FanPost

How A Bunch Of Misfits Led The NFL's 4th Ranked Aerial Attack

Raise your hand if the first thing you wanted G-Man to do after Kelvin went down was to go out and sign a receiver. Wes Welker was available. Hakeem Nicks. Denarius Moore. I wanted to go out and grab one too.

Now, the majority of you who raised their hands put them down.

For those of you who wanted to stick with who we had, raise your hands if you thought we would have the NFL's 4th ranked passing offense with Ted Ginn and PHILLY Brown as our starting wide receivers. Put your hands down, you dirty liars.

At best, we hoped the passing attack could perform somewhere in the top 20. Apparently though, someone forgot to tell the wideouts. On top of a strong regular season performance, they've gone on to torch Seattle and Arizona in the playoffs, two of the top secondaries in the NFL. How did this happen?

Well first off let's give credit where credit is due. Tight end Greg Olsen followed up his first 1,000 yard season with his second 1,000 yard season. Rookie Devin Funchess has developed into a prominent factor. The offensive line has been one of the top in the nation, keeping Cam upright while also springing a rushing attack that opens up the passing game a great deal. And of course, Cam Newton's development as a pocket passer has contributed in a huge fashion. Yet the question remains, how? How did punt returner Ted Ginn catch 10 touchdowns this year? How did UDFA PHILLY Brown handle Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson with ease? How has Jerricho Cotchery, at the age of 33, hauled in 39 passes for nearly 500 yards, as serving as really no more than a 4th wideout sharing time with a rookie?

The answer would have made me fall out of my chair laughing this time last year. The answer has shared blame with the offensive line regarding the ineptitude of the offense in recent years. Many of us wanted the answer fired midway through last season. The answer is offensive coordinator Mike Shula.

Shula has done something so amazingly simple, yet something that many offensive coordinators fail to do. He plays to his players strength. He sees square peg Ted Ginn and rather than force him into a round hole, he finds a square one. Same with PHILLY (okay, I'll stop with the all caps now) Brown. Same with all his guys. He sees what they're good at and that's what he game-plans for them to do. Ted Ginn's got speed? Send him deep! Cotchery's got genetically enhanced hands and the route tree programmed into his head and legs? Safety outlet for Mr. Newton. Philly Brown...well he doesn't really have a specific niche I guess. He's got pretty good hands and pretty good speed and runs pretty good routes. Not a jaw dropper by any means, but he's a pretty solid all around guy. DING. There's the X Factor.

And the brilliance of all this is that more often than not you know exactly what's coming, and it doesn't matter. Defenses know Ted Ginn can take the roof off any given play. Defenses know that Jerricho Cotchery can out muscle anyone for those oh-so-important contested catches that move the chains. Defenses also know that Philly Brown is just good enough all around to exploit a weakness in a defensive back. They know, they know, they know.

Sometimes, they can win those one on one match-ups. Ted Ginn didn't have exceptionally great games vs Seattle, and he was something of a non factor in the receiving game (notice, just the receiving game, for he did torch Arizona for a rushing touchdown and a punt return) against the Cardinals. Neither Philly Brown or Jerricho Cotchery consistently beat defenses during the regular season. That, however, is the beauty of it. Just because Mike Shula has made them guys you have to account for, they can open up the receiving game for each other. If not for each other, then Greg Olsen, or Devin Funchess. Even the running game benefits from the mere threat of a passing offense.

The fact is, by just utilizing his guys the correct way and playing to their strengths, Mike Shula has created one of the most diverse aerial attacks in the NFL. Any weapon you name, we have it in our arsenal, and we know how to use it to its full capabilities. I salute you, Mike Shula. Sorry I wanted to fire you. I'm also drooling over what you can do with Kelvin Benjamin back next year. Literally drooling. For now though, go out there, and get those receivers working on that Denver defense. They're going to need to bring their A game. Go Panthers, and Keep Pounding!

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