Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

[HeathyT]

Carolina Panthers Offensive Coordinator Jeff Davidson has announced that he will be leaving the Panthers for personal matters. Head Coach John Fox spoke at a press conference saying how Jeff "is a family man, and I would do the same in his situation."

Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Heath Thomas is the favourite to replace Davidson. Charlie Weis and John Fox are good friends and one has to think that Weis will put in a good word for Thomas.

Thomas began his career in the NFL as a QB coach with the New York Jets in 1998, where he was mentored by then OC Charlie Weis, who Thomas followed to New England (as QB Coach) untill after the 2004 season (after the Superbowl) Weis left the Patriots to become the Head Coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Thomas was considered a favourite to replace weis as OC in New England but went to Notre Dame with Weis as OC.

[HeathyT]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

Thomas to the Panthers

Breaking News. Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Heath Thomas has officially been named the new Offensive Coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, ending much speculation.

Adam Schefter - NFL Network


What does the the hiring of Thomas mean for the Panthers offence?

With the hiring of Heath Thomas as offensive coordinator for the Panthers, thinks are sure to be different on offence. As most Panther fans are learning more about Thomas, lets take a look at what the hiring of Thomas mean for the Panthers.

The Fit: John Fox is a defensive minded head coach, and will need someone to call plays on offence. Thomas doens't have the most experience as a play caller as Charlie Weis called most of the plays at Notre Dame, but Thomas is a very creative playcaller as we have seen in games against USC and Michigan. It seems like Thomas will have control of the offence, and this may seem like a good thing, but Thomas has a tendency to be over agressive with his play calling at times. John Fox will have to keep a leash so to speak.

Thomas is highly ambitious and will likely see this as a stepping stone to becoming a head coach somewhere in the NFL. Thomas may use the Panthers to show how he can turn around offenses, which makes some people think if he is succesful bring the offence back, will he be after John Fox's job?

Playcalling: From a playcalling standpoint, we might have to get used to an over agressive style of game management, Thomas comes from the school of Charlie Weis where there will be some questionable playcalls where this situation doesn't call for it, hopefully a strong coach like Fox will keep a young agressive coach like Thomas from making too many questionable calls.

As for the actual system the Panthers offence will probably look similar to the one if New England that was setup by Weis. Thomas does like to get an effective run game going as most deep passes come off play action. The standard passing will mostly be short/intermediate routes. The key is taking advantage a defences agressivness. When the defence gets over agressive they will look foolish when we run a screen, if they aren't respection the run, we will be pounding it inside, if they are agressive on the run we will go play action and throw it over the top of the defence.

Personnel:

QB: In Thomas' system the quarterback doens't need to make all the plays, and throw downfield often. The quarterback just needs to throw a lot of short/intermediate routes, and play action, not too much will be asked of the position, as the ball should be out fairly quickly. Thomas will likely setup an offence where the quarterback is comfortable.

Running Back: The running back position is fairly tricky, it will be hard to see where DeAngelo Williams fits into this system because he is different to the backs we usually see coming from the Thomas/Weis system. While the system isn't married to a ball control offence, it does rely on a solid running game to keep the linebackers honest. It is more suited for a smashmouth running style as opposed to an outside running attack. Expect Thomas to find a way for Williams to work in the system.

WR: At the wide receiver position Thomas seems to like sure-handed receivers. Typically he will have 1 big receiver complimented by a smaller possetion receiver with decent but not unbelievable speed. The Panthers sort of have this in Mushin Muhammad (although he is getting on in age) and Steve Smith. I believe that Smith will likely play in the slot as in Thomas' system the slot receiver should have speed (but not blazing), great hands and be a flawless route runner, which fits the mould of Smith quite well.

TE: At tight end Thomas is going to want guys who can roll out and cover short ground, which it doesn't seem that the Panthers have athletic enough TE's to do this well. However the TE must be able to block effecively in the run game (and something in the pass) so Jeff King and Dontae Rosario would do an alright job there.

Offensive Line: As far as protection. The system requires good blockers to keep the quarterback upright. However because the system relies on punishing defenders for being overagressive alot of blocking issues can be resolved through creative playcalling. The interior lineman must be well suited to run blocking.

Overall it should be interesting to see if Heath Thomas can bring the Panthers offence back to life this season.

Brian Strickland - Panthers.com

[HeathyT]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

The Following Players have received the "Franchise Tag":

Panthers: Jordan Gross T
Bears: Lance Brings LB
Bengals: Justin Smith DE
Patriots: Randy Moss WR
Titans: Albert Haynsworth DT
Saints: Jeff Faine C
Seahawks: Marcus Trufant CB
Cowboys: Flozel Adams T
Steelers: Alan Faneca G
Cardinals: Karlos Dansby LB
Giants: Lawrence Tynes

I don't think i've ever seen this many teams use the franchise tag at once

[HeathyT]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

Around the League:

The Panthers have cut DT Damione Lewis in what is likely a salary cap move. The Panthers have also signed G Jake Scott to a 4 year 23 million dollar deal with a $3.5 million signing bonus.

