Panthers 2011 Midseason Review: Offense

by Jaxon on Nov 6, 2011 10:45 PM EST

CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 30: Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers carries the ball against the Minnesota Vikings at Bank of America Stadium on October 30, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

Part 2 of my three part series covers the midseason performance of the Panthers offensive. This unit had nowhere to go than up after last season's epic failure. With the hiring of dynamic OC Rob Chudzinski and the drafting of QB Cam Newton we were hopeful the offense would show some improvement in 2011. We have not been disappointed in that regard. Using stats from Football Outsiders and NFL.com the Panthers offense has made unbelievable improvement:

Statistic	2010 Season	2011 (8 Games)
Total Offense (DVOA)	32^nd	6^th
Scoring (Pts/G)	32^nd (12.2)	14^th (23.4)
Rushing (DVOA)	32^nd	3^rd
Passing (DVOA)	31^st	9^th
3^rd Down %	30th (30%)	9^th (43%)
Turnover Margin	25^th (-8)	23^rd (-3)
Penalties	25^th (106)	31^st (65)

Though I've been quite aware of the vast improvement of the offense and the passing game in particular it's the Panthers rushing offense ranking that surprised me most. I would have thought it was middle of the pack at best. But once you consider it includes the yards and TDs put up by QB Cam Newton it makes sense. Newton has 7 TDs and is averaging around 50 yards a game.

I am most pleased with the improvement in 3^rd down completion percentage. It took the Panthers a few games to get it going but have improved 3^rd downs tremendously the past few games.

Though the Panthers have a top 6 offense in production the scoring certainly has room for improvement which can be tied to the turnover issue as well. The Panther offense and QB Cam Newton in particular needs to protect the football better if they are capitalize on their red zone opportunities.

So has the Panther offense met your expectations? Take the poll.

Poll

What is your assessment of the midseason performance of the Panthers offense?

Not meeting expectations, I thought it would be better

1 votes

Not meeting expectations, making too many mistakes

9 votes

Meeting expectations but not exceeding

35 votes

Exceeding expectations...never saw this level of improvement coming

214 votes

259 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

One interesting thing to me

Is that despite DeAngelo being “done”, he’s still got a 4.8 YPC this year. There’s plenty left in that tank.

Follow me on Twitter at @JakeHumphrey91

by Jake Humphrey on Nov 6, 2011 10:48 PM EST reply actions

Definitely exceeding my expectations. I never thought Cam nor the offense itself would be this prolific. Can things be improved? Of course. But compared to last year we are light-years ahead of what I thought we could be.

Proud Member of Cat Scratch Reader and coiner of the (minus Bowers) meme

by Ivan459 on Nov 6, 2011 11:03 PM EST reply actions

I find it pretty pitiful that this team is on pace to have more penalties than that atrocious team from last year. Besides that, whoda think it? And whoever’s the one dude who voted “Not meeting expectations, making too many mistakes”, c’mon now!

"If ya ain't first, you're last."
- Ricky Bobby's Dad

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by KaiserBromley on Nov 7, 2011 1:29 AM EST reply actions

On the penalties

Understand the sentiment, but also you have to consider, shortened pre-season, lack of OTA’s, learning the new QB count style, new offense…etc., etc., penalties were kinda expected. Hopefully with half a season under their belt- this will start to calm down.

by toonman on Nov 7, 2011 10:17 AM EST up reply actions

On penalties, and other stats:

With only 6 committed last week vs Minny, we’ve improved slightly, to 4th worst in the league, in penalties. That was tied with the GB game as the best we’ve done so far. The worst was the Skins’ game, with 13 penalties, but we overcame that with a Win.

We’ve committed penalties in this sequence: 10, 6, 8, 8, 7, 7, 13, and 6, totaling 65, more than any team but Oakland, Seattle, and Tampa Bay.

Now, here are a few etam stats I bet not a lot of you knew:

We’re 9th in the league in 3rd down conversion %, with 43 %, a vast improvement from last year.

We’re 5th in the league in First Downs per game, with 22.1.

We’re 4th in the league in Yards Per Play, with 6.4 (Green Bay is 1st, with only a foot more, at 6.7 YPP.)

So the emphasis on improving the woeful Offense we had last year has paid off.

I expect a similar emphasis on improving the Defense this off-season (and, hopefully, ST) will pay off as handsomely, for 2012.

by bigdavis on Nov 7, 2011 11:53 AM EST up reply actions

Steve Smith with almost 1,000 yards mid way through the season and Cam with 18 TD’s..two more then our entire offense had last year..yeah id say they exceeded my expectations. I knew this was a high powered offense we would be running but i didn’t think Cam would take to it like a fish to water.

Proud member of the Panthers Mafia!

Saving The Environment One Green Comment at a Time

'We're the little brothers getting punched in the head. Pretty soon, we're gong to learn to punch back.'" - Ron Rivera aka BAMF

by MMA_PITBULL on Nov 7, 2011 2:27 AM EST reply actions

It's past time...

To give LaFell the nod as the starter over Naanee.

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by JAKE_OB on Nov 7, 2011 8:36 AM EST reply actions

Seriously!

by Panthster on Nov 7, 2011 11:02 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

One of my few issues with this coaching staff.

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by Jake Humphrey on Nov 7, 2011 11:08 AM EST up reply actions

they have some homerism in them

naanee being one. applewhite turned out well. personally, id take clowney over tutu.

SIMPLE AND PLAIN

by revdwl34 on Nov 7, 2011 12:52 PM EST up reply actions

You'd take Clowney over Tutu

But one of them has a job in the NFL and one of them doesn’t.

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by Jake Humphrey on Nov 7, 2011 2:04 PM EST up reply actions

To be fair...Tutu's job is pretty much talking to Smitty on the sidelines.

The truth will set you free, but not until it is finished with you. ~David Foster Wallace

I may not always be right, but even a blind nut finds a squirrel every once in a while.

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by BW Smith on Nov 7, 2011 5:34 PM EST up reply actions

Then Clowney is a worse conversationalist than he is a WR!

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by Jake Humphrey on Nov 7, 2011 9:39 PM EST up reply actions

the fact that Naanee gets separation is keeping him above LaFell

the ability to catch is not worth anything if he’s not open… as much as it pains me to say that

by vitzeng on Nov 7, 2011 8:22 PM EST up reply actions

Voted exceeded expectations

Even the most homer/Cammyjuice-drinking fan can’t honestly say they saw this amount of offensive output coming. I’m surprised by the difference between last season and this season. Great moves & work put in by all!

I kinda like power running football though. It’s iike a bloody violent ballet…
When it was working it was a thing of beauty to me. - Vagus

(Please note that from now on I shall only refer to Cam as "The Newt" and Rivera as "BAMF")

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by The Duke Dude on Nov 7, 2011 10:47 AM EST reply actions