Sunday’s visit from the New York Giants marked a reunion of sorts. Former Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettlman was in the building Womens Ian Thomas Jersey , as was former offensive coordinator Mike Shula. The latter was routinely the brunt of near universal criticism during his final years in charge of the Panthers offense, largely thanks to the ultra conservative play calling Panthers fans have come to know and hate. It seemed his mere presence in the stadium was enough to put the Panthers offense in a state of complete disorder. The delay of game penalties and wasted timeouts that seemed to be a thing of the past once again reared their heads, and the infamous “grind it out” approach to offense once again manifested itself. Norv Turner called a good first quarter. On six first quarter first downs, the Panthers passed the ball three times, completing all of them for 44 yards and a touchdown. The other three plays were runs, but one of them was a piece of gadgetry that resulted in an 18 yard carry for wide receiver D.J. Moore. That’s the type of balance you like to see. Then things went south. Odell Beckham Jr. botched a punt that was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown to put the Panthers up 14-3 less than one minute into the second quarter. The Panthersseemingly deemed that 11 point lead with 44 minutes to go insurmountable. The ensuing first down play calls to close out the first half were run, pass, run, run Youth Kawann Short Jersey , run, run. Just grind the clock, baby. The Panthers seemed to break themselves of that play calling curse in the locker room during the halftime intermission. They split their six third quarter play calls 50/50, calling three runs and three passes, but that increased aggression vanished in crunch time. The Panthers entered the fourth quarter with a 20-16 lead and the ball just short of midfield.Starting with that precarious lead in the final frame, the Panthers went on to call this sequence of first down plays while leading: screen pass, run, run, run http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/mario-addison-jersey-authentic , screen pass, run, run, run. The two Cam Newton runs in that sequence generated 16 yards. The other six plays combined to gain five yards. The Panthers also lost their lead. With the Giants desperately hunting a comeback and the Panthers in need of offense, the coaching staff frequently elected to take the ball out of their most dynamic playmaker’s hands on first downs. It resulted in an offense constantly fighting an uphill battle to sustain drives and put the game out of reach. A historic Graham Gano field goal as time expired gave the coaching staff the result they sought despite a horribly flawed process that could have, and perhaps should have lost them the game. The Panthers overcame their own flawed game management once again to pull out a victory, but it’s fair to wonder how long this can be sustained. Carolina has only met Pittsburgh seven times. Steelers lead the record 6-1. Playing in Heinz Field is never easy. It can be loud and the fans are chaotic. The Steelers may not be hot right now, but Mike Tomlin’s teams are notorious for getting better as the season progresses. Defensively, things aren’t clicking yet for Pittsburgh and it’s a liability. However offensively Womens Donte Jackson Jersey , they’re doing really well. Ben Roethlisberger has shown he is still one of the best in the league. Second year receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has really emerged in the last few weeks. Against the Bucs, Smith-Schuster recorded his fourth consecutive 100-yard regular season receiving game. In the absence of Le’Veon Bell, James Conner has truly stepped up to the plate. So far, Conner is 1 of 3 NFL players with at least 200 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. The Panthers struggled against the run game against the Falcons. Conner could break out to be one of the best in the NFL and Panthers should keep an eye on him.
