This team needs to look at switching cmc to a Curtis Samuel 2020 type role next year.

[portcity]

I will say I would like to see him with more receiving touches and less running touches per game, which is in line with what the OP is saying. I don't like the Samuel comparison because they are not in the same league.  

[BlitzMonster]

I like the Julian Edelman comparison.   They are about the same size and shiftiness on the field.  

With his skill set, CMC could be one of the top slot receivers in the NFL.   The Panthers could also sprinkle in a few runs with him per game to keep the defense off-balance.   

The change would go a long way toward protecting the team's most valuable asset and getting the best long-term productivity from him.  

[frankw]

56 minutes ago, TheRumGone said:

Yeah I’m not understanding the hate on this post. Use him like a Percy Harvin/Julian Edelman/Curtis Samuel  type player. Run him out of the backfield a handful of times a game and work him out of the slot. He can lengthen his career this way, earn that huge contract and still do a lot of damage. His body is not holding up as a pure rb. The huddle has this weird fetish with cmc instead of looking at and understanding reality. That’s 4 injuries in the span of a year. That’s really fuging bad. You go to a committee and the coaching staff is still gonna run him into the ground. You go with hot hands. They won’t take him off the field. Injuries rinse and repeat.

There is an emotional connection in these McCaffrey discussions that hinders logic. You are not being at all unreasonable it makes sense. In fact if we pair that with a bruising type of rb in the backfield that would make our offense that more dynamic and potent. Even with CMC as talented as he is and at his usage rate we have had problems converting on short yardage downs. Last night we had to sandwich our quarterback in a pile just to get a yard for a score. We have a quality passing attack but we have to stop burying our heads in the sand over the run game. More creativity and less expectation of CMC being our whole offense is needed. Besides we saw the outcome of one playmaker shouldering the entire burden for years why are we so intent on repeating the same mistake? Gotta learn and adapt sooner or later.

[Moo Daeng]

Nah

[KatsAzz]

9 hours ago, iamhubby1 said:

Yeah, let's take the most productive player in the league. And limit his opportunities.

Or we can over use him like we are now and shorten what could be a long successful career. I admit i don't have the answer but the way we are using him now is a recipe for disaster.

[onmyown]

9 hours ago, iamhubby1 said:

Yeah, let's take the most productive player in the league. And limit his opportunities.

We’ve already done that running him into the ground.

I don’t think he should be used differently, but if your whole gameplan revolves around him, they need to pay the price and invest in a legitimate back up/rotational player that can at least fill his shoes so the whole offense doesn’t crumble in his absence. And no, that’s not a 4th round rookie.

Edited September 24, 2021 by onmyown

[BlitzMonster]

17 minutes ago, frankw said:

Even with CMC as talented as he is and at his usage rate we have had problems converting on short yardage downs. Last night we had to sandwich our quarterback in a pile just to get a yard for a score. 

Yeah, I really didn't like seeing Darnold almost get decapitated on that touchdown push.  

Both Darnold and CMC have had to make a number of short yardage plays so far this season.  What's needed is a bulldozer like FB/RB who can get those tough yards.   A player who's built for that kind of contact.  And somebody who's not so crucial to the team's overall offense.  So if they get banged-up in the pile, it won't impact the team's entire season. 

Why the Panthers aren't using Royce Freeman (at 238 lbs) in this role, I don't know.    

[Khaki Lackey]

5 minutes ago, Ace420 said:

You took alot of crap for this post, but I think you are right. 

I think we should draft a big bruising rb like Stewart, capable in his own right as a rb, and use cmc as a committee rb and sometimes as a slot wr. Let the bruiser handle short yardage and goal line duties.

There had to be a way to prolong his career and to utilize his skill set without running him into the ground. The day will soon come when cmc can no longer be relied on as a primary rb, but his skillet will still be too good for him to retire. If he can reduce the pounding he takes he will still have 4 or 5 productive years in this league as a slot wr.

Face it, if we don't do something to prolong him, he is going to be out of the league soon. What is the average shelf life of a rb these days? 6 years tops? Cmc is in year 4. We can get 4 or 5 more years of production out of him if we quit using him for what he isn't designed for and start using him as a weapon instead of a battering ram that isn't working anyway. Our oline can't give him the holes he needs, gotta find a different way to use him.

Exactly. Thanks for saving me the keystrokes.

[TheRumGone]

1 hour ago, Ace420 said:

Agreed. I think op was on point except for the bad comparison. I think we should use cmc as more of a west coast rb or slot wr and design plays for him to get YAC. 

