position battle=Win TOP=Win more games=Playoffs=Everybody keeps their jobs=SuperBowl

[top dawg]

I believe we aren't necessarily going to move towards a traditional ball control offense. I think that we are going to be adaptive to the situation and take whatever the defense gives us.  I think that the first preference would be just to run it down someone's throat. But, if that fails we are going to air it out.  I think that it would be remiss for Shula and/or Rivera to put handcuffs on such a strong-armed talent or ankle cuffs on a QB who can also run the ball better than most, and I don't see them doing that. The reality of the situation on the field is probably going to demand balance, and that's probably going to be the realistic and practical goal.

[TruthVsComfort]

Defense should be ranked higher.

 

Defense was ranked higher last year and we have done much more to help our defense this offseason--much more than we helped our offense.

[panthers55]

I believe we aren't necessarily going to move towards a traditional ball control offense. I think that we are going to be adaptive to the situation and take whatever the defense gives us.  I think that the first preference would be just to run it down someone's throat. But, if that fails we are going to air it out.  I think that it would be remiss for Shula and/or Rivera to put handcuffs on such a strong-armed talent or ankle cuffs on a QB who can also run the ball better than most, and I don't see them doing that. The reality of the situation on the field is probably going to demand balance, and that's probably going to be the realistic and practical goal.

Why do you think ball control means that we won't be adaptive or take whatever the defense is giving us  Why do you think that it means we will run more than pass as a preference??  New England is one of the best ball control offenses and they pass a bunch.  Who thinks that they are handcuffed or aren't balanced?

 

[top dawg]

Why do you think ball control means that we won't be adaptive or take whatever the defense is giving us  Why do you think that it means we will run more than pass as a preference??  New England is one of the best ball control offenses and they pass a bunch.  Who thinks that they are handcuffed or aren't balanced?

 

It was you who said that ball control means keeping the ball and moving the sticks instead of going for the home-run. The connotation is that it is a slower paced, conservative offense that is more akin to Foxball than what we've done so far in the Cam era.  I don't think that we are going to put Cam in a box (so to speak).  Since Cam has been here we have been known for being a big play, down the field offense, as is supported by the stats regarding big yardage passing plays, which is not a bad thing in my estimation.  Cam does that exceptionally well. Why would anyone want to change that? Furthermore, I didn't say that ball control necessarily means that we won't adapt, I am just saying that we will take what the defense gives us, as well we should. To answer your second question, a big part of a truly traditional ball control offense is running, but that's kinda beside the point. Why would any team on any level of football pass the ball if they can run the ball down someone's throat? We have what many people considered one of the best RB corps in the NFL before last year, before Chud's playcalling made some people question whether our RBs were any good anymore. As for New England, there are many people who would say that they aren't necessarily balanced. They pass way too much and their running game is just an afterthought. There's a reason why they haven't won a Super Bowl  for years now, though they have widely been regarded as one of the top franchises in the league for years.  They're running game is deficient---whether it's the lack of talent and/or coaching---as is their talent at WR, and they lack in the area of big passing plays down the field (and let's not even get on their defense).  But for Brady, their offense is really not one that I would want to imitate.

 

Cam's ability to read the defense and check down will lead to more ball control. We will allow our highly paid, proven backs to run in between the tackles more which will set the stage for truly big plays down the field. We will use the run to set up the pass (and the pass to set up the run). These are the things that will hopefully lead to a truly balanced attack. This is just old school football 101. 

[panthers55]

It was you who said that ball control means keeping the ball and moving the sticks instead of going for the home-run. The connotation is that it is a slower paced, conservative offense that is more akin to Foxball than what we've done so far in the Cam era.  I don't think that we are going to put Cam in a box (so to speak).  Since Cam has been here we have been known for being a big play, down the field offense, as is supported by the stats regarding big yardage passing plays, which is not a bad thing in my estimation.  Cam does that exceptionally well. Why would anyone want to change that? Furthermore, I didn't say that ball control necessarily means that we won't adapt, I am just saying that we will take what the defense gives us, as well we should. To answer your second question, a big part of a truly traditional ball control offense is running, but that's kinda beside the point. Why would any team on any level of football pass the ball if they can run the ball down someone's throat? We have what many people considered one of the best RB corps in the NFL before last year, before Chud's playcalling made some people question whether our RBs were any good anymore. As for New England, there are many people who would say that they aren't necessarily balanced. They pass way too much and their running game is just an afterthought. There's a reason why they haven't won a Super Bowl  for years now, though they have widely been regarded as one of the top franchises in the league for years.  They're running game is deficient---whether it's the lack of talent and/or coaching---as is their talent at WR, and they lack in the area of big passing plays down the field (and let's not even get on their defense).  But for Brady, their offense is really not one that I would want to imitate.

