2017 NFL Week 10

Kaptain

Kaptain

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Carolina gets away with not using McCaffrey because they have a great defense and play the easiest schedule in the NFL. Jonathan Stewart had big runs that a truck could drive through - I noticed the announcers only praised Stewart after easy runs. When a white running back has a big run, like clockwork the announcers will talk about the blocking. No defense is afraid of Jonathan Stewart but you damn well know that defenses always pay attention to McCaffrey not only because he is dangerous but because he is white.
 
Shadowlight

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At the risk of having tomatoes thrown at my head I was pleased with last night's game. For sure after years of deprivation I can understand the frustration in regards to CM and how often he gets the ball although keep in mind he has caught a lot of balls this season. And I have been here long enough that most of you would know by now there is no way in hell I could root against a team that features Kuechly, who by the way was MAGNIFICENT last night, and McCaffrey. I will discuss the ESPN post game interview at the end but suffice to say it was a pleasure listening to the broadcast and Gruden is just ace. As noted above he complimented CM to the hills. Of course I wish S Colin Jones started like Jeff Heath of the Cowboys and it was a shame that sterling TE Olsen, who Gruden called the best in football, got injured this season. Hopefully he returns soon which should bolster an offense that is improving.
If you look at CM's stats on paper it doesn't jump out at you except for the two TD's. But I watched nearly every play and he was terrific. He was used as a decoy because the entire Miami defense was focused on him. He also showed off his three dimensional game running the ball (5-23) and receiving (5-23) and last but not least unleashing key blocks. The consummate back with no weaknesses.
Most all teams in basketball and football are going to have black players there is no getting around it but at least for me Carolina has the "important" white players so I root for their teammates too including RB Stewart who to his credit has taken CM under his wing. At least the Carolina "team" approach is something to admire as opposed to say Antonio Brown and his cry baby me first act. To me it is a good thing CM and Stewart have been working in tandem and the offense seems to be flowing better as of late. CM is here for the long haul so I am not in full panic mode at this point about how many times he gets the ball. Of course I want to see him do well but it is also important to remember that while it is great that star white athletes put up big numbers we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the main purpose in sports is to win. And for me the best story going so far this season is WR Adam Thielen but what makes it so much sweeter is he is performing his magic with a WINNING team. So at the end of the day if CM doesn't rush for 1,000 yards it really won't sting that much if we watch him succeed in the playoffs and score the winning Super Bowl TD. Getting ahead of myself I know and I have doubts QB Newton has what it takes to carry them that far but in the case of CM why listen to me. Better to go straight to the source.
Looking as relaxed as the day he was drafted during the post game interview CM, with the help of his dad, wanted to go to Carolina because he liked the culture there. Much like Edelman CM is the true professional that places the team above individual glory. He was very happy Stewart, who has been catching guff lately from the fans, had a nice game. The fans love CM in Carolina and so do his teammates. He is very popular and the media has been for the most part very complimentary. That is a big win in and of itself.
At one point during the game CM and Kuechly were briefly interacting. How great is that, two stud white players talking shop?
And it wasn't as if CM didn't get a few chances to show off last night. LB Alphonso is STILL looking for him ( I know white on white crime isn't optimal) and that catch in the end zone was top notch.
At the end of the day listening to CM last night I saw a very happy player who mentioned he is getting more "used" to the NFL so expect bigger things to come. Heck if he is happy why shouldn't I be happy for him? Highlights below.
 
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Don Wassall

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I wasn't unhappy with Christian's game either. He played an important part in his team's nationally televised slaughter of the Caste clown Dolphins, contributing running, receiving and blocking, showing off his moves and quickness on several plays, and of course scoring twice, which is all that counts to a lot of DWFs.

I would like to see him get more carries and he eventually will as Stewart is in the twilight of his career, but he's never going to be rushing 25 or 30 times a game. He's not built for that and it would greatly increase his injury risk. For now, like Burkhead, being a key contributor on a contending team is pretty darn good.

BTW Shadowlight, if you could put a space between your paragraphs your posts will be much easier to read rather than appearing like an imposing wall of words.
 
white is right

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The template for Christian is Reggie Bust, very similar height and weight and running styles and all around football ability.

