a closer look at the rookie duck

[nosuchthingasapanther]

now that the regular season is over...

184 carries for 836 yards (4.5 ypc), 10 touchdowns, 2 fumbles (1 lost)

the good

he's tied with tim hightower of arizona for first place for rookie rushing touchdowns.

kinda cool.

he's broken fred lane's franchise rookie rushing and touchdown record.

cool.

as a matter of fact, he's accumulated more yards and touchdowns than any RB's first year with carolina (rookie and/or free agent/trade) that isn't named stephen davis. his 4.5 ypc is matched by davis and bested only by anthony johnson (4.6).

not bad for someone who missed almost and entire offseason.

the bad

i'm not so sure you can call anything bad...probably a more appropriate tag would be rookie quirks.

even though he's admitted that the game has slowed down for him, stewart seems to sometimes be impatient. on many occasions he's run into the backs of his blockers.

when he does run out of blockers, he makes contact with...well...everyone.

while it does make for good highlight material, it would only do him good to put forth more of an effort to make people miss rather than make them his door mat.

overall, i think he just tries to do too much with the opportunities he gets. you can sometimes see the frustration in his body language on the field...especially when he pounds the turf with his fist after he's been brought down.

once he settles down, he going to be a bigger beast then he already is.

[SorthNarolina]

he has good vision and trusts his blockers but yeah he can be a little impatient like all rookie RBs, that should be mostly gone by next year

I'd like to see him smack people a little more, but that doesn't seem to be his kind of style, he never really lays anybody out, it's just an unstoppable force...more like a tsunami than a tidal wave

[megadeth078]

Well, it's not like we expect him to regress as he gains experience....

Him running right through people is his style, and it's working. It's not like that's all he does, but when he can run through people, why not? I can't wait to see how he plays when the pro game actually starts slowing down for him because I too find it hard to believe that it's slowed down already. Either way, we have these two back again next season, and they will be dangerous again, hopefully more so.

[House]

I would like to see Stewart pack on about 10-15 more lbs. I know that he is already a hoss but with his running style it would help him out in the longevity department. I think with his body type it wouldn't compromise his speed at all to add the wieght.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

Him running right through people is his style, and it's working. It's not like that's all he does, but when he can run through people, why not?

longevity and an increase in production.

yes he can run thru people, he just shouldn't try to run thru everyone all the time.

a perfect example is the tampa bay game.

i believe it's the same run where he damn near chokeslams barber. he gets to the outside and has 2 blockers and 3 defenders in front of him (i don't remember who they were. i no longer have the game saved).

touchdown is what i'm saying to my self...all he has to do is allow the 2 blockers to engage 2 of the defenders and he can simply victimize the last defender.

...because NOBODY tackles this kid one on one.

instead, he cuts to the middle of the field away from his blockers and takes on all 3 defenders by himself.

don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to bash the kid. i'm probably his biggest fan.

i'm just anxious to see him produce on the level i believe he's capable of.

[monstercat]

If he does the same work out that D-Will does this coming off season, I expect to see a much improved Stewart next year, which is scary for the rest of the NFC South.

Hopefully, Williams will help him get into the play book and understand the concepts better too, because that's the most important thing Williams did to step up his game this year. He's probably already doing that, but you have to believe that it will all start to really come together after he's gotten a season under his belt.

[thefuzz]

For a rookie, he played very well.

The hardest thing for them to learn is patience, and pass blocking. Both will come with a full offseason, and being healthy for camp.

[mantal]

What I remember is sitting at the bar watching the game last weekend and hearing fans of other teams saying how great the running game of the Panthers is, it was beautiful...

[ShutDwn]

The physical part of the game was no problem for him. He will only get better as he is more intune with the offense as time goes on.

He and DeAngelo are just awesome.

[damo md panthers fan]

I love his running style (physical), but i just don't want to see him end up like Cadillac Williams. He use to run aggressive every down and now he can't last a full game. I love this kid, and want hime to last the entire five year contract. he's got the speed to run around defenders and the strength to beat their heads in. Try to utilize both.

[scpanther22]

i would like to see him cut back more.stew just goes in the hole and runs over people.that play style will not work all the time.

[o803oVaDeR]

Who thinks he will end up better than D.Will? I really think he has the potential to be a better RB. I know it is hard to imagine with the breakout year D.Will is having, but I think with a few more years, a few more pounds, and a little more wieght training, Stew could be one of the best.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

Who thinks he will end up better than D.Will?

i do...but to even think such a thing around here is blasphemy.