Panthers sign CJ Anderson

[Tugboat]

That's a good solid signing.  Mostly made possible by the timing of the cut from the Broncos, after most teams had sorted their RB situation or at least set themselves up to have it shored up in the draft.  Worked to the Panthers advantage though, getting a solid tandem back this late in the process.

I still really have trouble seeing McCaffrey as a true "bell cow" back.  I think he'll probably see more touches this year, but a pretty similar split to Stewart with CJ Anderson wouldn't even surprise me.  He's well suited to that role, and probably a better back than Stewart was last year.

Don't think that really has to be a negative for McCaffrey though.  He's a weapon that you can use in different ways, and you want to find ways to get the ball in his hands more creatively...rather than wasting him on hammering it up the gut in heavy traffic a bunch of times.

[JaguarCrazy2832]

Seems like a win-win but i think J-Stew was probably better

[Broncofan]

24 minutes ago, JaguarCrazy2832 said:

Seems like a win-win but i think J-Stew was probably better 2 years ago.

FIFY.  The corpse of J-Stew was atrocious in 2017.  He was slow as molasses, couldn't make anyone miss, and couldn't fall forward.   And this was nowhere near his 2016 level of play.   When the decline phase hits in a RB with his skill set, it's usually ugly, and man, it was.   He was 46th out of 53 backs with barely 2 yards after contact, so it can't be all blamed on his line, either.   And it wasn't sample size - he had 200+ touches (when you add the 17 targets to his 184 carries).   The eye test and metrics both indicate he's likely done.

Still, JStew will get the dreaded "trusted vet" label to take more touches than he should from Barkley in NYG.   But make no mistake, CJ Anderson was a far better back last year (with less mileage and 4 years younger to boot).   It's hard to see that changing in 2018.   Ironically this could be a bad thing for CAR - because if CJ is used for 200+ touches at the expense of giving CMac his 300+ touches that he deserves, man bad outcome (180-200 carries, 120+ targets is the ideal CMac usage with 16 games, get him his 18-20 touches per game, just make sure it's 7-8 targets in space as part of that touch #).  If CJ's used as the backup & guy to keep CMac fresh and not as a timeshare, though - big upgrade.  We'll see.

[LaserFocus]

7 hours ago, Tugboat said:

That's a good solid signing.  Mostly made possible by the timing of the cut from the Broncos, after most teams had sorted their RB situation or at least set themselves up to have it shored up in the draft.  Worked to the Panthers advantage though, getting a solid tandem back this late in the process.

I still really have trouble seeing McCaffrey as a true "bell cow" back.  I think he'll probably see more touches this year, but a pretty similar split to Stewart with CJ Anderson wouldn't even surprise me.  He's well suited to that role, and probably a better back than Stewart was last year.

Don't think that really has to be a negative for McCaffrey though.  He's a weapon that you can use in different ways, and you want to find ways to get the ball in his hands more creatively...rather than wasting him on hammering it up the gut in heavy traffic a bunch of times.

McCaffrey wasn't drafted so highly to be bell cow back, but the Panthers are expecting a real multipurpose weapon. He was disappointing as a runner and returner in 2017, McCaffrey will have to be more than a receiver out of the backfield to justify being the eighth overall pick. Maybe he takes that step forward in 2018, maybe not.

[SilverNBlackFan]

17 hours ago, Crickett said:

So this might be a hot take, but Carolina has put together the best collection of offensive talent Cam Newton has had on offense in his career.  I don't know about Norv Turner in 2018, but they've got the surrounding skill position players at least. 

Funchess-Torey Smith-DJ Moore-Curtis Samuel-Jauris Wright looks like a pretty decent WR core on paper. 

Then you add Olsen and McCaffrey who will be basically the top two passing targets on that team, and Cam has a versatile arsenal of weapons to spread the ball around to. 

[SteelKing728]

5 hours ago, SilverNBlackFan said:

Funchess-Torey Smith-DJ Moore-Curtis Samuel-Jauris Wright looks like a pretty decent WR core on paper. 

Then you add Olsen and McCaffrey who will be basically the top two passing targets on that team, and Cam has a versatile arsenal of weapons to spread the ball around to. 

The biggest issue being Norv Turner. He's stuck in his ways and is very reluctant to change when needed.

All that being said, he'll still get CJ involved all year.

[SilverNBlackFan]

36 minutes ago, SteelKing728 said:

The biggest issue being Norv Turner. He's stuck in his ways and is very reluctant to change when needed.

All that being said, he'll still get CJ involved all year.

Hard to not change and adapt your offense when you have such a unique  QB like Newton.

[DoleINGout]

10 hours ago, JaguarCrazy2832 said:

Seems like a win-win but i think J-Stew was probably better

At least they signed him before Mark Ingram got suspended.

[JaguarCrazy2832]

4 minutes ago, DoleINGout said:

At least they signed him before Mark Ingram got suspended.

True, Saints might have jumped on him

[SteelKing728]

6 minutes ago, SilverNBlackFan said:

Hard to not change and adapt your offense when you have such a unique  QB like Newton.

Right... but its Norv Turner. He doesn't care.

He helped Bridgewater in 2014 by implementing a quicker passing game and gave his QB more freedom. Then in 2015 he totally abandoned that when AD came back. The whole offense struggles except for the HOF back.

In 2016 Bridgewater goes down, and he implements a short passing game for Bradford for the first 5 games of the year. Vikings go 5-0 in that frame. Bye week hits, and the following 2 weeks Turner totally ignores what is working, the offense is trash, Vikings are 5-2 and then Turner "resigns" due to philosophy differences with the organization.

[Broncofan]

Contract details - shows how much the RB position is devalued (even Dez got a 6M AAV offer from BAL).   

 

[KuechTheCat]

I'm very happy with the signing. Cameron Artis-Payne and Fozzy Whitaker (now on IR) didn't inspire too much faith in me as #2 and 3 RBs. With CJ on the roster I feel a little more confident that somebody can step up.

Also I have no problem with McCaffrey. The Panthers used him almost exactly as he should be used, and most of the talk of him being disappointing is due purely to how high he was drafted. That said, I definitely expect him to step it up a notch this year.

[atown703]

Couldn't have been better timing on this signing. Should still get the 3rd comp pick next year for Norwell and the Saint's losing Ingram for the first 4 weeks is such a nice surprise. I expect a 70/30 split with CMac getting the majority of the snaps. Would love to see what CMac and CJ Anderson could both do on the field in pistol formations