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Dear NFL: Bring Back the Fullback

Jeremy Igo

By Jeremy Igo,
in Carolina Panthers

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AceBoogie Veteran

AceBoogie

Posted
Posted

While true, most FBs are RB converts and OL/TE tweeners who just want to play ball in any form. 

When I played rec league football when I was younger, we had a guy that was huge for our age group. I'm not talking fat either, just a solidly built kid. Couldn't make weight to play RB so had to play on the line sometimes. Basically every play we ran was hand the ball off to me and I grab the back of his jersey while he cleared a path. Scored like 25 tds in a season doing that. 

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panthers55 Grand Master

panthers55

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The biggest reason to have a bruiser fullback would be to take advantage of the tendency for defenses to be smaller and faster making them susceptible to bigger bruising linemen and a big fullback.  Over time this should wear down defenses and allows you to run at the end of the game when you are trying to run out the clock and dominate the defense.  Plus it really ties into our philosophy and our personnel.  Gettleman seems to favor bigger more physical guys with a nasty streak.  That is perfect for shoving the ball down the opponent's throat and demoralizing them.

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imminent rogaine Experienced

imminent rogaine

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It would be nice to have a guy on offense, in addition to the dozer,  that is out there punishing people. If we lined up Tolbert behind a real full back, there could be some real carnage. Alsom the way they handcuff defenses, this might be the only time we get to see big hits.

Those big blocks was one of my favorite things about 89.

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t96 Grand Master

t96

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Similar to the way the post up Center has disappeared from the NBA. Problem is, kids growing up these days would rather be the one scoring the touchdowns instead of blocking for the man that does. 

Kareem was the all time best center. Duncan's the last elite true center in the league and he's pretty much done at this point. I really like Andre Drummond who's a true post up center, but he's young and has a lot of work to do before he's a game-changing player. They certainly don't dominate the game like they used to, but they haven't completely disappeared. And I agree with you on the kids one. All the kids I work with want to be the star putting up the points. Instead of blocking in football or playing defense. And in basketball instead of being the guy getting the rebounds, playing the defense, getting the blocks and steals, getting the assists. I think it has a lot to do with this young generation and their entitlement and the "everyone is special" narrative. I still don't understand why people take photos of themselves all the time. Blows my mind.

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TN05 Mentor

TN05

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Not necessarily.  You would still have two wide receivers, Olsen, and your running back on the field.  That's four options right there.  If the FB has any ability to catch a pass, you win.

But you would rather have three wide receivers, Olsen, and your running back on the field. Five viable receiving options is much, much better than four. The benefit the blocking fullback gives is completely wasted because he has to be there every play except the most obvious passing situations. 

I'm not saying I don't like blocking fullbacks; I grew up with a Panthers team that used them and that played in a system that needed them. In systems that are run-heavy, they are very, very good. Adrian Peterson wouldn't have had 2,000 yards and a 6.0 YPC average without Jerome Felton blocking for him. But that offense was designed entirely around Adrian Peterson. Felton is useless if Peterson isn't on the field.

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Nick_81 Newbie

Nick_81

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But you would rather have three wide receivers, Olsen, and your running back on the field. Five viable receiving options is much, much better than four. The benefit the blocking fullback gives is completely wasted because he has to be there every play except the most obvious passing situations. 

I'm not saying I don't like blocking fullbacks; I grew up with a Panthers team that used them and that played in a system that needed them. In systems that are run-heavy, they are very, very good. Adrian Peterson wouldn't have had 2,000 yards and a 6.0 YPC average without Jerome Felton blocking for him. But that offense was designed entirely around Adrian Peterson. Felton is useless if Peterson isn't on the field.

I see what you're saying, but I still feel like it would be advantageous.  We already run two deep in the backfield w/ two wide quite a lot.  Normally, it's Tolbert, but with him being hurt a lot last season, we had to run with Dickson, Williams, etc. lead blocking.  They weren't looking to pass much out of those formations either.  You put a guy like Ward in there, and your run game is instantly improved.  Defenses aren't currently built to handle a guy like that, and he's easily going to clear out most LB's.  That instantly eliminates another level of the defense, and we all know it's not easy for a DB to take Stew out 1-on-1.  

To me, it's the same thing we've been doing, so it makes sense to have a punisher in when we run those sets.  Plus, from what tidbits I've heard, he's been catching pretty well out of the backfield.  

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    • tukafan21
      something to feel good about in the offseason..."could be something special brewing in Carolina"

      By tukafan21 · Posted

      Then don't tune in. It's really not a hard concept to understand, if your making your decision based on your own personal needs/feelings as opposed to what is best for the future of the franchise, then it's a you problem, not a Panthers problem. When the season is already lost, every fan should be rooting for the same thing.  The team plays hard until the final whistle of the season and keeps improving as a team and individually, but in the end, we still come up short and lose games, and preferably because the other team beat us, not because we screwed up and found a way to lose due to our own fault. Look at it this way... If we are up 1 or 2 points with 3 seconds left in the game and the other team is lining up for a FG.  Beyond the joy of victory or the disappointment of defeat, what impact does the other team making or missing the FG have on our team the following season? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING Except where we draft and what teams we play due to our finish in the division. The players and coaches on the team would have the exact same level of improvement and learnings about themselves individually and as a team whether the FG is made or missed.  The ONLY difference in the end is the record in the standings and if the win or loss number changes. If you want to argue if making the playoffs to lose in the first round or just missing them is better or worse, that's totally fair and I can at least understand the other side of it.  But in what is already a lost season, if you're not hoping your team plays well but ends up losing, then you're cutting off your nose to spite your face.  You're hoping for a moment of happiness at the detriment of the franchise's future, and in turn, you're basically then happy for a moment to only set yourself up for future further disappointment.
    • HaricotVert
      something to feel good about in the offseason..."could be something special brewing in Carolina"

      By HaricotVert · Posted

      If we’re eliminated I want the wins more.   The season is already a disappointment and if I’m not pulling for wins why bother to tune in?
    • tukafan21
      something to feel good about in the offseason..."could be something special brewing in Carolina"

      By tukafan21 · Posted

      Two things terribly wrong with this post. First is that not one time has myself or anyone else agreeing with me said that the team themselves should think that way or try and lose for positioning.  Never once have I suggested the team should purposefully lose games, ever.  I honestly can't understand why people keep saying this in posts, not one fan has ever said the players should or would purposefully try to lose. And second, is yes, that has happened and it's happened very recently.  The 2020 Bengals were 4-11-1 and then were playing in the SB the very next season.   And while it might have been 2 years later and they didn't quite get to the SB, the 2021 Lions were 3-13-1 and then the 2023 Lions were up 24-7 at halftime of the NFC Championship game. The season between those two? They finished 9-8 and only just missed the playoffs. Which is why I keep trying to compare us to the Lions in where we are at in our re-build.  Throw out Bryce's rookie year with the Reich staff who just didn't work out and he looked god awful.   This past season when we were 5-12 in Canales' 1st season is that 2021 season for the Lions and their 1st season under Campbell.  This year is their 2022 where they grew a ton and Campbell's culture building was clear, where I'm saying we'd likely be better off in the long run if we go 8-9 or 9-8 and just miss out on the playoffs (which is still a significant improvement from last year).  Then our 2026 is their 2024 when we have a chance to be a real contender after adding a few more pieces and our key players having another year of experience under their belts.
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