[HeathyT]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

THE NFL DRAFT
ROUND 1

1. Dolphins - Jake Long T Michigan
2. Rams - Vernon Gholston DE/OLB Ohio State
3. Falcons - TRADE - Ravens - Darren McFadden HB Arkansas
4. Raiders - Glenn Dorsey DT LSU
5. Chiefs - Chris Long DE Virginia
6. Jets - Keith Rivers OLB USC
7. Patriots - Leodis McKelvin CB Troy
8. Falcons (from Ravens) - Matt Ryan QB Boston Coll.
9. Bengals - Sedrick Ellis DT USC
10. Saints - TRADE - Broncos - Jerod Mayo OLB Tennessee
11. Bills - Derrick Harvey DE Florida
12. Saints (from Broncos) - Joe Flacco QB Delaware (end of Brees era?)
13. Panthers - TRADE - Cowboys - Felix Jones HB Arkansas
14. Bears - Duane Brown T Virginia Tech
15. Lions - Dominique Cromartie CB Tennessee St.
16. Cardinals - Ryan Clady T Boise St
17. Chiefs - Mike Jenkins CB UCF
18. Texans - Dustin Keller TE Purdue
19. Eagles - TRADE - Patriots - Rashard Mendenhall HB N. Illinois
20. Bucks - Aqib Talib CB Kansas
21. Redskins - TRADE - Bears - Jeff Otah T Pittsburgh
22. Panthers (from Cowboys) - Branden Albert G/T Virginia
23. Steelers - Gosder Cherilus T Boston Coll.
24. Titans - John Carlson TE Notre Dame (ND TE University)
25. Seahawks - TRADE - Bills - Antoine Cason CB Arizona
26. Jaguars - TRADE - Steelers - Philip Merling DE Clemson
27. Chargers - Kentwan Balmer DT N. Carolina
28. Cowboys - Devin Thomas WR Michigan St.
29. 49'ers - TRADE - Bucks - Chris Johnson HB E. Carolina
30. Packers - Chris Williams T Vanderbuilt
31. Giants - Kenny Philips S Miami
32. Dolphins - TRADE - Browns - Lawrence Jackson DE USC

[HeathyT]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

Panthers Draft Picks

2/43 - Calais Campbell DE Miami
2/61 - Desean Jackson WR California
3/67 - Tom Zbikowski S Notre Dame (had to take him, was awesome in college)
3/74 - David Hale G Webster St
4/119 - Athya Rubin DT Iowa St
6/175 - John Suliban C Notre Dame
6/189 - Carl Stweart FB Auburn
7/206 - Alexis Serna K Oregon St

UFA:

Tony Bake DE
Jeremy Lehman LB
DeJuan Tribble CB
Eric Baker DE
Hank Smithers DT

Free Agents:

CB Ty Law 1 year $1 million
FB Dan Kreider 1 year $1 million

K John Kasay traded to the Patriots for a 2009 3rd and 7th

[Mike3207]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

What did you trade the 13 overall pick for?

[HeathyT]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

What did you trade the 13 overall pick for?

The 22nd pick a 2nd round and a 6th round (from memory) didn't really get much but it was my best offer because i knew i could get Albert lower in the draft i took the offer

[HeathyT]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

Panthers Pre Season:
(simmed)

Week 1 Vs Giants
34-7 Loss

Week 2 @ Eagles
30-16 Loss

Week 3 Vs Redskins
22-20 Loss

Week 4 @ Steelers
28-13 Loss

0-4 Pre-Season

[HeathyT]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

Update: The Panthers have signed free agent TE Anthony Fasano. Fasano who was recently cut by the Cowboys came from Notre Dame and is familiar with the scheme that Offensive Coordinater Heath Thomas runs in Carolina.

I will be skipping a bunch of stuff I would normally write, and just jump into depth chart and week 1 and hurry things up a bit

[HeathyT]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

Depth Chart:

Offence:

WR1: Steve Smith, Desean Jackson, Ryne Robinson
LT: Branden Albert, Travelle Wharton
LG: David Hale, Andrew Crummey
C: Ryan Kalil, John Sulivan
RG: Jake Scott, Roy Schuening
RT: Jordan Gross, Frank Omiyale
TE: Anthony Fasano, Jeff King, Dante Rosario
WR2: Muhsin Muhammad, Dwayne Jarrett
FB: Dan Kreider
HB: Carl Stewart, DeAngelo Williams, Chauncey Washington
QB: Jake Delhomme, Matt Morre

DEFENCE:

LE: Julius Peppers, Charles Johnson, Eric Baker
DT: Ma'ake Kemoeatu, Hank Smithers
DT: Athya Rubin, Keith Jackson
RE: Calais Campbell, Tony Bake, Eric Baker
LOLB: Thomas Davis, James Anderson
MLB: Jon Beason, Jeremy Leman, Clint Kriewaldt
ROLB: Na'ail Diggs, Tim Shaw
LCB: Chris Gamble, Ken Lucas, Richard Marshal
FS: Nate Saley, Will Jordan
SS: Tom Zbikowski, Chris Harris
RCB: Ty Law, DeJuan Tribble

Special Teams

K: Stephen Gostowski, Alexis Serna
P: Jason Baker
KR: Ryne Robinson, DeAngelo Williams
PR: Desean Jackson, Ryne Robinson

Update: DE Julius Peppers will be out 2-5 Weeks with a Hernia and CB DeJuan Tribble will be out for 4-9 Weeks with a strained hamstring

Calais Campbell will move to LDE while Peppers is injured

[HeathyT]

Re: Rebuilding an Offence - Madden Head Coach 09

Due to Freezing issues, I was unable to play Week 1 @ Chargers si I simmed it and we lost 27-30 Delhomme was an interception machine, we couldn't run the ball, and on defence couldn't stop LT. Hopefully things will improve as the season goes on.