Is Jake the problem?

jab, but that's not all what I was sugesting at all.

but if it is all the players fault, again, cut em cause they suck badly.

 

Didn't see anyone absolve Jake of anything.

I think this has been an issue in a lot of things, re: Jake. It's obviously not only possible, but plausible, that a lot more happens on a play than for Jake to fuck up.

 

Colbert disappearing, Gardner doing whatever it was he did + Carter being new has, at the least, something to do with it. The OL has been uncertain all year. He's taken some shots, maybe he's hearing footsteps. I think if we improve the talent around him we'll see less bonehead Jake good Jake. Of course, he needs to be working to get better at not sailing passes too.

 

Precisely why I would argue that while the "on-the-surface" reason we lost in Seattle was Jake's three INT's, the deeper, more precise cause of the offensive implosion was our disgraceful lack of effort in regards to the running game, particularly early on. Had Goings played the whole game, who knows? But I'm thinkin' he would have been good for 15car-41yd. Mitchell just worn out to pieces, and Reyes looked straight out of 2001.

The offensive line (C/RG in particular) did not even bother to show up. They were forklifted into Delhomme's grill constantly, and never came off the ball with nearly enough authority in the running game.

Can't get the running game going against a Cover 2, you can't win. Golden fucking rule, no matter the RB.

 

Certainly no reason exists to throw to Smith when he's covered by four. Jake made a poor decision, something he does.

I think Fox and Henning's philosophy explains why we so often go to Smith. "Feed the Stud" and Smith has certainly been the stud this year.



Fox and Henning favor legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden's approach -- concentrate on their team's strengths rather than on the opposition. Within that framework is another principle.
"We believe in FTS," Henning said. "Feed the stud."
Last year, it was wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad. At other times, it was running back Stephen Davis. Now it's running back DeShaun Foster and wide receiver Steve Smith.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/football/nfl/carolina_panthers/13570797.htm

 

First of all I don't really know what the problem is being discussed. We played in the NFC Championship game. We were one of the better teams in the league but it's not like anyone should have thought we were really in the top tier with our weaknesses.

 

Seattle had only two sacks in the game, one of which was Jake's fault for continuing to drift back after his drop, moving beyond Gross' block of Bernard. Nor did Seattle have an inordinate number of quarterback hurries or knockdowns, especially considering how many passes we attempted. I'm all for saying that better plays could have been called on offense, and it especially frustrated me that we ran consistently on first down when I knew from the most basic film study that Seattle pressures the line of scrimmage most often on first down specifically to clog the run, but at some point people have to actually blame the players as well. Delhomme's three INTs were not the O-line's fault or Colbert's fault or Henning's fault. Carter did have one drop and some other guys had some as well, but most of the incompletions were also inaccurate throws by Jake.

I don't understand why Jake gets such a free pass from so many people, except perhaps the idea that those people dislike me so much that they'll defend anyone I happen to criticize. It wasn't the line's fault, it wasn't the receivers' fault, and it wasn't Henning's fault. Jake has had a slew of great games in the playoffs, but against Seattle he was awful.

 

yeah, that's the thing. It's so passive voice that it doubles back on itself. Not to trash Mike or anything, but we're discussing Jake, but not saying he's the problem; we've not actually stated a problem; it's been made clear that we can't suggest other things went wrong without disclaiming that jake has the propensity to make mistakes, so it's hard to figure out what we're talking about.

Either way, who's giving Jake a free pass?

 

If you want to feed the stud you have to figure out how to create opportunities for said stud, which we tried to do and couldn't. This was a total team loss offensively. I'd have liked to see some counter/misdirection stuff like we did vs Atlanta and a screen or two but we probably wouldn't have executed it any better than the stuff we did run that day.

 

"Sacks" is not the only measuring stick.

There was pressure. Constant pressure. Right off the bat. Go look at the tape. The interior portion of our line was pure shit, in all areas. That does not dismiss Delhomme's culpability. But, as is the case with all teams, it all starts with the kind of pocket you can build for your quarterback.

Now, time for my screen captures:

Below, check out the my incredible renderings of a good pocket (top), and Sunday's pocket (bottom).

That's the best visual I could come up with after a long day at work, folks.

Oh, and on Delhomme's accountablilty.....It would be wise for you not to put those words in my mouth.