I know this is a hypothetical question. How much would this offense change with KB?

[KB_fan]

It's interesting this year that Cam is throwing so much deeper.  Our passing yards/attempt and yards/completion are much higher than the 2014 averages. 

I wonder how much of that is Ginn & Philly's speed, and even Funchess too...  So, in some measure our passing game has improved because of the change in type of receivers we have.

The offensive prowess and the 28.3 points per game this season is really a huge surprise due largely to the improved O Line and Cam's maturation and his leadership of the offense, taking control of the play calling so often now.  It's amazing to watch.

I truly miss KB's circus catches and his shining personality.  Wish he could be a part of this amazing season, but excited to think of the potential next year for our offense to be truly dominant.

[panthers55]

I went on the Redskins site to see if there was any intelligent conversation although I wasn't signing up and destroy the good juju. Yeah I said it, why tempt the fates. Haven't talked any poo all year and we are undefeated. Last year I signed up on several sites and look what happened. Stopped in week 12 and looked what happened.

I digress. On their site was an interview with Rivera who was being questioned about Cams growth and he said that because KB went down it forced Cam to learn his progressions and find the open man since he didn't have a dominant receiver when teams doubled Olsen. It seems to me that Cam has really progressed this years going through his reads and knowing where everyone is going to be on every play. He plays with confidence in the offense and makes smart decisions. The silver lining to losing KB this year? Everyone else had to step up and elevate their game. Ginn may not be a number 1 receiver but he is doing it anyway and having some success. Imagine how effective he will be next year when KB comes back and he gets the 2 or 3 corner. Look at Philly and Funchess and imagine them alternating from the slot to outside receiver. This offense is only going to get better although it is pretty good right now. Maybe the question should  change from how would the offense change if we had KB to whether Cam would have made this kind of growth if he had KB. Would he look for Olsen and just chuck it to KB figuring he is mismatch on anybody. Or does he do what he is doing now which is looking through his reads and going long because he has the time to chuck it deep with an improved OLine.

[Ivan The Awesome]

7 hours ago, TheWiz said:

I actually agree with the premise that we would not have been better collectively this year. I think KB's injury put pressure on the other receivers to step up. I think it also has played a role in Cam's maturation as a QB. 

Even Carolina fans started believing that Cam HAD to have receivers over 6'3 to succeed. I believe KB's injury was a huge blessing. I think it influenced the way Shula called the game. I think it forced Cam to spread the ball around more. And ultimately, I think its going to make KB better. 

It has to KILL Kelvin to see his team doing this well without him. But with the receiving core becoming more reliable this year... it means that next year... our offense is going to rank even higher in points scored. There are literally too many mismatches on the field at one time. You cant double Olsen, KB, then you dont account for the speed of Corey/ Ginn and the athletic ability of Devin's 6'4 frame. 

So not only are we better this year because of KB's injury... we will be much better when he returns.  

 

 

Wish we could still put comments as answers, this is the best answer. 

[Frizzy350]

To be honest I've never seen Cam as a guy who focuses in too much on any one receiver, with the exception of his first few NFL games with Smith.  To me, it seemed Smitty baited Cam into 2 picks in his second start against Greenbay.  Ever since then, Cam generally tries to just get it to the first open read in his progression -> If nothing is open either run for your life or force the ball onto your best matchup (Olsen vs a slow LB, KB vs a shorter corner, etc).

I think with KB out there Stewart would actually benefit most.  KB is an absolute animal of a blocker (Panthers fans are well accustomed to great blocking WRs, which we kind of lack right now) - he absolutely man-handles corners and can crash inside to seal the edge vs LBs and some Dlinemen.

We'd definitely have more success in the red zone like Fizz pointed out.  I think he'd account for another 6 or so points per game, simply because he can flip what would be a relatively easy field goal into a TD.

That said our biggest problem this year has been drops, even with us having that cleaned up recently.  There is no guarantee Kelvin wouldn't be dropping the ball as well.  I believe he will clean up his drop problem, but there is no way for us to know if he's addressed that properly or not as of this moment.

