Associated Press
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ó The days of three yards and a cloud of dust and fans yawning in the stands seem a distant memory when it comes to the new-look Carolina Panthers offense.
It took only one preseason game to realize new coach Ron Rivera was serious about the teamís ěaggressive, attacking styleî on offense which features a quick-strike mentality led by downfield passing game.
Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinskiís new scheme has just about everyone excited about the potential of this yearís offense, just one year after the Panthers finished last in the NFL in points scored, total yards and passing offense.
The Panthers scored 20 points in Saturdayís preseason opener against the New York Giants, something they accomplished only twice in 16 regular season games in 2010.
ěWith the positive running game that we are going to have with Jonathan (Stewart) and DeAngelo (Williams) and those guys, and the line blocking the way they have been blocking, itís going to open up big lanes down the field,î said rookie Cam Newton, the second quarterback off the bench behind Jimmy Clausen Saturday night. ěCoach calls it ëbig chunks,í chunks down the field, and thatís what this offense is about … big plays and keeping that foot on the gas.î
The tight ends, targets on eight of the teamís 30 passing plays Saturday night, will be a featured part of the offense this year.
Greg Olsen, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Bears two weeks ago, caught three passes for 58 yards including an 18-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Clausen on a seam route down the middle of the field.
ěThis offense is a fun offense to be a part of, especially for a tight end,î Olsen said. ěItís exciting. We are going to attack defenses and try to put them on their heels. We are going to go to the outside and move it around and do the things that we can do.î
Said Clausen: ěItís a down-the-field offense. Itís fun for the quarterbacks, the receivers and the tight ends. It puts a little pressure on the offensive line because they have to hold their protections a little longer.î
The Panthers are still trying to figure some things out on offense.
Although they have one of the deepest groups of running backs in the league and a veteran offensive line, they still need to find answers at wide receiver.
Veteran Steve Smith, sidelined for another week or so with a finger injury, will start at one spot but the Panthers lost David Gettis to a season-ending knee injury last week leaving the No. 2 receiver spot up grabs between last yearís third-round pick Brandon LaFell and free agent pickup Legedu Naanee.
There are other options behind them too.
Armanti Edwards had a nice game Saturday night returning punts and hauling in a 36-yard pass from Newton, while rookie Kealoha Pilares was impressive in his NFL debut turning a quick flare pass from Derek Anderson into a 35-yard touchdown with a nifty move on the outside to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Outside of a double reverse the Panthers didnít delve too deep into a complicated playbook which features all sorts of trick plays, including using Edwards, a college quarterback, in the Wildcat.
But that will come, center Ryan Kalil said.
ěWe still have a long ways to go,î Kalil said. ěThereís still a lot more in the playbook that we havenít put in. Weíre still in camp, and thatís usually what the preseason is about. Itís about trying things out, getting looks at certain things, and evaluating certain players.î
Newton was solid, although not spectacular in his rookie debut.
He led six offensive series with two of those culminating in field goals and finished 8 of 19 for 134 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He struggled in the red zone where he missed on all five pass attempts, but didnít make any big mistakes.
ěHe got down in the red zone and overthrew the ball a little bit,î Rivera said after Saturday nightís game. ěIf he delivers the ball with a little more pace on it, or inside, we may have had a touchdown. But he did a great job in the two-minute drill.î
Rivera said he wonít decide on whoíll be the starting quarterback in the regular season until after the third preseason game.
Olsen has been with some productive offenses in Chicago the past four seasons and feels like the Panthers have a lot of weapons on offense which makes them a dangerous team.
ěThe chemistry is good,î Olsen said. ěThey have a great staff that they have put together which has done a great job in the new system. Iíve been around some good teams and I think that this group has something special and has something going forward.î