 

I don’t think it’s a bad comparison. Samuel was always a hybrid runningback at osu that we tried to force into a strictly receiver role when we first drafted him. When we used him properly I.e. running back touches, screens and slot. Crucial 3rd down plays he got 1000k yards from scrimmage and 6 or 7 tds can’t remember. Like think of that terrace Marshall bubble screen we have been using. Use cmc in roles like that. Maybe Edelman or Harvin is a better comparison for people but Samuel isn’t far off.

[BlitzMonster]

10 minutes ago, Ace420 said:

Cmc needs the ball In space

This is the truth !

CMC is a special talent.  Get him the ball with some room and the guy can do magic. 

OP was right on the money suggesting CMC be used as a slot receiver.   He would excel in that role.  

[davos]

 

 

His legs are built as RB legs, not like Edelman and not like these trimmer college hybrids that turn into slot receivers.  He's built his NFL body to be a running back's body with fine tuning and care over time.  CMC is a very similar build to Myles Gaskin & Austin Ekeler, not Julian Edelman or Curtis Samuel.

And the thing is, you still want CMC on the field when healthy and he's going to go 150% every time whether he is blocking in the slot, running routes, etc. So is it really worth adjusting his role and all when he's going to be putting in the same effort and get the same % of snaps? This was non-contact.  1 of his bugs last year was non-contact.  So what are we really accomplishing versus just not using him on short yardage and bringing in Royce? 

I doubt they'll go for the hybrid approach RB/Slot that has been the dream for many.  I just don't see the staff doing that but it could be damn interesting to try if Hubbard is working out these next few weeks and CMC is on the mend and ready in 1-1.5 months (or less?) But I just doubt it and don't think it makes sense, neat thought though.

[TheRumGone]

8 minutes ago, davos said:

 

 

His legs are built as RB legs, not like Edelman and not like these trimmer college hybrids that turn into slot receivers.  He's built his NFL body to be a running back's body with fine tuning and care over time.  CMC is a very similar build to Myles Gaskin & Austin Ekeler, not Julian Edelman or Curtis Samuel.

And the thing is, you still want CMC on the field when healthy and he's going to go 150% every time whether he is blocking in the slot, running routes, etc. So is it really worth adjusting his role and all when he's going to be putting in the same effort and get the same % of snaps? This was non-contact.  1 of his bugs last year was non-contact.  So what are we really accomplishing versus just not using him on short yardage and bringing in Royce? 

I doubt they'll go for the hybrid approach RB/Slot that has been the dream for many.  I just don't see the staff doing that but it could be damn interesting to try if Hubbard is working out these next few weeks and CMC is on the mend and ready in 1-1.5 months (or less?) But I just doubt it and don't think it makes sense, neat thought though.

His body was not this way going into the nfl. I’m not saying he’s used hgh but it’s obvious that he’s formed his body to try to take this workload and he’s now on the 4th injury in 1 year. Doesn’t feel like he’s naturally built this way. If I’m the staff I’m telling him his role is going to be much different next year and he needs to hit off-season work outs to reflect the role change. 
 

if his role doesn’t change he’s gonna be washed shortly.

[PootieNunu]

12 hours ago, TheRumGone said:

The injuries are piling up. And before you say we don’t know how bad the hamstring injury is, it was enough to sit him for basically this entire game. Cmc is a freak of nature. If we want to get the most years out of him we need to get a full time rb who can handle a workload and use cmc primarily in the receiving game with a handful of rb touches a game. He can be one of the best slot receivers and his career will last much longer. 

I dont know why you got poo'd on so much for this post, it actually makes a lot of sense. 

If injuries were not a part of the game feed him the ball 40 times a game no problem. 

We have to find ways to move the ball which do not involve CMC and maybe this will help us out in the long run. 

[SammyFranchise]

13 hours ago, L-TownCat said:

I like the other theory that he got too big(strong).  Kind of like how if Bo Jackson wasn’t as strong as he was his hip injury wouldn’t have happened.

Injury prone, too strong, bad luck, who knows?

The way Christian Reacted to his injury was similar to how James Harden reacted to his hamstring injury in the NBA playoffs. There's no doubt in my mind part of the reason why James pulled that Hammy was because he was overweight. In Harden case that extra weight was fat. In Christians case the extra weight is all muscle.  Having more weight on a frame that shouldnt have that type of Mass on it can definitely lead to injury.