I just hope that McCaffrey can have a longer career peak than Bust who fell off a cliff near the end of his NFL career. The better template would be Frank Gifford's career.
 
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Don Wassall

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Shadowlight

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The name Reggie Bush did pop up as a comparison around draft time. Bush was very finesse but I don't think he had the overall physicality of CM and CM is easily the better blocker. But as comparisons go probably the best one out there although I suspect CM won't be dating a Kardashian anytime soon.

As for Don I am glad you enjoyed the game like I did and good advice about spacing. You would think such a common sense idea would have occurred to me but sadly it never entered my mind. I will keep it in mind going forward.
 
white lightning

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Don Wassall said:
I wasn't unhappy with Christian's game either. He played an important part in his team's nationally televised slaughter of the Caste clown Dolphins, contributing running, receiving and blocking, showing off his moves and quickness on several plays, and of course scoring twice, which is all that counts to a lot of DWFs.

I would like to see him get more carries and he eventually will as Stewart is in the twilight of his career, but he's never going to be rushing 25 or 30 times a game. He's not built for that and it would greatly increase his injury risk. For now, like Burkhead, being a key contributor on a contending team is pretty darn good.

BTW Shadowlight, if you could put a space between your paragraphs your posts will be much easier to read rather than appearing like an imposing wall of words.
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I respectfully disagree Don. Christian averaged around 30 carries a game at Stanford. He could easily handle a 20-25 times a game running the ball. He does everything but I would much rather see him run the ball. He is one of the best running backs I've ever seen. I'm happy he is contributing but he is not becoming the star he should be. The kid could possibly lead the nfl in rushing. He could be the face of the franchise but he has to run the ball more. If we want to see the huge jaw breaking athletecism and big plays he has to be involved more than just an extra receiver. The fact that he does everything is used against him similar to Burkhead. I want to see our guys get to run the ball like Peyton Hillis did. C.M. and R.Burkhead are both being underused. I will take it but I would prefer alot more from both of these guys.
 
Don Wassall

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white lightning said:
I respectfully disagree Don. Christian averaged around 30 carries a game at Stanford. He could easily handle a 20-25 times a game running the ball. He does everything but I would much rather see him run the ball. He is one of the best running backs I've ever seen. I'm happy he is contributing but he is not becoming the star he should be. The kid could possibly lead the nfl in rushing. He could be the face of the franchise but he has to run the ball more. If we want to see the huge jaw breaking athletecism and big plays he has to be involved more than just an extra receiver. The fact that he does everything is used against him similar to Burkhead. I want to see our guys get to run the ball like Peyton Hillis did. C.M. and R.Burkhead are both being underused. I will take it but I would prefer alot more from both of these guys.
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Leveon Bell and Eziekel Elliott are the only NFL backs averaging as many as 20 carries a game. No one is averaging 25. There's another dozen or so averaging around 15 carries per game. All are big backs with the exception of LeSean McCoy. We're in an era in the NFL of running back by committee. If he averages 15 carries per game, McCaffrey would probably reach 1,000 yards, but he's never going to be toting the ball 20 to 25 times a game on average in the NFL. If he can average 800 to 1,000 yards rushing, and another 800 to 1,000 receiving over the next few seasons, he'll be a bonafide superstar, among the top three backs in total yardage if not the leader. He's not getting many rushing attempts yet, but until last night Carolina's o-line showed no ability to open holes for their RBs. But Christian's now scored 3 TDs in the past two games, two of them rushing touchdowns.

McCaffrey's usage is comparable to that of Alvin Kamara and Jerrick McKinnon, both smaller backs with a lot of speed who are used heavily in the passing game. And I do think Christian will get to run the ball more over time, but it's unlikely he's ever going to be a workhorse purely as a runner, especially when he's the best receiving back in the league.
 
Carolina Speed

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Don Wassall said:
I wasn't unhappy with Christian's game either. He played an important part in his team's nationally televised slaughter of the Caste clown Dolphins, contributing running, receiving and blocking, showing off his moves and quickness on several plays, and of course scoring twice, which is all that counts to a lot of DWFs.

