It is (waaay past) time for Mike Shula to go

[Thanatos 2,847]

I'm copy-pasting this from a dude on the Panthers forum, because he puts it perfectly with actual analysis.

 

Mike Shula is one of the worst OCs on the planet. He calls a playaction pass on that final drive against Seattle with :42 left on your own 23. He calls a screen on 4th and 25. There are a myriad of reasons, and he lays them out one after the other.

 

Today was a prime example of why Shula is a major thorn in the offense's ass. Let's go over the reasons why he should no longer have a job here.

First of all, whenever we call a pass play it is not only long developing, there is hardly ever a safety valve for Cam. There is no receiver or RB underneath to help bail Cam out when no one is open and/or the offensive line collapses. The result is Cam trying to do too much and make something out of nothing. It also gets our QB hit because he has no where to throw the ball.

When our offensive line is having a bad game, Shula insists on his patented long developing pass plays that results in sacks and/or QB taking another hit. He refuses to call screens, slants, or short curl routes in these situations.

Timing. Shula has terrible timing. 99% of the time he calls the wrong plays at the wrong time. When the offense needs a spark, he continues being overly conservative. When he sees the D playing well, he seizes the opportunity to become as conservative as possible. Runs up the middle. Sweep toss runs. WR screen passes. I mean we didn't have a huge lead today, yet Shula was calling plays as if we were up by 30. How many times on 3rd and 1 have we seen Shula call for a long pass play? How many times have we seen on 2nd or 3rd and long and we call a RB screen pass or draw? Shula has no capacity whatsoever when to call the right plays at the right time.

Shula also has trouble adjusting or just flat our refuses to. When runs up the middle do not work, most offensive coordinators would try something different. Not Shula. That only means he needs to call 20 more runs up the middle. Screw running outside the tackles. Shula has a point to make. No one knows what that point is, but he is going to make it.

Shula also turns away from what is working. If Olsen is setting defenses on fire, expect more runs. If the run game is going well, expect more passes. Btw, where was Olsen today? Why was he not targeted more? What happened to those play calls to Olsen that helped out our offense?

Red Zone play calling. All through out last season and this season, Shula has had a terrible time calling plays that results in TDs. This can also go along with his inability to call the right plays at the right time. He often turns into utter crap in the red zone even after calling rare great drives.

Overall, Shula can not be counted on. He can not help us out in crucial situations. He is bullheaded for such a crappy coordinator. If we are struggling, expect to see more of the same instead of something different. He does not know how to mix it up and keep defenses on their toes. His play calling is very predictable and plain. So I ask, what is the point of keeping him around? Consistency? Well if we want to consistently suck on offense then we are doing a damn good job.

Edited October 26, 2014 by Thanatos19