4 ongoing positives for the Carolina Panthers under Steve Wilks

Carolina Panthers are a running force

Matt Rhule preached a seven-year plan to get the Carolina Panthers back to prominence. He also failed to back up some big claims about establishing an identity on offense, which played a significant role in team owner David Tepper pulling the plug way ahead of time.

Steve Wilks has managed this in just a few short weeks. The Panthers are a power-run team that builds around a running back trio who appear to be firing on all cylinders right now.

Wilks is working well with Carolina’s offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. Now that Rhule’s shackles have been released, things are progressing in an encouraging manner and their complete dominance at the Seattle Seahawks was further evidence of this.

Opposing defenses know exactly what’s coming. However, having this knowledge and actually stopping it are two very different things.

D’Onta Foreman is the bell cow whose physicality wears down opposing defenses if the carries are plentiful. Chuba Hubbard is emerging as a decent complimentary option and Raheem Blackshear is also flashing on a limited role for good measure.

This is what the Panthers are all about. Smash mouth, in-your-face football that starts with setting the tone on the ground. Something that’s also giving quarterback Sam Darnold more manageable situations during his two turnover-free games since returning to the starting lineup.