Thomas Brown defends calling runs out of shotgun on 4th-and-1

Panthers OC Thomas Brown was asked about his offense’s perceived lack of success out of the shotgun in short-yardage situations.

Carolina Panthers fans have been left dumfounded at nearly every turn of this merciless 2023 season. But they may be scratching their heads most when it comes to their offense’s dubious decisions to run the ball out of shotgun formations on fourth-and-1 . . .

Normally, if you’re trying to pick up one yard on the ground, a play from under center would suffice. As opposed to ones out of the shotgun, those runs take less time to develop and less space to account for.

So, on Thursday, Vashti Hurt of Carolina Blitz asked offensive coordinator Thomas Brown about the rationale behind the questionable approach.

“As you watch across the league, you watch third-and-1, our fourth-and-1, there’s a number of different options you have when it comes to being in the gun—whether it be a pass, an RPO,” he replied. “And to me, for us, it’s been less about that being an issue of why we haven’t been successful and more about an individual getting beat before the point of contact, getting knocked back in the backfield. Or, had a fourth-and-1 a few weeks ago, we had a receiver that was open and unfortunately kinda slipped and fell on the ground, which . . . you can’t really control that from that standpoint.

“But I think it’s gonna be a mix of us being able to put our guys in the best spot when it comes to understanding our gun from a gun standpoint to affect and attack a defense.”

Brown reclaimed play-calling duties starting in Week 13, following the dismissal of former head coach Frank Reich. Since then, he’s called exactly two runs out of shotgun on fourth-and-1—one that resulted in an 11-yard gain and another that was stuffed for nothing.

He then referenced their success on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 chances in Week 15’s loss to the New Orleans Saints.

“The New Orleans Saints were No. 1 in the NFL on third- and-fourth-and-1,” Brown added. “We had seven opportunities. We converted six. We missed one. And two of those were in the gun.”

Over his three weeks back in the saddle, Brown has dialed up 10 shotgun calls on third-and-1 or fourth-and-1 spots. The Panthers converted on four of their seven runs and one of their three passes.

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