Panthers have the 3rd leading rusher in NFL

[jtm]

1 minute ago, Pantherxtreme said:

Save the dramatics for the soap operas this is professional sports.

When Mile Sanders was the penciled starter I wanted Chuba who was outperforming him to get the bulk of the carries, now the script has been flipped.

On any other team who's sole purpose is to win Rico would have already earned the starting role. But on the teams that flounder more times than not it's front office and business decisions trump what's happening on the field. 

You might not agree with it, but this is the reality. If Chuba doesn't out play Rico this weekend, I suspect that Rico will be starting the following week.  

[electro's horse]

Sample size 

[jtm]

1 minute ago, Shotgun said:

That's great if you don't care about winning.  If you do, you start the best players every time. If you don't want to lose your job because of injury, don't get injured.

The Panthers won and did the right thing for Chuba.  I suspect this weekend or next, could be a different story.  

[trucpfan]

2 hours ago, AceBoogie said:

 

Edited October 20, 2025 by trucpfan

[SCO96]

This team is much more effective offensively when we run the ball. We should be calling run plays at minimum 30 times a game. Chuba hasn't had more than 17 carries in a game all year season. Dowdle is the more effective back at this time and needs to get around 20 carries a game. Chuba should get the rest. Both guys are capable catching the ball out of the backfield so either is capable of playing on 3rd down. 

At the end of the season you may have a problem though. Rico is a year older than Chuba. Would it be wise to try to bring Rico back with a new deal at 28 with Chuba already under contract for the next several years? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[falconlynx]

58 minutes ago, jtm said:

Chuba is a key leader on this team and he needs to give Chuba an opportunity to keep the starting job and this is the right way to handle this.  We can all see that Rico is a better back at the moment and he's going to win the starting job, but he needs to win if fair and square with both backs battling it out and not when a guy is injured.  Two backs going 110% to be the starter is a good thing.  

I do feel the competition between Rico and Chuba is a very good thing. You could tell they were both giving their all yesterday. 
 

What a good problem to have! 

[toldozer]

I didn't mind how they were split. The only issue I had was not having Rico in the last drive to close it out. They're going to have to ride the hot hand because there will be games when Chuba is better but that wasn't the case yesterday 

[tukafan21]

The real problem rotating Rico and Chuba is that they're more or less the same player, or at least the same type, they're both bruising physical runners, neither are the quick twitch elusive type.

RB tandems work best/well when you have two stylistically different players, so when you rotate them, it provides a change in what the defense has to worry about.

We have two Montgomery's but no Gibbs.

[joeyxfresco]

Chuba was a bright spot on the team during some dark times but we can’t reward him for that when another RB on the roster is giving us a better chance of winning. We need to ride Rico until he cools down. Chuba is one to make the most of limited carries and he can still contribute in a big way in a lesser role. 
 

Stop overthinking this Canales. 55/45 favoring Chuba isn’t going to work. 70/30 favoring Rico gives us an identity we so desperately needed for years 

[SCO96]

Just now, falconlynx said:

I do feel the competition between Rico and Chuba is a very good thing. You could tell they were both giving their all yesterday. 
 

What a good problem to have! 

Both guys had over 1,000 yards rushing last season on their respective teams. I think Dowdle has clearly been the more dominant back in 2025, but it's not like Chuba is a scrubb. He's rushed over 2,000 yards combined in the past 2 seasons. 

I'm one who believes both guys can be alternated throughout the game to create one of the most dominant rushing attacks in the NFL. Imagine how effective they'd be if our best 2 run-blocking guards weren't injured. 

[toldozer]

Rico has more burst, id like to start seeing this from Hubbard.

[Castavar]

17 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

The real problem rotating Rico and Chuba is that they're more or less the same player, or at least the same type, they're both bruising physical runners, neither are the quick twitch elusive type.

RB tandems work best/well when you have two stylistically different players, so when you rotate them, it provides a change in what the defense has to worry about.

We have two Montgomery's but no Gibbs.

Very good point. Even with our double trouble, DeAngelo was our smaller shiftier back who could break it loose and J-Stew was our power, early down back who could tire our a defense. Both Dowdle and Chuba need touches to really get into a rhythm, which won't happen if Canales rotates them every other series. It just isn't going to work the way it is designed right now. There needs to be a clear starter and the split needs to be 70-30 or 80-20.

[SCO96]

18 minutes ago, toldozer said:

Rico has more burst, id like to start seeing this from Hubbard.

Rico (5'll/215) also has a more violent running style which enables him to run thru contact despite only outweighing Chuba (6'/210) by 5 lbs. 

[PNW_PantherMan]

36 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

The real problem rotating Rico and Chuba is that they're more or less the same player, or at least the same type, they're both bruising physical runners, neither are the quick twitch elusive type.

RB tandems work best/well when you have two stylistically different players, so when you rotate them, it provides a change in what the defense has to worry about.

We have two Montgomery's but no Gibbs.

Well Chuba is interesting because he's kind of just a jack of all trades.  He's not really a power back.  He's not really a speed back.  He's not really a receiving back.  He sort of does it all at an acceptable level.

Rico is a true power back.