Perspective on our RB Situation

[twylyght]

It would seem that a lot of people have lost sight of what we have in Carolina. I think the best way to look at it is to look through the history books to see how we compare. When you look at it by the numbers, it is nothing less than astounding.

I've compiled the career stats of the top 30 rushing leaders by yardage, tacked on another legend who's career ended prematurely, and then compared our own double trouble to see how they rank.

Career stats come from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Football_League_rushing_yards_leaders

The rest come from ESPN and NFL.com

First, the list:

I've added Bo Jackson to this list for two reasons. 1) He was considered as a singularly exceptional RB who's career ended before its time, and 2) his history is close enough for some of us to remember just how bad-ass this guy was.

When you look at the lineup, you see all the greats like Tony Dorsett, Barry Sanders, Earl Campbell, Emmitt Smith, and Jim Brown. What helps to make this list more comparable is to look at what their yards per carry was. While there is some debate about it, Jim Brown is widely regarded as the best RB that ever played the game. Some would contend Barry Sanders would fit that slot. Both have yards/carry that exceed 5 for their careers.

When you break down the tiers, from 5+ to 4.6-4.9 to 4.2-4.6 you will notice how the exceptional players compare to the greats. With the exception of a couple of surprises, this list largely holds true to form for bearing out the greats from the legends.

Now, let's sort that list by yards/carry and add in the career stats of our own Double Trouble:

Notice any patterns?

Now, add a couple more caveats to this list. As of this year, both Stewart and Williams are averaging 5.4 yards/carry. Williams exceeded this in 2008 and it is the highest mark for Stewart's career. Collectively, they've had the best burst in their careers.

Lastly, when looking at the yards/carry for this year's leaders, we have 3 Panthers in the top 10. Cam Newton stands atop this list with 5.6 yards/carry:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/rushing/sort/yardsPerRushAttempt

Given that, why are some of us so quick to break this team up?

[CLG]

Becuz the Jstew homers think Dwill sucks.

[CRA]

instead of looking into the past (which has been a running league overall), I think it is more important to look to the future, what the league is becoming and our team will be under Newton.

again comes down to where it is most wise to heavily invest your money/talent. That changes as the league evolves.

[rayzor]

league becoming more of a passing league will force defenses to allocate more of their effort to stopping the passing game. that will only open things up for a run game and the cycle will continue.

teams that are really forward thinking will see it's important to have as balanced an offense as possible, despite being a pass heavy league. that doesn't mean that you run the ball more or as often as you pass it, just that you make sure you have a stout run game able to dominate.

many teams will be able to just get by with average talent at RB. the ones who will be the best overall offenses will be the ones that have the best talent possible at every position.

we have the RBs stacked with talent right now. same with TE. we have a QB that is right on the cusp of being an elite talent in the league (and some would say that right now). we have a pretty solid and respected Oline. now it's a matter of building around those strengths.

we have, as-is, one of the best and most complete offenses in the league. when we run, because of the talent we have on the team at QB and at RB and the scheme we run, we can be better than anyone in the league.

i just don't see any sense in weakening that.

you build around your strengths if you want a dominant team.

[Wyank]

Letting one of the RB go doesn't mean weakening the running game if a cheap, young, and good RB is picked up at the same time. It is possible to pick up a young RB that fits this system that commands less money and the offense both running and passing doesn't miss a beat.

[rayzor]

Letting one of the RB go doesn't mean weakening the running game if a cheap, young, and good RB is picked up at the same time. It is possible to pick up a young RB that fits this system that commands less money and the offense both running and passing doesn't miss a beat.

you replace that guy only as a last resort and with no guarantee that it will work out just as well.

"better the devil you know" and whatnot....

williams contract is pretty much front loaded from what i can tell so his cap impact won't be as big on down the road and we'll have a lot more cap space than people realize once the new tv deals hit because the cap is going to be a whole lot higher.

[Cape Fear Cat]

Letting one of the RB go doesn't mean weakening the running game if a cheap, young, and good RB is picked up at the same time. It is possible to pick up a young RB that fits this system that commands less money and the offense both running and passing doesn't miss a beat.

Getting a young guy is all well and good, but that's just part of the equation. I think the chemistry and plain old joy Dwill and Stew take from seeing each other do good is something that is rare, in my opinion. It's been a formula that has paid dividends for us so far, probably extended their careers, and given Carolina a powerful option to fall back on if the pass game is not up to snuff. Add Cam to that mix, and you have a nightmare for opposing D's. I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Do what you have to in order to keep Dwill, Stew, and Cam together.

[Wyank]

Is there any link showing Williams cap number each year assuming all performance bonuses are met?

[rayzor]

Is there any link showing Williams cap number each year assuming all performance bonuses are met?

not that i've seen. i doubt it's as ugly as people have made it out to be, though.

it usually isn't.

[Wyank]

Getting a young guy is all well and good, but that's just part of the equation. I think the chemistry and plain old joy Dwill and Stew take from seeing each other do good is something that is rare, in my opinion. It's been a formula that has paid dividends for us so far, probably extended their careers, and given Carolina a powerful option to fall back on if the pass game is not up to snuff. Add Cam to that mix, and you have a nightmare for opposing D's. I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Do what you have to in order to keep Dwill, Stew, and Cam together.

All parties have to agree and be reasonable with the amount of millions they want. At some point, tough decisions have to be made to better the team in the long run, not individual players.

Pretty soon Cam is going to get a blockbuster deal if he keeps on the path he is on. Big money will be going to Cam, Stew, and DWill unless the front loaded contract talk on here is right. If LaFell or Gettis emerge as top WR, there goes some more money. Quality LT, going to cost some money. Gross isn't getting any younger. Another good DE would help on defense. They're not cheap.

What if Dwill isn't traded this season but we still pick up a cheap young RB that explodes in this offense? Either Dwill or Stew is going to go the following year anyways. HC has already said there is a need for a scat back on this team.

I'm fine either way but I'm aware of the possibility that Double Trouble will end soon.

[Fox007]

Williams and Stewarts talent/production was there even when teams stacked 8-9 in the box when we had Fox as our coach.

That whole the league is trying to stop the pass more is bunk when referring to our backs. We have two special backs each of which IMO could attain a HOF career if they were feature backs.

[pantherclaw]

Neither stewart or williams is going to be cut or traded.

Be grateful for the talent we have at rb.

[mwright350]

People just want change for the sake of change. We should cut X for Y because...why not? Maybe we draft Barry Sanders 2.0 in the 7th round and look like geniuses MIRITE?!?!?!?!?!?!

I don't understand it myself if there's not an extremely compelling salary cap reason to do so - and none of us are even close to informed enough about how we will handle our cap / spending to have an opinion there.

Build around what this team is very good at and try to improve the areas where we are not on that level yet. Be glad we have what we have - don't be so quick to get rid of an exceptional back because you have a new toy.

[CRA]

you build around your strengths if you want a dominant team.

you build your strengths to suit what is most effective.....

The rules are never going to go backwards and encourage more physical football. Look at the best offensive in the league right now. They have scrub running backs.

You can pay a RB like DeAngleo a huge contract to touch the ball 7 times a game or you can pay a WR/DE/TE etc. a big contract to lineup and play every snap. Makes no sense to pay Williams w/ multiple elite runners on your roster when the game is moving in a new direction.