Do you want Christian McCaffrey returning punts?

[Pimpdaddy]

...I'm all for it, for a wrinkle in a close game...Edelman does it for the Pats...well, use to, wait...what.

[csx]

I've heard it explained by ex players is that kick returning is exactly what young elusive offensive players are supposed to be doing.

If he's good at it he needs to be doing it some. If he's getting a lot of offensive snaps then maybe not the entire load but certainly a good portion.

[Chaos]

 If you're scared, buy a dog. 

[TheRed]

Might as well at least give him some opportunities. Keep your options open.

[CRA]

Absolutely.  More touches the better.

Who is the goat of Pantherland? Pretty sure he returned punts early on too.  Can't be scared.  Let great players do what they do. 

Who is the best DB in NFL history? Pretty sure he returned too.  Lots of greats have played special teams 

by that logic Peppers shouldn't of blocked all those kicks.  Pointless risk.  Most kicks don't get blocked so why risk him on "pointless" downs 

[AceBoogie]

We've had players miss games from driving down the street, put him out there. You can't play this game fearing injury

[Cary Kollins]

Why not put him on kick return duty if he's gonna return punts?

[TooncestheDrivingCat]

Gut reaction when I saw the thread title?  No way!
After reading the thread... Absofrigginlutely Not.

I think giving an opposing player the opportunity to plow through our boy with a full head of steam is asking for problems.  No doubt in my mind, as the season progresses our opponents will have no solution to stop/contain him without leaving themselves exposed somewhere else on the field.  Therefore, as we saw with what Cam has endured, teams will take the Personal Fouls and Unsportsmanlike's (presuming the refs give a shat) if it means our sharpest, deadliest weapon isn't on the field.

PR/KR is a SINGULAR job; there is no confusion, there is no misdirection, no matchups to exploit, and there are no other receivers nor checkdowns.  Sure, the returner has some blocking, but...c'mon, man.  I watched the Jacksonville game, that's all I needed to see.  Put Samuel back there - he's got the speed, the juice....and he's not a once-in-a-generation type player.  Fragile? Perhaps.

So, who has the compilation of every preseason that play CMC ran a passing route?  Did he not separate and get open everytime?  Nobody can cover him. 
His Barry Sanders-like vision, footwork, and agility taking handoffs aside, there's just no way I'd use him on ST with that kind of magic happening with him on downs 1 through 3.

The possible gain is not worth the risk.

 

[CPcavedweller]

As a fantasy owner, yes. As a fan, absolutely fuging not. I would rather see Byrd or Clay  as they he showed promise during the preseason in that position. CMC is going to be too valuable to the offense to be put in a position where he could be injured on 5 yard punt return. Hell, even if he returned a punt for a TD and got rolled up on or injured in any way it wouldn't be worth it. 

[CPcavedweller]

11 minutes ago, TooncestheDrivingCat said:

Gut reaction when I saw the thread title?  No way!
After reading the thread... Absofrigginlutely Not.

I think giving an opposing player the opportunity to plow through our boy with a full head of steam is asking for problems.  No doubt in my mind, as the season progresses our opponents will have no solution to stop/contain him without leaving themselves exposed somewhere else on the field.  Therefore, as we saw with what Cam has endured, teams will take the Personal Fouls and Unsportsmanlike's (presuming the refs give a shat) if it means our sharpest, deadliest weapon isn't on the field.

PR/KR is a SINGULAR job; there is no confusion, there is no misdirection, no matchups to exploit, and there are no other receivers nor checkdowns.  Sure, the returner has some blocking, but...c'mon, man.  I watched the Jacksonville game, that's all I needed to see.  Put Samuel back there - he's got the speed, the juice....and he's not a once-in-a-generation type player.  Fragile? Perhaps.

So, who has the compilation of every preseason that play CMC ran a passing route?  Did he not separate and get open everytime?  Nobody can cover him. 
His Barry Sanders-like vision, footwork, and agility taking handoffs aside, there's just no way I'd use him on ST with that kind of magic happening with him on downs 1 through 3.

The possible gain is not worth the risk.

 

After seeing how teams began targeting Cam last season because they saw it as a means of taking him off his game, I'd also rather not allow a free shot at CMC for what should most often be an uneventful play. I was fine with Ginn because he could be replaced (though we will see about that because seasons without Ginn since he first came here haven't been pretty) if he was injured. CMC changes the entire dynamic of the offense.

Side note: That gif....is making me dizzy because there is no way that dude wouldn't be dizzy after shaking his head as many times as he has since I started typing this. 

[Popsickle]

21 minutes ago, CRA said:

Absolutely.  More touches the better.

Who is the goat of Pantherland? Pretty sure he returned punts early on too.  Can't be scared.  Let great players do what they do. 

Who is the best DB in NFL history? Pretty sure he returned too.  Lots of greats have played special teams 

by that logic Peppers shouldn't of blocked all those kicks.  Pointless risk.  Most kicks don't get blocked so why risk him on "pointless" downs 

So are you good with Cam running read option 15 times a game?

Starters playing more in preseason, to more reps? New evolved offense this year, more meaningful game speeds reps would not hurt.

Hell, I bet Cam would return kickoffs if they asked/let him. 

You know, because he is a player and all, they all are. 

There is a reason there are career special teams players (albeit, they are backups to starters), to fill those more risky and not as "important roles".

 TD, Luke, and KB are not out there on special teams plays all day, even though they can perform better than somebody that is on the field, because it's not worth the risk. They are vastly more important in their primary role and it's not worth the expended energy. 

The kid was a top 10 first round pick that ostensibly has the ability to be a game changer because of his ability to line up all over the field on offense.

You don't waste a pick like that on special teams, allow him to play and develop his role on offense. He was not an amazing punt returner in college, and he will be facing a significant increase in speed and talent, which would retard  his capabilities on returns regardless. 

[Cats Pride]

I can totally understand what everyone is saying for not playing McCaffrey as a Returner as it would risk more chance of injury. That totally makes sense. I have a question for all of you though and it is just a hypothetical question, but what if we go with Bryd and in the first 2 games he fumbles the ball and causes two TD's for the opponents. Would you rethink your position or even go deeper and try someone else who could have difficult? Just a question. 

[rayzor]

CMC on PR

Samuel on KR( when he gets 100%)

put the ball in the hands who can do the most damage.

[Popsickle]

9 minutes ago, Cats Pride said:

I can totally understand what everyone is saying for not playing McCaffrey as a Returner as it would risk more chance of injury. That totally makes sense. I have a question for all of you though and it is just a hypothetical question, but what if we go with Bryd and in the first 2 games he fumbles the ball and causes two TD's for the opponents. Would you rethink your position or even go deeper and try someone else who could have difficult? Just a question. 

What if CMC does the same but the second fumble is a result of some ligaments in his knee being blown out  and is out for a year and possibly not the same player he was before? 

A great special teams unit prevents big plays from happening! That is what we need.  

Like most things in life, football is about mitigating risk, and capitilizing on opportunity. CMC returning punts does not jive with that, he could/will be more valuable getting additional touches and snaps on offense.