Scott FOWLER on Chuba in Observer

[raleigh-panther]

Panthers' Chuba Hubbard could teach us all a lesson on handling disappointment
Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer

The chant rose up from the crowd - unlikely and unbidden - during a Carolina Panthers offensive series where most football fans know you're supposed to be quiet so the players can hear quarterback Bryce Young's snap count.

But the fans at Bank of America Stadium couldn't help themselves in the third quarter of what turned out to be an extraordinary, 31-28 win over the Los Angeles Rams Sunday. They chanted "Keep!! Pounding!!" first across the stadium.

And then a yell organically sprung up for the man who would carry the ball eight times on that one drive, who would be one of the stars of the upset win and who has given us all a lesson in the graceful handling of disappointment over the past few weeks:

"Chuba! CHUBA! CHUBA!!"

Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard got demoted earlier this year. In a very public way.

Hubbard was benched in favor of the little-known Rico Dowdle, who had begun the season as his backup but was now the hotter back. And while it was the right thing for head coach Dave Canales to do, because Dowdle was simply playing better and his first loyalty must be to the team, that didn't make it any easier for Hubbard. The Canadian is being paid very well to be one of Carolina's stars and he had clearly been Carolina's best offensive player in 2024 (1,195 rushing yards, 11 total TDs). Now he was hardly getting the ball at all .

In a four-game stretch before Sunday, these were Hubbard's total carry totals for the day: 5-3-4-3. Fifteen carries in four games! The fifth-year back used to sometimes get 15 carries in a single half of a single game.

In the meantime, Dowdle was getting the ball handed off to him 15-20 times a game for the surprising Panthers, who are 7-6 after Sunday's win and in the playoff hunt as they enter their bye week.

So what did Hubbard do when he got demoted and disappointed?

First, let's step back for a moment and ask ourselves regarding our own jobs: "What would I do?"

If tomorrow you got demoted, or fired, or didn't get the promotion you thought you should, or didn't get the praise or the raise you think you're entitled to, what would you do?

Blame somebody else? Lash out at the boss? Sulk? Call in sick for a few days? See if you can get other co-workers on your side to commiserate about how unfair it all is?

I probably would do at least one of those things. Hubbard did none of them.

Said Canales on Monday: "I just love the way Chuba went right back to work…. He's just a first-class pro."

Hubbard kept saying he just wanted to win, and that's understandable because every team he's been on since the Panthers drafted him in 2021 has lost and lost and lost. He had already missed two games this year with a calf injury - this was when Dowdle first shone (with 206 and 183 rushing yards in back-to-back games) - and it looked like Hubbard might be Wally Pipp-ed forever out of the starting job.

Hubbard would later admit he rushed back a little from that injury, and when he came back he wasn't as explosive. Canales tried to alternate Hubbard and Dowdle series by series, but Dowdle was way more explosive. After a couple of games of that, Dowdle got the ball 25 times against Green Bay and Hubbard only five. It was hard to argue with the results. "Rico has been amazing," Hubbard said.

For the past month, it's been like that. But as Hubbard has gotten healthier, some trends have emerged. He's a better blocker in pass protection than Dowdle, for instance. And while he's not going to break off a big run - Hubbard has 111 carries this year and the longest one only went for 14 yards - he's good in the passing game, where he has scored three times this season and went for a 35-yard TD on a well-blocked perimeter screen Sunday.

After close to a month of Dowdle dominance, Canales blew it and barely ran the ball at all in a 20-9 Monday night loss to San Francisco on Nov. 24. Dowdle got only six carries; Hubbard got three. This was legitimately bad play-calling and game-planning, which Dowdle criticized with a carefully placed emoji. Canales and his staff, smarting from that defeat, tweaked the game plan again vs. the Rams.

This time Hubbard would be the full-time third-down back, and Dowdle would often carry the ball on first and second downs. And occasionally Hubbard would get a series to himself.

What resulted was an even split, where Dowdle carried the ball 18 times for 58 yards and Hubbard 17 for 83 and the Panthers played such good ball-control offense that they won a game almost everyone (including me) thought they would lose.

Said Canales of Hubbard: "In the last couple weeks, he's looked really strong. Really powerful. Just making sure that he's a weapon for us in different ways. And for Rico, giving him, the lion's share of some of those first and second down (carries), that is a great way to just get him the ball. So I like where we're at. I like the balance."

Which brings us back to those third-quarter chants.

"I did hear a little bit of that," Hubbard said. "It was definitely cool."

On that drive, Hubbard carried the ball eight times, and they were all bruising runs. The yardage, in order: 5-2-6-6-10-9-2-4.

In a fairytale, that last carry would have been into the end zone. Instead, that last carry was wiped out due to a holding call on tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders, and then came a Young sack, and then Carolina had to punt.

Still, Hubbard proved himself over the entire afternoon. Dowdle was good. And now the Panthers have two potential No. 1 backs for the final four games of the season as they try to make a playoff push.

Hubbard attributed his restraint during this trying season to his faith.

"I've been praying, I've been keeping faith, staying close to the Word, and I just attribute everything to Him," Hubbard said after the game Sunday. "I would not be able to get through this or be here without Him."

As for Canales, he recognizes Hubbard as one of the team's leaders and remains appreciative as to how selfless Hubbard has been.

"I'm just really proud of the way that he's worked himself back in," Canales said. "All he wants to do is win. All he wants to do is help his teammates. I love that about him."

[Panthera onca]

He really did come back from his calf injury too soon. He was nowhere near as strong and explosive as usual. The last couple of weeks he has looked like his old self. Chuba seems like a really good dude and a great teammate.

[CanadianCat]

Good ol' Canadian boy. 

[CRA]

I still think in the grand scheme, it's better to let either Hubbard or Rico operate in the lead position.  Both are just flat out best with volume.  I think the 50/50 split over the course of an extended window limits how good the rush can be any given Sunday. 

[Gregg S]

I've watched that pass he took for a TD several times this week and amazed at how he just exploded past the defense.  I know the closest ones to him were coming off blocks, but still, he went by them like they were backing up.  Glad to see him getting back to his old self.

[TD alt]

Just now, CRA said:

I still think in the grand scheme, it's better to let either Hubbard or Rico operate in the lead position.  Both are just flat out best with volume.  I think the 50/50 split over the course of an extended window limits how good the rush can be any given Sunday. 

Me too. Getting into a rhythm is so understated, but important in my opinion.

I just think Chuba should be the lead back---definitely the short-yardage back---and Rico the change of pace guy. 

That being said, it's not a black and white proposition which is why I still think Canales is having a confusing time trying to balance.

[grateflday]

At first during the Keep Pounding chanting during the drive, I was like quiet we're on offense ... however after a few plays/runs it felt almost like the offense was feeding off it.  It was weird and great for sure. 

[SmokinwithWilly]

It's simple. Play the hot hand. Rico was hot. Play him. This week Chuba had it. Play him. You can tell pretty quick in a game who's feeling it and who isn't. I don't understand why everyone is trying to make this so damn complex.