Two Backs vs One

[Mr. Scot]

It's worth pointing out that this is not the first time we've gone from what fans expected to be a two back system to one that was focused on a single "bell cow".

After years of "Double Trouble" the Panthers in 2015 chose to part ways with DeAngelo Williams and focus on Jonathan Stewart as their primary rusher.  At the time, Williams was reportedly told that the Panthers weren't going to be running the ball enough to justify having him on roster.  They then proceeded to go into the season with a heavily run-focused offense, so much so that commentators and analysts spent a lot of time talking about the complicated run concepts that then-OC Mike Shula had put together.  Likewise, Ron Rivera recounted his conversation with legendary coach John Madden where Madden told him "if you wanna run the ball, run the ball".  Per Rivera, this helped justify his decision to stay run-focused in what was an increasingly pass happy NFL.

CJ Anderson certainly didn't get as many carries as DeAngelo Williams did, but he was effective in the few games he did play.  Beyond that, Anderson had a history of playing well during his time in Denver, culminating with a thousand yard rushing season in 2017.  When he came to Carolina early in the 2018 campaign, fans had visions of another two headed monster reminiscent of past combos like Williams and Stewart, or that of Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster back in the Panthers first Super Bowl season; or also, if we're being honest, the Saints tandem of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram.

And yes, early games made it look like that notion was going to come true.

But then Anderson disappeared, and now he's no longer even on the roster.

The Williams and Anderson moves were made by different GMs.  The common factor, of course, is head coach Ron Rivera.  The power structure in Carolina does give the GM final say in transactions, but both Marty Hurney and Dave Gettleman have acknowledged that they always consulted Ron Rivera regarding what he wanted on the team roster. (Side Note: This is pretty typical of Coach-GM relationships across the league).

So it would seem that one of Ron Rivera's preferences is a single workhorse runningback rather than a two back system.

Now, you can argue the wisdom of that, discuss the ramifications as far as depth, argue about whether Christian McCaffrey is a true bell cow / workhorse or what have you, but that's not really what this is about. It's more about reality.  Specifically, the reality that if this is the way the head coach wants it, that's pretty much how it's gonna be.  Rivera's history with "do it all" guys like Walter Payton and LaDainian Tomlinson probably plays into this mindset as well.  This is what he knows, and apparently, what he wants.

For better or worse, we're a team that's gonna rely primarily on one guy. So far this season, it's working.

Here's hoping that continues.

[t96]

I'm not really a huge fan of having two backs share the load equally. It worked with double trouble for us for sure but that's very rare to have success like that with a duo. Halfbacks rely so much on building momentum and getting up to speed during a game and that's not really possible when you and another player keep switching out. So I actually really do like having McC as our workhorse back, and he's absolutely proven capable of handling it.

 

All that being said, even true workhorse backs of the past haven't played nearly 100% of the snaps like McC is. That's just silly. Workhorse backs still need a guy to spell them, and in McC's case a short yardage specialist (like it seemed CJ could be) would be beneficial as well. So not entirely happy with what we're doing but it is in my opinion much better than if we had another situation like last year with Stew and McC but with CJ or someone else instead.

[Mr. Scot]

I don't really favor one system over the other.  I've seen both be effective.

The Saints system with Kamara and Ingram obviously works very well, but the Steelers did great with most of their carries being funneled to Le'Veon Bell also.

It's just a matter of knowing what you have and using it the best way.

I guess the question becomes, are we doing that?

 

[Snake]

Imo the injuries to the Oline caused the one back system. Losing Williams caused us to throw to set up the run and that isn't what Anderson is about. Let's be honest though CMC has become a monster and you feed a monster. 

[Mr. Scot]

10 minutes ago, Snake said:

Imo the injuries to the Oline caused the one back system. Losing Williams caused us to throw to set up the run and that isn't what Anderson is about. Let's be honest though CMC has become a monster and you feed a monster. 

That still doesn't provide a good rationale for dumping good depth though.

[1919Eternal]

The big difference with McCaffrey over Stewart as a do-it-all back is that McCaffrey is very effective in the passing game whereas Stewart was not.   I think the big worry going into the season was McCaffrey's ability to run consistently between the tackles and that question has been put to  rest.  Had McCaffrey been less effective then we probably would have seen more of Anderson and an alternate reality would have taken ensued.  

That being said, I don't like losing Anderson for the same reasons many have stated which is the risk of injury to McCaffrey.  If McCaffrey stays healthy then this move won't make much of a difference to our Super Bowl chances, imo.  Still it is certainly a shocking move and the coaching staff is certainly poking fate straight in the eye.  

[LinvilleGorge]

The timing just makes no sense. Carry him for over half of the season then cut him? Why not just trade him for peanuts prior to the deadline? Anything is better than nothing. 

We're really going to look like top notch jackasses if something happens to CMC down the stretch.

[Darvinsun]

25 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

The timing just makes no sense. Carry him for over half of the season then cut him? Why not just trade him for peanuts prior to the deadline? Anything is better than nothing. 

We're really going to look like top notch jackasses if something happens to CMC down the stretch.

We already do. Look like jackasses!

[KendrickPanther]

I rather have CJ on the roster if CMC picked up a knock and needed to rest for a few weeks, or God forbid something worse. That 2005 team struggled in the playoffs as they ran out of Running Backs and teams didn't have to respect our run game. We still have 10-11 games to play and CJ could have helped us at some point. He probably was disgruntled, with good reason. The answer was more touches for him, not a waive.

[Snake]

1 hour ago, Mr. Scot said:

That still doesn't provide a good rationale for dumping good depth though.

No it doesn't. My guess is that he wasn't very happy with his role. It's a really odd time to cut a player. 

[pantherclaw]

CMC doesn't come out of the game. 

Pray he stays healthy. 

[Manther]

Watch the aints pick him up.

[Mr. Scot]

Lots of speculation centering around the Patriots or the Eagles picking him up. The Bucs are said to have a need at runningback too. Have seen the 49ers mentioned. Heck, I suppose even the Giants could be interested given that Stewart is done for the year.

His contract with us was fairly cheap, which increases the chances that somebody will put in a waiver claim (as well as the confusion over why he was released, but hey...)

Regardless, whether it's through waivers or as a free agent, pretty much nobody believes he'ill be unemployed for long.

[Toomers]

47 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Lots of speculation centering around the Patriots or the Eagles picking him up. The Bucs are said to have a need at runningback too. Have seen the 49ers mentioned. Heck, I suppose even the Giants could be interested given that Stewart is done for the year.

His contract with us was fairly cheap, which increases the chances that somebody will put in a waiver claim (as well as the confusion over why he was released, but hey...)

Regardless, whether it's through waivers or as a free agent, pretty much nobody believes he'ill be unemployed for long.

He doesn’t have to go through waivers. We pay rest of contract.