[Servant of Cthululelei]

Honestly, I think the argument can be made that this team wouldn't be undefeated right now if KB hadn't gone down.  I am NOT saying that KB is bad or makes the team worse, but like OP, I think Cam having his safety blanket removed DID force him to put all his skills to the test.  And he's passed with flying colors.  Had KB been around in some of those tight games at the beginning of the season, I think it's likely that Cam pulls the trigger on a contested pass to KB and it could have cost us.  Would it have?  Maybe, maybe not.  But it certainly could have.

Now all that being said, I think getting KB back next year will be a huge boon.  Cam has elevated his game, and getting his best weapon back will definitely improve the team.  I just think having it taken away for awhile might have made him better.  Again, Cam has put in all the work.  He deserves all the credit for his fantastic play this year.  We can never know if this evolution of Cam would've played out the same with Benjamin around as a failsafe option.  I think it probably does, but as I said above, there's a significant chance teams would've keyed on Benjamin in critical situations, and it might've cost us a game or two.

[Gregg S]

8 hours ago, Day_One said:

is it possible KB will be back for the superb owl?  

Nope, none.  It's against the rules.  He's on IR, meaning he can not play for the rest of this season.  Only one player  per team per season can be designated as IR/return and for us this year it is Charles Johnson.

[Frizzy350]

8 hours ago, Day_One said:

is it possible KB will be back for the superb owl?  

Even if it was possible would you really want to risk it?

I'd rather play it safe.  He's too valuable to risk aggravating it for next year or his career.  Especially since we've seen how good we are even without him.

[Pimpdaddy]

...I just hope he comes back next year as good as he was last year....then we'll find the answer to this question.

[pantherclaw]

Being without KB has been a blessing, as this offense has really stepped up in his absence. 

With KB, the offense will be more explosive (big plays), and harder to stop (converting 3rd downs, which has been a problem this year). 

This doesn't even mention the redzone. 

That being said, there are injuries every year.  We'll have to over come different injuries next season.  This season has also shown the team that they can overcome injuries, even to key players.

[mav1234]

I know this is a hypothetical question, but how much would this defense change without Thomas Davis? :P

[Mistuh Jones]

Like others have said, I think this has been a huge year for Cam's development because the fact he didn't have KB, his progressions have improved. I believe he is paying even closer attention to defenses pre-snap(that coupled with his loosening of the reins by Shula and Rivera) because of the necessity to spread it around, has paid dividends. With the addition of KB and whomever else we pick up, its gonna get silly next year. Point blank. 

[Jangler]

We would be scoring 10 more points a game at least. It seems like Cam has not forced many passes this season and really don't think he would be doing it with KB.

[kornicova]

8 hours ago, mav1234 said:

I know this is a hypothetical question, but how much would this defense change without Thomas Davis? :P

Sarcastic or not I think that is also pretty interesting question. I think we are all pretty certain that Shaq is here to be TD Jr, but he probably isn't quite ready yet.

And that is not even touching on the fire and intensity of TD. That guy cannot bring himself to get beat and he wont allow anyone else on the team to even consider the possibility. His leadership is going to be a huge loss when he does eventually hang up the cleats. Personally I dread the day when 58 is not running around yelling "Protect Our Dirt!"

[pantherclaw]

1 hour ago, kornicova said:

Sarcastic or not I think that is also pretty interesting question. I think we are all pretty certain that Shaq is here to be TD Jr, but he probably isn't quite ready yet.

And that is not even touching on the fire and intensity of TD. That guy cannot bring himself to get beat and he wont allow anyone else on the team to even consider the possibility. His leadership is going to be a huge loss when he does eventually hang up the cleats. Personally I dread the day when 58 is not running around yelling "Protect Our Dirt!"

This makes me recall how the forum was after TD's third ACL. Most just couldn't grasp why Richardson and company, would continue to stick by Davis. 

Now, nobody questions it.