Carolina Panthers Deangelo Williams Hitting His Stride

[Zod]

Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Marshawn Lynch, Arian Foster... all running backs who are being out performed by the Carolina Panthers own Deangelo Williams.

Deangelo quietly ranks 4th in the entire NFL, yet you won't hear his name in the media.

Deangelo Williams

With the promotion of Mike Shula to Offensive Coordinator, the Carolina Panthers doubled down on a running game still being important in a passing league. A risky move, but it appears to have some early returns. The Panthers have the second ranked rushing attack in the entire NFL.

An amazing accomplishment given that Jonathan Stewart has been unavailable due to injury.

By far Deangelo's most efficient running has been to the left edge with blocks provided by Jordan Gross where Deangelo is averaging a whopping 6.9 yards a carry. Interestingly, his second most efficient running is behind the right guard, who this season has been a mix of players.

In a career with highs and lows, health and injuries, Deangelo has kept the right attitude.

"It's not how many times you fall. It's how many time you're willing to get up. I'm willing to get up every time."

It remains to be seen if a premier rushing attack can again elevate teams to the NFL playoffs. No one is more hopeful than Ron Rivera and Mike Shula, who have wagered on this notion with their jobs on the line.

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[panthers04100]

I just hope when/if Stewart comes back we don't go back to giving Williams 8 carries a game. He's the type of rb who needs at least 15 carries a game to stay in his rhythm.

[panthers04100]

And we honestly don't even really need Stewart back with Williams as our primary rb and Tolbert and cam for short yardage.

[Jase]

With a decent year, D-will should get up to 60 or better on the all-time rushing list.

[ZeroZeroSeven]

It's going to be interesting how Shula divides the carries going forward.. Cam, D. Will, Stew and Tolbert all need carries. Then throw in Barner and that's a lot of mouths to feed.

[rayzor]

i doubt he'll get much attention until he finds his way into the endzone.

 

bad thing for him in that regard is he's pretty much the 'between the 20's' guy. they've got other plans for other guys when they get in the red zone or at the end zone.

 

he has been really impressive, tho.

[panthers55]

The whole recent notion that this is a passing league and therefore good running attacks aren't important is negated by the fact  that 6 of the top 10 rushing teams made the playoffs in 2012.  And 3 of the four teams that played in the Championship games last year were on this list. The other Baltimore was 11th on the list.

[jeffgoard15]

He is as solid as they come.  He will be the Williams of old by season's end

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261292348723?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_1193wt_917

 

[CRA]

The whole recent notion that this is a passing league and therefore good running attacks aren't important is negated by the fact that 6 of the top 10 rushing teams made the playoffs in 2012. And 3 of the four teams that played in the Championship games last year were on this list. The other Baltimore was 11th on the list.

I think the notion is....if you build your team right you don't need to spent tons of money on your backfield.

[Cpt slay a ho]

Favorable Schedule as well, If Cam and Ginn keep it up he should consistently get good yardage per game........hopefully when Stewart gets back he gets 8-10 carries and majority of the passing plays along with barner

[RelaxImaPro]

I'd kinda' hate to ruin the good thing we've got going with Deangelo when Stew comes back... D-Lo seems to be in rhythm right now.

[Ace_Aladdin]

And we honestly don't even really need Stewart back with Williams as our primary rb and Tolbert and cam for short yardage.

 

 

Actually we do need Stewart especially in the middle part of the season when where going to face tough defenses. Stewart can run inside the tackle better  than Tolbert e has better speed to hit the hole and can be used to get our drives going to give rhytm to the offense,soften up the defense and eat clock towards end of the game

 

Tolbert  & Cam would be our short yard situation and use William to stretch the edge & hit home runners. We just have to stay committed to the run game  and let the Offensive line continue to Gel. 

[poorboysrev]

NFL Network just had him listed as 3rd in yardage

[NavyPF4L]

I'm excited to see Stew back in the mix as others have pointed out he is better at the in between tackle runs not to mention he doesn't typically go down after the first hit. I foresee him softening up the defense and then d lo busting them wide open for the home run. As long as the o line continues to gel and improve throughout the season I see the return of double trouble to be nothing but a good thing for this offense and what we are trying to do which is to dictate the flow of the game and wear the opposing defense's down while demoralizing them. The key here also will be to see barners progress with holding on to the ball and how we utilize him in the ground and air game. Should be exciting and interesting for those of us that appreciate this type of offense.