Ron Rivera’s post-game comments are frustratingly status quo
It seems like the Panthers and Ron Rivera are seeing this movie play out again.
Reading head coach Ron Rivera’s postgame press conference comments has me frustrated. It’s not just the fact that the Panthers lost. It’s his reasoning about why they lost and what they can do better. It’s like I am listening to the same press conference week after week. There are obvious changes that need to be made, but nothing ever does.
While reading his press conference comments, one tidbit stood out to me. Let’s just say that it was not a good tidbit either. As a matter of fact, this quote stuck out to me because it highlighted something that the Panthers have not been doing, especially since the team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on prime time television.
"“We have to make sure we’re giving them every opportunity to succeed, then we have to go out and make sure we execute,” Rivera said. “We watch the tape, we look at what happened, and then off of that we make decisions. We’ve got to figure out why we had success and why we didn’t have success, and then what can we do to improve on it.”"
Sounds good in theory. The fact of the matter is, they have been making the same mistakes week after week. The defense has had a knack for giving up the deep ball, the run defense hasn’t been all that great. The lack of aggression on the part of Rivera has cost the Panthers games, plain and simple.
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Week after week, Ron Rivera plays things conservatively when sometimes the team needs to be aggressive in order to win. The National Football League as we see it today is aggressive. Whether it be establishing an aggressive pass attack, or bringing an aggressive pass rush as a result of the pass attack, football is aggressive. Ron Rivera has been playing for field goals, or at least it seems like it.
I will sum it up right now. They have had success largely because of the offense. The efforts of Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey have been enough to stabilize the Panthers and increase the chances of victory. The problem as I highlighted earlier this month is the lack of a dominant defense. I don’t know why this defense in particular is struggling. They have pieces at the linebacker and cornerback positions, as well as talent on the defensive line. I don’t get why they cannot put together a string of solid games.
They have not improved. If anything, it seems like they have gotten worse since the game against the Steelers. Maybe how they need to improve is something bigger than just the schemes that they are putting forth. Maybe there needs to be a coaching change. I understand that Rivera can’t put his coaches on blast in the press conference. That would be unfair to them and be a bad look on Ron Rivera’s part. I get why he doesn’t do that. Even still, it’s not that hard to figure out. The Carolina Panthers need to improve their defense and situational football. Most Panthers fans can see that that is the problem. I’m not sure why they need to figure out “Why they did not have success.” It is right there in plain sight.
dark. Next. Panthers scenarios for rest of season
Ron Rivera’s comments are tone-deaf and hollow. It sounds like I am hearing the same thing every single week. Whatever they are looking at and need to fix, they need to fix quickly. Time is running out, that’s a fact. Time is running out for some of Rivera’s coaching staff. That is merely speculation.