Shula

No one said that everything Hurney did was awful. In fact, we were largely in agreement that he did a good job in the first round when he kept those picks rather than trading them away. But he was an unmitigated disaster in handling the cap, signing free agents, trading away draft picks, and using draft picks every round after the first.

Gettleman let LaFell sign with New England for $9 million over three years. He completely neglected offensive tackle every offseason, as Michael Oher has been the worst player on offense. He's left us ridiculously thin at cornerback as well. Kurt Coleman has been fantastic, but that's about it. I give Gettleman credit for drafting Short. He could have gone a lot of different ways with that pick and that one decision has had a huge impact on the quality of this team.

Not only could it have, it did. Also, keep in mind that five of those touchdowns were scored by the defense.

You know you sound like a Huddle poster, right?

 

So, who will the next OC be when Shula gets a gig? It'll be someone new right? I would not think Proehl is ready.

I will give Collin a hard on here, Chud might be gone from Indy. Goddam, I am scaring myself.

 

My only fear is that Rivera might do something even dumber than promoting Shula. Like promoting Jim Skipper.


Ultimately I think we'll just pass it to Dorsey.

 

I don't question the fact that Shula sucks. I think the more appropriate question, considering the team's success, is whether or not it really matters that much.

 

Mike Shula says he would have interviewed for coaching jobs | ProFootballTalk


In related news I would have fucked Kate Upton.

 

Why do most everyone besides most here think Shula is so great?

And by everyone, I mean most every: media talking head, sports analyst, announcer, coach, GM and pundit who have had any comment about him verbally or in writing?

Serious question. Are they all that dumb and we're are so smart?

I mean I'm torn. Sometimes I think he's great, especially with his development of the O, the play designs and such, but think he's terrible at times regarding play calling.

Wasn't he kinda unsuccessful as a HC? Maybe he likes being an OC, I dunno.

 

I honestly think people here underestimate him and outsiders probably the opposite.

 

So he's really somewhere in the range of not bad to pretty good?

 

Well he got OC of the year, I heard. Whoever gives that one out. I know it isn't TBR ;-)

 

Two main reasons. The first is media conformity. There is a tendency in the media to adopt an opinion that someone else in the media suggested, with each successive iteration holding up the previous person's opinion as "evidence" rather than actually supporting that opinion with analysis. This groupthink is what allows people like Skip Bayless to thrive, because the herd mentality makes being a contrarian work so well. The second is that most people in the media know less than shit about anything. They're on television because they're charismatic or they're in radio/print because they're talented at generating interest. The reason you hardly ever see someone go from the media to working in a sport is precisely that they don't actually possess considerable knowledge about that sport. They adopt an attitude of expertise without ever genuinely demonstrating it. Because of that, people in the media react blindly to success. They don't understand why the Panthers are actually successful, so they credit the things they assume to be responsible. You look at Carolina being first in points scored and of course it's natural to assume that the offensive coordinator is doing a great job. Someone more familiar with the sport would recognize that the Panthers are first in scoring in large part because the defense has been forcing turnovers at an extraordinary rate, and that on an offensive yards gained per play basis Carolina is just league average. They would also notice that the Panthers' offense has been one of the least explosive in the league under Mike Shula, although it has been somewhat better in that respect this season. What makes this particularly damning is that with most of the same personnel, Carolina was much better in yards per play and explosive plays under Rob Chudzinski. We know that these players are capable of better because they already proved that.

Take a look at the descriptions of Cam Newton for an illustration of what I mean. I keep seeing people in the media laud Shula for helping Newton to develop as a passer, yet Cam Newton threw for more passing yards in his first two seasons with Chudzinski than he ever has with Shula. Obviously the passing touchdowns blew away his career high this season, which is why his quarterback rating was also a career high, but everything else is below his best under Chudzinski. Media narratives are lazy. They lack self-reflection because no one holds them accountable. Talking heads don't get fired like coaches do unless they say something racist or sexually harass someone.

Yes, which is why I do like TBR so much. I give people shit a lot, but I give myself even more shit (which you don't see) even though I know I'm brilliant. This community is much more rational than most, so we can be fans and indulge in the rah-rah stuff while still being realistic and analytical about the team we cheer for.