[August 08, 2011] Chef Chudzinski cooking up a threatening Panthers offense Tweet Aug 08, 2011 (The Charlotte Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Ask Rob Chudzinski, the 43-year-old given the baton and charged with orchestrating the Carolina Panthers' offense, which football coach first inspired him and he'll tell you it was Woody Hayes. That's a potentially shudder-inducing answer, given the former Ohio State legend's preference for keeping the ball in the belly of a running back and Hayes' cautionary words that only three things can happen when you throw a pass and two of them are bad. It's like a chef who dreams of only baking potatoes. "My philosophy has evolved a little over the years," says Chudzinski, who grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where Hayes and his Buckeyes set the parameters on how football should be played. Having worked with coaches from Jimmy Johnson to Butch Davis, Marty Schottenheimer to Norv Turner, Chudzinski -- 'Chud' to everyone who knows him -- has seen what offenses can do when they blend talent and imagination. It is not enough to play close games with a goal of winning in the fourth quarter, a pattern favored by former Panthers coach John Fox. Chudzinski and his boss Ron Rivera, who brought him to Charlotte from San Diego when he accepted the challenge of rebuilding the Panthers, believe football is best played with an aggressive offense, one that's quick to the line of scrimmage, plays to its strengths and isn't afraid to throw the ball downfield, often to the tight end. Think San Diego Chargers. They led the league in total offense last season and they're the model for what Chudzinski wants to create with the Panthers. Is Cam Newton another Phillip Rivers? Can tight ends Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen play the role of Antonio Gates? Could it be more different than what the Carolina offense was last season? "What's not different?" offensive tackle Jordan Gross said. "We're running a lot of the same plays because everybody in the NFL does, they just call it something different. We're really going to try to utilize all our weapons and put in some special packages for special players. "We don't care how we move the ball. We could run a hundred times, we could pass a hundred times. We just want to get in the end zone and move the football. I'm not saying we're going to score 60 points a game but we're sure going to try." Chudzinski, who played on national championship teams at Miami in 1987 and 1989, spent time in both Cleveland and San Diego before accepting Rivera's offer to become the Panthers' offensive coordinator, a title he held under Romeo Crennel at Cleveland in 2007-08. He spent the previous two seasons coaching tight ends in San Diego, refining his offensive philosophy while working alongside Turner, who is considered one of the game's most innovative offensive coaches. Chudzinski was being considered for the offensive coordinator position with the Chicago Bears before landing in Charlotte where he inherited an offense that was the NFL's most anemic last season. "He's meticulous and he wants to be good. Probably better said, he wants to be great," Rivera said. "I love his meticulous nature. I love how detail-oriented he is. I love that he asks questions and he thinks about the questions he wants to ask. He's very confident in his abilities." Without the benefit of offseason workouts and meetings to introduce his players to his scheme -- one in which play calls are based on a number system rather than code words -- Chudzinski is installing it on the fly during the preseason. "My philosophy is to have an attacking style offense. I think that's how you have to be offensively in this league. It's what I've always believed in," Chudzinski says. "But that can manifest itself in the run game, in the pass game. We're going to be aggressive and the vertical passing game is part of the background I've been in so that will hopefully be a part of it." Listen to Rivera talk and you'll hear him repeat the mantra of being aggressive and playing hard as the foundation of the new Panthers. It's the same with Chudzinski, who pushes the tempo during practice, teaching when the moment requires it while pushing the offense to create and maintain its own momentum. "He's a go-getter. He's got a plan and he's sticking to it," running back Jonathan Stewart said. Second-year quarterback Jimmy Clausen says the playbook is approximately the same size as the one he got from coordinator Jeff Davidson last year. This one, though, has more plays in it. "It's different," Clausen says. "It's more of a down the field type of passing game. It's going to be good for us." Turner says the offense he and Chudzinski believe in is built around the simple concepts of a powerful running game and the capability of making big plays in the passing game. From there, it's about being as good as possible in every phase of the offense with an emphasis on throwing the ball downfield. In his two most recent seasons with the Chargers, Turner said Chudzinski incorporated a number of wrinkles into the nuanced scheme, improving it. "Sometimes it can be a play or a situation," Turner says. "Sometimes it can be a group of plays. Just some new ideas and you keep trying to evolve. "Chud stays current. He knows what's going on in the league, and he works real hard at making sure you're different." To help the Panthers better understand the system they're learning, Chudzinski has carved up game tapes of the Chargers in action. The playbook tells them how to run a play, the video shows them how it looks. Rivera calls the video "invaluable." The evidence of Chudzinski's impact and influence was seen last winter when, before the lockout, the Panthers signed free agent tight end Jeremy Shockey. After years in which throwing to the tight end was almost an afterthought, Shockey's arrival signaled a change consistent with Chudzinski's beliefs. It was reinforced when the Panthers added another tight end, Greg Olsen, previously with the Chicago Bears. Add in Gary Barnidge and Ben Hartsock, another free agent acquisition, and the Panthers could carry four tight ends on their active roster during the season. "I've heard for eight years that we've never had a fun tight end to watch," Gross said. "Well, we've got our wish now, right?" Chudzinski believes the tight end position can create problems for defenses. "In this league, it comes down to matchups a lot of times," he says. "There are great receivers, great corners. But those tight ends inside are a tough matchup. "You put a linebacker on them. You put a safety on them. You see it becoming more and more popular to add those type of guys. They play almost as another receiver yet they can get in there and still block and get their nose dirty a little bit." It's another way of limiting defensive attention on receiver Steve Smith, who was ineffective by his standards last season. The biggest challenge is at quarterback where Clausen and rookie Cam Newton have one year of experience between them. Veteran Derek Anderson was brought in to help school the young quarterbacks but isn't likely to play significantly as the Panthers build for the future. Clausen has the advantage of having started 10 games last season. Newton has the physical advantage. "We're throwing a lot at them. We demand a lot," Chudzinski says. "It's all brand new. It's a brand new language, brand new terminology. They're having to learn the alphabet from A to Z." ROB CHUDZINSKI Age: 43 Title: Offensive coordinator Playing career: Tight end at Miami 1986-90, including national championship teams in 1987 and 1989. Coaching career: Assistant coach University of Miami 94-03, including three years as offensive coordinator. Cleveland Browns tight ends coach 2004 (five games as offensive coordinator) San Diego Chargers tight ends coach 2005-06 Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator 2007-08 San Diego Chargers assistant head coach and tight ends coach 2009-10 Quote: "We'll push the envelope as much as we can so we can see with these guys the possible things we can do with them." To see more of The Charlotte Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.charlotteobserver.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. 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