Carolina Panthers: Jonathan Stewart’s leadership shines
Despite bringing in youth at running back, the Carolina Panthers are getting veteran leadership from Jonathan Stewart.
Change is a constant that impacts everyone in some shape or form. In the NFL, players have to be ready to shift with the change that comes on their team. The Carolina Panthers made one of those changes is the addition of Christian McCaffrey in the backfield.
Jonathan Stewart has served as the primary option for running the ball and now it’s apparent that his designation is about to change. His response to such has been the type to indicate a true leader for the organization.
“Stop talking about that. Who cares?” Stewart said, as reported by David Newton of ESPN when asked about the potential to receive less carries. “We want to win the Super Bowl, right? That’s the bottom line. It’s not about people getting carries. It’s not about people getting catches or touchdowns. It’s about what can you contribute to get us to the Super Bowl.”
McCaffrey is expected to have a major impact on both the offense and special teams. If his time in college tells anything, it’s that he has the ability to play multiple positions and this fits right into Carolina’s play style.
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On paper, the Panthers have a compelling lineup of weapons in this offense. The duo of McCaffrey and Stewart when paired with Cam Newton present a dangerous running attack. Then there’s the passing options with Kelvin Benjamin, Devin Funchess, Greg Olsen and newcomer Curtis Samuel, adds another layer that opposing defenses must concern themselves with.
While there may not be enough touches to go around for everyone, the key is for these players to make the biggest contribution each time their number is called.
“We get guys in here that can add value, guys can do different things, add speed, youth … it gives defenses something to think about,” Stewart said, again per ESPN. “At the end of the day that’s what you want. You want the defense to think so that way you can get by them.”
Fans shouldn’t expect a return to the play style reminiscent of the time when Stewart split carries with DeAngelo Williams. McCaffrey offers a set of skills that may be used beyond his ability to just run the ball. He’s shown that he can catch the ball out of the backfield which fits right into the Panthers penchant to use play action or option-like plays. His speed also helps open up the field for long-range attacks. Still, the Panthers aren’t releasing any information about how the Stanford alum will be used this season.
“Jonathan will play his role and he’ll do the things we do with him,” head coach Ron Rivera said, via ESPN. “Christian will have his role and we’ll do things accordingly as we go through it. I’m not going to tell you specifically how we’ll do it. But that’s how those guys will roll.”
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This is an exciting time as not only the addition of McCaffrey but other players on both sides of the ball have fans developing a big improvement from 2016. Stewart’s response to the growing change is exactly what teams want to see in a leader who’s contributed so much to the organization.