Rushing attack work in progress for the Panthers
Ground game has been solid so far, will need to improve if team hopes to have playoff success
By Scott Folwler
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/209/story/269512.html
10/19/08 Carolina Panthers (34) running back DeAngelo Williams breaks through a hole as New Orleans Saints defenders (71) defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy and (58) linebacker Scott Shanle go for the tackle during fourth quarter action Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Saints 30-7. JEFF SINER - jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
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October 19, 2008; Charlotte, NC USA; Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart (28) works to get by New Orleans Saints safety Roman Harper (41) during the first half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-US PRESSWIRE
The Carolina Panthers don't run for fun. They run out of need. They run because their football lives depend upon it.
Carolina's entire offense is constructed around a single premise: Run the ball effectively and you will win games. Boring, yes, but true. The Panthers are 5-0 when rushing for more than 100 yards in 2008 and 0-2 when they have dipped below 100.
So are the Panthers a good enough running team to make the Super Bowl?
No. At least not yet.
Panthers coach John Fox calls the running game “sufficient.” Carolina now ranks 15th of 32 NFL teams in rushing yards per game. Its two tailbacks, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, have combined for nine total touchdowns this season (seven on the ground).
“Both our backs are averaging 4.0 a carry,” Fox said. “Would I like to be better? Sure. But it's not all bad.”
What the Panthers are doing now is OK for October. It would need to be jacked up in January, though, if the Panthers plan to do anything in the NFL playoffs.
Even the Panthers receivers know that this team gets lost if it can't run. Witness the 40- and 47-yard rushing outputs against Tampa Bay and Minnesota, which led to the team averaging only 6.5 points in those two defeats.
“The way our offense is really set up, it benefits us to run the ball,” receiver Muhsin Muhammad said. “Can it sustain over the long haul? I hope so.”
This is the first time in years the Panthers have had a real chance to be a Top 10 NFL running team.
They've only accomplished that once in Fox's tenure. Not coincidentally, that was the 2003 Super Bowl team.
This team doesn't have a consistent battering ram like Stephen Davis. But the passing game is respectable and the running-back tandem holds promise.
When receiver Steve Smith was talking about what the Carolina offense was known for after Sunday's 30-7 win against New Orleans, he started off saying: “The power running game with the 1-2 punch – the little guy and then the little guy.”
Smith, a little guy himself, knows one when he sees one. Williams is 5-foot-9 and Stewart is 5-10, but both are stout enough to take a hit. Stewart is the team's best goal-line back since Davis. Williams blazes to the corner.
“Those guys have great vision and they'll both hit the hole running,” offensive guard Travelle Wharton said.
There are several problem areas in the running game, however. The constant shuffle of the offensive line has been distracting. The team has started only one of seven games with its favorite five (from left to right – Jordan Gross, Wharton, Ryan Kalil, Keydrick Vincent and Jeff Otah).
That's the NFL, though. That won't change.
What should? Blocks need to be held a little longer. Rookie tackle Otah needs to get healthy and more dominating. Carolina needs to shake things up by running a real reverse instead of just faking one over and over. And the team's rush-per-carry average – 3.7 – needs to get out of the bottom third in the league, where it rests now.
All of that could happen. The Panthers finally have the tools.
I wouldn't like their chances of getting 100 rushing yards against Pittsburgh or the New York Giants right now.
But in a few months, they might be ready to do just that.
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