 

Cam's ability to read the defense and check down will lead to more ball control. We will allow our highly paid, proven backs to run in between the tackles more which will set the stage for truly big plays down the field. We will use the run to set up the pass (and the pass to set up the run). These are the things that will hopefully lead to a truly balanced attack. This is just old school football 101. 

A couple of things.  Hitting homeruns has a low percentage of success often leaving you in second or third and long.  Extended drives and controlling the clock required shorter more controlled offense aimed at moving the sticks not going for broke.  Sure you need to throw the long ball a few times to keep the safeties deep but not as a steady diet.

 

New England actually runs the ball quite a bit.  They were second behind Seattle in the most rushing attempts in 2012 and tied for 14th in total rushing yards.  They are very balanced and something we should try and emulate.. Especially given they lead the league in offensive production and most importantly in points.  All the things you said in your last paragraph about what we should do, New England does.

[Marguide]

Defensive coaching staff is much better than the offensive staff.

D will be the stronger unit.

[Dont Check My Chicken]

Both sides of the ball have superstars and lots of potential but... Due to inevitable injuries, the team that starts is rarely the same team that finishes. Therefore, I think the defense has more depth and is better able to overcome injuries. That means a better finish for the D than O. We'll see.

[rayzor]

Both sides of the ball have superstars and lots of potential but... Due to inevitable injuries, the team that starts is rarely the same team that finishes. Therefore, I think the defense has more depth and is better able to overcome injuries. That means a better finish for the D than O. We'll see.

we could lose one or two players from any position on defense and still be in good shape. we definitely can't say the same thing about offense.

 

on offense if we lost an OL or two...we'd make it happen eventually with who we have left. it would be a drop off, but it's not like we're not used to dealing with it or it was a  line full of all pros. at RB....we'd still be stacked. the run game wouldn't miss a beat. at QB, we'd lose a very valuable aspect of the offense, but from the pocket DA could get it done. at TE if we lost olsen we'd see a big drop off. if we lost smitty at WR it would essentially be catastrophic to the offense. 

[Doc Holiday]

Offense has talent wise the greater potential because there are no real gaps.

Defense though its the DBs worst unit on our team 3 years running and have basically done nothing to get better, the defense though has potentially the best front 7 in the NFL this year so it could make up for a lot of the defenses overall short comings, but still when 1/3 of your defense is crap you have to wonder, kinda funny when you think about it we may have one of the worse DBs in the NFL but our front seven is probably the best.

[Ken]

Gotta go with offense. Defense will improve but I see it being just about 8-12 range. The secondary is too much of a weakness.  I think the offense will be around Top 5. 

[FootballMaestro]

Gotta go with offense. Defense will improve but I see it being just about 8-12 range. The secondary is too much of a weakness.  I think the offense will be around Top 5. 

 

Speaking about this: I hope Rivera has finally learned his lesson, and will stay aggressive on defense through out games, the year, and not change dramatically when he has the lead. Funny, how he has similar issues with the offense as well.  :phew:

 

The prevent defense, and the Panther secondary created too many close games, and losses last year (that didn't need to be).

 

Yes, you try to make up for your week secondary with schemes, and room off the receivers. We get it. Hopefully, Ron remembers his pass rush/blitz to?.....Even if the secondary gets beat, at least it gives the offense another scoring opportunity. Last year, the Panther defense spent too much time on the field, often resulting in the opposition scored anyway. This gave the Panther offense less TOP and scoring opportunities. 

[Snake]

I just dont trust Shula to make the offense run like it should so I will go Defense.