I would like to see him get more carries and he eventually will as Stewart is in the twilight of his career, but he's never going to be rushing 25 or 30 times a game. He's not built for that and it would greatly increase his injury risk. For now, like Burkhead, being a key contributor on a contending team is pretty darn good.

BTW Shadowlight, if you could put a space between your paragraphs your posts will be much easier to read rather than appearing like an imposing wall of words.
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I guess by my posts last night most here know how I felt about the way McCaffrey was played! I stand by it! In most cases had another running back had the kind of game Stewart had last week and considering how CM came in and showed what he could do, Stewart would have been an after thought! However, it didn't happen. After CM made a 16 yard reception and 1-2 carries he was done in the first half. He did show his vision and cutting ability on that 3 yard TD run and that was it! Five touches in the first half and three in the second! Really?
I would've thought he would have gotten at least 9-10 in the second half, especially after Carolina pulled ahead for good, but no, after being used as a decoy on several possessions, even inside the 30-20; Newton and Carolina didn't even look his way. Not one time! Then after the game had been decided, Carolina brings in third string RB Artis-Payne, who is actually pretty good. Artis-Payne got 7 carries in about two possessions. CM, 5 carries for the entire game. How many teams bring in their third string RB and completely ignore number two? Maybe that's typical? What happens in the next few years when and if CM is able to get a start and Artis-Payne breaks off some huge run as he did last night? Will that be the last we see of McCaffrey? We've seen it before. Haven't we? I hope I'm wrong.
I'm not asking for 25-30 touches/game. After all CM is still very young 21, and still has some physical maturity to come, but 12-15 is way better than 6-8!
I guess after all the media coverage about the changing of the guard, etc. I was expecting more. As I've admitted before, I haven't watched very many NFL games, with the exception of the Patriots, over the last year or two, but after seeing CM doing well last week, I was ready to enjoy seeing him really break out last night.
It was the perfect time for him to do just that, however he was de-railed or at least that's what I believe. Again, I hope I'm wrong about all this.
 
Flint

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Carolina Speed said:
I guess by my posts last night most here know how I felt about the way McCaffrey was played! I stand by it! In most cases had another running back had the kind of game Stewart had last week and considering how CM came in and showed what he could do, Stewart would have been an after thought! However, it didn't happen. After CM made a 16 yard reception and 1-2 carries he was done in the first half. He did show his vision and cutting ability on that 3 yard TD run and that was it! Five touches in the first half and three in the second! Really?
I would've thought he would have gotten at least 9-10 in the second half, especially after Carolina pulled ahead for good, but no, after being used as a decoy on several possessions, even inside the 30-20; Newton and Carolina didn't even look his way. Not one time! Then after the game had been decided, Carolina brings in third string RB Artis-Payne, who is actually pretty good. Artis-Payne got 7 carries in about two possessions. CM, 5 carries for the entire game. How many teams bring in their third string RB and completely ignore number two? Maybe that's typical? What happens in the next few years when and if CM is able to get a start and Artis-Payne breaks off some huge run as he did last night? Will that be the last we see of McCaffrey? We've seen it before. Haven't we? I hope I'm wrong.
I'm not asking for 25-30 touches/game. After all CM is still very young 21, and still has some physical maturity to come, but 12-15 is way better than 6-8!
I guess after all the media coverage about the changing of the guard, etc. I was expecting more. As I've admitted before, I haven't watched very many NFL games, with the exception of the Patriots, over the last year or two, but after seeing CM doing well last week, I was ready to enjoy seeing him really break out last night.
It was the perfect time for him to do just that, however he was de-railed or at least that's what I believe. Again, I hope I'm wrong about all this.
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While I'm of an opinion that we can afford to be patient as it seems CM is in a good position right now, you do make a very good point about the 3rd string back. The way it works now is a team will run their starters out there for 60 minutes no matter if it's a blow out or a nail biter. No one gets any breaks nowadays it seems, so to have the starters riding the pine in that situation is a bit odd. Also it is true that one good game by a black back up is enough to replace a white starter most times. Hopefully CM is able to avoid that fate.
 
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