3 burning questions Carolina Panthers fans are asking after the 2024 bye
By Ricky Raines
With another gameday approaching, we’re back to open the mailbag after recharging during the bye week.
The Carolina Panthers are pulling out the fine china for their guests this week, as evidenced by the grounds crew painting the gorgeous old-school midfield logo and end-zone designs. Not to mention that they’ll also be donning the black-on-black uniform kit, including the alternate black helmets.
Regardless of the outcome at Bank of America Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, fans will no doubt be aesthetically pleased.
Without spending any more time on pleasantries, let’s get straight into the questions you all submitted this round. As always, I do appreciate the thoughtful participation and hope the answers don’t let you down too tremendously.
Here we go...
Burning questions Carolina Panthers fans are asking after the bye
Jonathon Brooks' usage
How does DC plan to use Brooks? Chuba’s crushing it this season. I’d hate to see us try to replace a shiny dime with two nickels and somehow lose money. – Aaron McCoin
I’m glad we’ve waited to answer the mailbag because we got some from-the-horses-mouth insight here on rookie Jonathon Brooks’ debut from Dave Canales. The major takeaway for me was noting that the second-round pick wouldn’t be on a pitch count.
If Brooks is asked to handle a sizeable workload, in theory, they feel comfortable with the idea. That being said, I don’t foresee him being tasked with a significant number of snaps.
I get the impression we’ll see the former Texas Longhorn being utilized similarly to how we have seen Miles Sanders deployed. Passing downs and third downs are situational areas that Brooks’ game naturally fits into quite well. He’s a plus-grade pass protector in the backfield and has good hands as a check-down outlet.
Brooks is creative enough that those check-downs can parlay into chunk plays. I’d like to see designed targets, especially on slips and delayed screen concepts. Give him blockers in front of him, allow the rookie to see running lanes, and put his impressive movement skills on display.
Canales also made sure to mention that Chuba Hubbard is still the starting point. I wouldn’t fret too much over the ‘replace a shiny dime with two nickels’ concern.
Hubbard will still see the lion’s share of the running back touches, especially in the beginning while the rookie gets acclimated and adjusts to the NFL game, while Brooks simply offers a (hopefully) more efficient and effective complementary piece.
Since I enjoy analogies too, let’s try this one. The rushing attack for the Carolina Panthers offense is like your home lawn care.
The mower is the workhorse, it’s what you use the most and rely on for the bulk of the job - that’s Hubbard. But now, instead of lining up the beds and walkways with scissors and clearing leaves and debris with a hairdryer, they’ll have a brand-new Husqvarna edger and backpack leaf blower at their disposal.
It’s all about working smarter, not harder.