Excellent In-Depth NFL.com Article On Our Running Game

[Rubi]

Thunder cats hooo

[ed bell]

All about doing whatever we want, whenever we want.....it's a theme Rivera expressed early on, and they have improved the tools to do it with.

[L-TownCat]

Thunder cats hooo

This is a nickname worth pondering....

Judges??!!!!!!!

[CRA]

I always LOL at fans that calm we're no longer a running team.

In 2011, RBs carried the ball only 307 times.

Name the last time our RBs had fewer? Name 4 NFL teams whose RBs carried it less last year.

We are a Cam Newton offense. The RBs are complimentary role players now.

[joemac]

Yea, but or QB ran it over 100 times too....so that doesnt really apply. Add in Cams runs with the RBs, and im sure were right up near the top in attempts.

[CRA]

Yea, but or QB ran it over 100 times too....so that doesnt really apply. Add in Cams runs with the RBs, and im sure were right up near the top in attempts.

Running teams, line up and pound the ball.

Cam Newton ran almost every carry out of a passing formation. Stewart also had a heavy percentage out of passing formations in the spread option shotgun. We ran very well. It was easy. We were so efficient b/c we weren't trying to line up and pound it.

well, correction....we are a college running team built a around a QB. Not a ground and pound running team.

[rayzor]

In 2011, RBs carried the ball only 307 times.

Name the last time our RBs had fewer? Name 4 NFL teams whose RBs carried it less last year.

We are a Cam Newton offense. The RBs are complimentary role players now.

"How much better can he get?" second-year coach Ron Rivera says, sitting in a lounge during the lunch hour. "Much better. But as the case is with any franchise quarterback, we have to do our part to support him with protection, weapons, a running game. You can't expect him to rush for 80 yards and throw for 300 yards every game. We've got to make sure that it's not just about him."

http://www.usatoday....core/57062358/1

[PantherPhann89]

Looks like we're going to be a well balanced team on the offensive side. Cam has proven that he can throw all over the field, he also proved that he run...all over the field. We have a dynamic backfield in Williams, Stewart, Poole (?) and Tolbert at FB. I'm liking it.....

[CRA]

I feel you rayzor....but this offense is going to be about Cam Newton. They want to take some of the pressure off his shoulders, sure. But everthing is going to go through Cam. It is the type QB he is. Seen it at the JC level, the SEC, and it didn't skip a beat in NFL......nothing suggests that is going change.

Like Ron said, they have to try to support him.

There is also a great article on NFL.com about how QBs will run more this year. Teams defending the pass with smaller defenders and it sets up great for athletic QBs that don't have to worry about big LBs and secondary players of years ago. QBs getting more athletic and the defense getting smaller = worrying less about your QB getting beat up and easy yards.

[rayzor]

I feel you rayzor....but this offense is going to be about Cam Newton. They want to take some of the pressure off his shoulders, sure. But everthing is going to go through Cam. It is the type QB he is. Seen it at the JC level, the SEC, and it didn't skip a beat in NFL......nothing suggests that is going change.

Like Ron said, they have to try to support him.

There is also a great article on NFL.com about how QBs will run more this year. Teams defending the pass with smaller defenders and it sets up great for athletic QBs that don't have to worry about big LBs and secondary players of years ago. QBs getting more athletic and the defense getting smaller = worrying less about your QB getting beat up and easy yards.

you keep saying

this offense is going to be about Cam Newton

but he said...

We've got to make sure that it's not just about him.

rivera smokescreen? rivera ill informed?

the RBs are going to be involved a whole lot more than what you think they will be and more than you think should. it's smart to have the RB corps we have and it will make the offense better than if it was just cam running the ball. it gives them more options...more lethal options. it gives the team a better chance of winning and it limits the amount of beating cam gets. it just makes too much sense to not have them around and heavily involved. it in no way limits the offense. it's not holding it back. it's not keeping the offense back in the '90's or whatever. it's just smart use of the weapons...all the weapons on this offense.

rivera doesn't want his offense to be all about cam. i seriously doubt they want him to be the primary ball carrier or even have more carries than williams and stewart. i seriously doubt they want the run game to take a significant back seat to the passing game. they are striving for balance.

