With the Panthers, I don’t like that they are so dependent on Cam Newton. For them to be effective – both passing and rushing – he has to be healthy. And while he’s a big, strong dude, he takes an awful lot of hits week after week.
They are not a team, I believe, that can simply line up and run the ball in a conventional way. Jonathan Stewart is fine, but he’s not a top-level back. That is, you couldn’t plug him into the lineup of a struggling offense – Cleveland, Tennessee, whoever – and have him turn around the running game.
The Panthers, for example, are a good short-yardage team, but that’s Newton, not Stewart.
Over the last two years, 35 players have run the ball at least 15 times when their team needed 1 yards for either a touchdown or to keep a drive alive. Newton was the most effective player in the league in those situations, converting over 90 percent. Stewart has been down near the bottom, at 50 percent.
| "AND-ONE" RUSHING EFFECTIVENESS, 2014-15 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Good | Att | Pct |
| 1. | Cam Newton, Car. | 28 | 31 | 90.3% |
| 2. | Joique Bell, Det. | 15 | 17 | 88.2% |
| 3. | Doug Martin, T.B. | 19 | 22 | 86.4% |
| 4. | Andy Dalton, Cin. | 16 | 19 | 84.2% |
| 5. | DeMarco Murray, Phil. | 35 | 44 | 79.5% |
| 6. | LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 15 | 19 | 78.9% |
| 7. | Tom Brady, N.E. | 16 | 21 | 76.2% |
| 8. | Joe Flacco, Balt. | 18 | 24 | 75.0% |
| 9. | Lamar Miller, Mia. | 20 | 27 | 74.1% |
| 10. | C.J. Anderson, Den. | 16 | 22 | 72.7% |
| 11. | Jeremy Hill, Cin. | 20 | 29 | 69.0% |
| 12. | Jamaal Charles, K.C. | 11 | 16 | 68.8% |
| 13. | Darren McFadden, Dall. | 12 | 18 | 66.7% |
| 14. | Matt Asiata, | 10 | 15 | 66.7% |
| 15. | Steven Jackson, N.E. | 10 | 15 | 66.7% |
| 16. | LeGarrette Blount, N.E. | 13 | 20 | 65.0% |
| 17. | Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 11 | 17 | 64.7% |
| 18. | Marshawn Lynch, Sea. | 21 | 33 | 63.6% |
| 19. | Alfred Morris, Wash. | 12 | 19 | 63.2% |
| 20. | Arian Foster, Hou. | 12 | 19 | 63.2% |
| 21. | DeAngelo Williams, Pitt. | 12 | 19 | 63.2% |
| 22. | Matt Forte, Chi. | 23 | 37 | 62.2% |
| 23. | Latavius Murray, Oak. | 13 | 21 | 61.9% |
| 24. | Alfred Blue, Hou. | 11 | 18 | 61.1% |
| 25. | Ronnie Hillman, Den. | 11 | 18 | 61.1% |
| 26. | Rashad Jennings, NYG | 14 | 23 | 60.9% |
| 27. | Eddie Lacy, G.B. | 17 | 28 | 60.7% |
| 28. | Mark Ingram, N.O. | 17 | 28 | 60.7% |
| 29. | LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 11 | 19 | 57.9% |
| 30. | Andre Williams, NYG | 12 | 22 | 54.5% |
| 31. | Chris Ivory, NYJ | 20 | 37 | 54.1% |
| 32. | Frank Gore, Ind. | 15 | 28 | 53.6% |
| 33. | Justin Forsett, Balt. | 10 | 19 | 52.6% |
| 34. | Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 8 | 16 | 50.0% |
| 35. | Toby Gerhart, Jac. | 8 | 18 | 44.4% |
—Ian Allan