4 keys to victory for the Carolina Panthers at Falcons in Week 8
By Noah Bryce
Carolina Panthers must be creative
Oh how quickly the mighty have fallen with the Carolina Panthers. Joe Brady has gone from one of the hottest commodities in the league to a man fighting for his job in only seven weeks and it has been a rough go of it for the offensive coordinator.
It’s not just that the Panthers haven’t been effective on offense, the team has looked stagnant and repetitive.
Just like a team batting against a pitcher for the third time in baseball, once you see the same thing a couple of times it becomes a whole lot easier to sniff out. And the Panthers have been throwing the same pitch all year.
On three straight possessions Sunday, one safety and two three-and-outs, the Panthers ran the same sequence of plays. A run by Chuba Hubbard followed by two passes.
How is that supposed to fool anyone?
You cannot get by in the NFL with a playbook that simple anymore. Especially when the skill positions have been underperforming. A great coach will see that struggle and come up with ways to get players open and into a rhythm again.
This topic has been touched on this topic multiple times now. But if the Panthers are going to be able to do anything on offense there needs to be some trickery. End-arounds, screens, double passes. Something to keep the defense on its toes and take some pressure off the offensive line.
Brady needs to dig into that bag of tricks and start pulling things out. It doesn’t even matter if they work, just the threat of a trick play will have the defense a step slower and that does wonders.
A team without creativity is like a plant without water. If this offense comes out of another game looking lifeless there will be a help-wanted sign in Carolina’s coaching booth.