[CRA]

you keep saying

but he said...

rivera smokescreen? rivera ill informed?

the RBs are going to be involved a whole lot more than what you think they will be and more than you think should. it's smart to have the RB corps we have and it will make the offense better than if it was just cam running the ball. it gives them more options...more lethal options. it gives the team a better chance of winning and it limits the amount of beating cam gets. it just makes too much sense to not have them around and heavily involved. it in no way limits the offense. it's not holding it back. it's not keeping the offense back in the '90's or whatever. it's just smart use of the weapons...all the weapons on this offense.

rivera doesn't want his offense to be all about cam. i seriously doubt they want him to be the primary ball carrier or even have more carries than williams and stewart. i seriously doubt they want the run game to take a significant back seat to the passing game. they are striving for balance.

They were involved last year. They will be involved this year.

Rivera doesn't want this offense to be all about a QB that may have the highest ceiling we have ever seen at the position? No point nitpicking his words. Easy to know what he means. Give Cam help. Offense from week 1 has been all about Newton <insert Hurney deal with it gif>....with people helping (at least he got some help offensively last year....but it was about him).

I have never endorsed or suggested Newton be the primary ball carrier. But I believe he will continue to account for about 1/3 of the rush attempts for now. Why? B/c when teams are forced to play the pass....Newton then becomes arguably the most efficicent and dangerous runner in the NFL. Again, you are taking advantage of a mismatch which is what the NFL has become about.

[rayzor]

They were involved last year. They will be involved this year.

Rivera doesn't want this offense to be all about a QB that may have the highest ceiling we have ever seen at the position?

I have never endorsed or suggested Newton be the primary ball carrier. But I believe he will continue to account for about 1/3 of the rush attempts for now. Why? B/c when teams are forced to play the pace....Newton then becomes arguably the most efficicent runner in the NFL.

that's what he said.

can it be all about him and be successful? absolutely. should it? nope. the more solid weapons you have around him and the less you force to be carried on his shoulders the better this team is going to be and the better this teams chances are going to be for success.

cam makes this team good, potentially great. getting/keeping quality players and having them share the load makes the team better.

and since you edited your post i'll edit mine.

keeping the RBs heavily involved creates more mismatches.

[CRA]

I will make a bet Rayzor. Friday night. Starting unit. Newton is the leadiing rusher. Again.

It is just too easy for him. Much easier for Newton to run when a defense plays the pass than when Williams or whoever lines up to pound it. That doesn't mean don't run RBs......it just means Newton's running won't go away.

Also, the Manning Colts were all about Manning. Sure he got help but everything was about Manning. The way it should of been. They were rewarded for that w/ a decade of 10+ wins. Manning had weapons. Carolina should be no different. Cam's team. We should never get away from that. Give him help...but it all goes through him at the end of the day.

[rayzor]

a preseason game? lol no thanks.

didn't say or imply that newton's running would go away.

again, the less we have to put on cam's shoulders, the better this team will be.

newton is the most important part of this offense and it is centered on his abilities, but it isn't all about him. just like rivera said...they can't make it all about him. they have to give him and the offense as many weapons as possible and use them all with frequency. the RBs will continue to be a vital part of the offense. not THE vital part, but a vital one that is crucial to this teams success and ability to dominate it's opponents.

i don't care what peyton and the colts did or what other teams in the league are doing. the panthers are doing things differently than any other team in the league because of what newton can do, but it's what the other players bring to the table and the amount they are used that will take it over the top. if you are going to have RBs running the ball, why not have the best RB corps possible? if you are going to have that quality of corps and pay them that much, why not have them involved more? why limit the offense at all?

rivera said what he said. i'm taking it at face value that he doesn't want cam to carry the team by himself. he doesn't want it to be all about him.