Panthers All-22: 4 overlooked thoughts from Week 2 loss at NY Giants
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers’ offense was too vanilla
After reports of team owner David Tepper wanting a rockstar offensive coordinator to replace Joe Brady, the appointment of Ben McAdoo wasn’t what many had in mind. One glaring feature from the All-22 footage from Sunday’s loss centered on the same old complications on offense and a coach that cannot seem to be creative enough to maximize the outstanding weapons at his disposal.
McAdoo’s offense is deemed to be complex to learn by players, who’ve stated this many times during his various roles around the league. However, what we’ve seen during his first two games with the Carolina Panthers is bland, vanilla play calls that opposing defenses can see coming from a mile away.
There is almost no pre-snap motion and the route concepts are stagnant. The NFL has changed a lot since McAdoo last held a prominent play-calling position and unless he adapts, then the Panthers will be among the bottom-feeders for a third-straight year.
Target allocation is the last of Carolina’s worries when looking at the tape. McAdoo is not playing to the team’s strengths and the likes of D.J. Moore are suffering as a result.
One of the most frustrating things to watch on tape is the hope McAdoo might figure things out before the offense disappears. For example, Moore had 45 receiving yards and a touchdown on their opening second-half drive at the New York Giants, only for the former first-round pick to get one target thereafter.
Unacceptable. And changes must be made quickly.