Not activating CAP yesterday is baffling

[thennek]

I suspect it has something to do with blitz pickups.  I'm thinking CAP is missing assignments.  I remember early in D. Williams career he struggled with assignments and blitz pickups.....and the Panthers consistently started Foster instead, much to our dismay.  The Panthers need to protect their #1 guy, and if a RB can't do it properly he is not going to play.  Of course this is only speculation but we will soon find out because it does not look like #28 will be healthy for Sunday. 

[panthers55]

Now if Cap isn't activated this week then I would be very worried.

[KillerKat]

2 minutes ago, panthers55 said:

Now if Cap isn't activated this week then I would be very worried.

Rivera said he's going to be the lead back. Ron baffles me sometimes.

[panthers55]

Just now, KillerKat said:

Rivera said he's going to be the lead back. Ron baffles me sometimes.

Seems to me that Fozzy has earned the start although he seems to be the change of pace back which does better once the defense starts to tire out. So they might like CAP better between the tackles.

[rico6]

Yeah, I don't ever see Ron being a coach that regularly rotates players on game days for match up purposes ala Belichek.

 

Flexible is definetly a word not in Rivera's dictionary.

[rainwater]

2 hours ago, rico6 said:

Yeah, I don't ever see Ron being a coach that regularly rotates players on game days for match up purposes ala Belichek.

Really? I think the Panthers rotate players on defense more than about anybody (especially players in the secondary).

[rico6]

1 minute ago, rainwater said:

Really? I think the Panthers rotate players on defense more than about anybody (especially players in the secondary).

I'm solely speaking of offense just fyi.

[d-dave]

18 hours ago, tiger7_88 said:

1. No, you're not wrong.

2. Cameron Artis-Payne isn't a rookie.

3. If Stewart is out for a significant amount of time, who DO you think we can trust at running back?  Using your standard of "proven carries", I'm assuming your answer would be Tolbert?  Because if you are consistent, your answer sure as hell can't be Whitaker, since the heaviest workload he's ever had in a single season is 32 rushes, a number that CAP exceeded in his rookie year (45).

4. If your answer is Tolbert, I think that would be a horrible choice.

Nah, I don't think I'd trust Tolbert.  His best years are behind him.

Please don't take what I say seriously.  I'm only discussing as an arm-chair football fan who lacks an arm chair.

If the coaches say CAP's the answer, then he is.  CAP's not a rookie, but he didn't have a ton of play his rookie year. My concern is the lack of experienced RBs behind Stewart.  Fozzy is in his 4th year in the NFL, so he's got some experience, but he's not a full time starter.  Tolbert is too old, too heavy and slow to be effective.  Leaving us with a 2nd year guy.

I guess I do miss the old days of having two starting quality RBs.  My hope is CAP shows us he's ready and he kicks butt!

[RealBitsOfPanther]

The coaching staff has more trust in Fozzy than CAP at this point. 

[Jeremy Igo]

3 hours ago, RealBitsOfPanther said:

The coaching staff has more trust in Fozzy than CAP at this point. 

That doesn't explain why CAP will the the #1 guy this Sunday, according to Rivera. 

 

[uncfan888]

CAP more closely replicates Stewart. So he'll start in Stewart's spot and fozzy will provide a change of pace. They'll both get plenty of touches, I'd assume 

[Hogmolliesmaht]

8 hours ago, rico6 said:

I'm solely speaking of offense just fyi.

How many more players can he rotate in on offense? He uses just about every active player, including back up O-linemen on some running plays. Bersin was about the only offensive player who didn't get any action on Sunday. Fuzzy would have played some even if Stewart had not gone out of the game.

[RealBitsOfPanther]

36 minutes ago, Jeremy Igo said:

That doesn't explain why CAP will the the #1 guy this Sunday, according to Rivera. 

 

 

29 minutes ago, stbugs said:

I'm not sure I agree with this. Rivera has been pretty blunt about Fozzie being the #2 guy, which means he's the first in line for backup duties when the starter gets hurt. They don't see him as the #1 guy. That's what happened at the end of last year, when Stewart was out (inactive), CAP got the bulk of the touches and Fozzie was his #2.

I think Rivera/Shula have 3 RB positions for each game, which is Stewart or CAP at the #1, Fozzie at the #2/COP/3rd down back and Tolbert as the #3/Tolbert package. The 3 RBs have a clear plan of how they are used. I don't think there is any lack or trust/more trust in either guy, just different roles.

That said, I'd love to see us mix it up a bit. I think we'd keep Cam cleaner with more of a quick outlet RB like Fozzie (or Cook/McCaffery in 2017). I saw too many plays where Stewart chipped guys (sometimes freeing them up from a good block) in Denver and never made the jump to the outlet where we could get an easy 5-10 yards based on how the D was so much more worried about Cam escaping the pocket than a RB pass.

Fair.. I'll hush now. Lol 

[Mr. Scot]

1 hour ago, Jeremy Igo said:

That doesn't explain why CAP will the the #1 guy this Sunday, according to Rivera. 

 

Said it elsewhere: Fozzy is a great number two / change-of-pace back, but not well suited to be a workhorse.

Style-wise, Cameron Artis-Payne is a virtual clone of Stewart. Moving him into the starting role while keeping Fozzy doing what he does best makes perfect sense.