5 burning Carolina Panthers fan questions entering Week 6 vs. the Falcons
By Ricky Raines
Jonathon Brooks' status
When will (Jonathon) Brooks practice window be opened? Should we be sellers at the trade deadline? – Josh Talley
The second-round rookie running back out of Texas is eligible to come off the injured reserve at any point now. Once removed, Jonathon Brooks has a 21-day window to be put on the active roster, or else he’ll find himself on the injured reserve for the entire season.
Based on reporting from local beat writers, it sounds like there’s a real possibility that window could open in the next week or two. The Carolina Panthers want to get a look at him operating alongside Chuba Hubbard to know what that future pairing could look like. Fingers crossed.
If there are teams that want the services of certain players on this roster, you entertain the conversations at least. I will say this, though - I’m not forcing a trade of the handful of quality players the Panthers do have on the roster, just to do it.
Hubbard and Diontae Johnson come to mind with that train of thought. I wouldn't move either for chump change. A veteran like Adam Thielen, however, could provide an in-season boost to a playoff team making their run. That’s not a major loss for the Panthers when considering the long-term outlook the organization should be taking.
Carolina Panthers' rushing intent
Will this be the week Coach Canales is stubborn with the run game? Any reason why he hasn’t been yet? – Panther Bo
Panther Bo, my guy! Appreciate the question. The matchup against the Atlanta Falcons is a difficult one for the defense because of how dynamic their skill players are and how reliable their quarterback is. But there’s a recipe card in the cupboard for Carolina to cook on offense, and that’s to run the football. A lot.
Chuba Hubbard is top-five in the league in rushing yards despite never getting more than 18 carries in a game. They should change that this week. Atlanta allows 148.4 rushing yards per game, which ranks No. 29 league-wide. They also are abysmal in the pass rush department - even worse than Carolina is, if you can believe it - so convincing them to think run-first would also potentially slow that pass rush even more on the snaps where Andy Dalton does drop back to throw.
Not to mention the benefit of winning the time of possession game for Carolina's struggling defense.
Why hasn’t Dave Canales been stubborn with it up to this point? Some will point to game scripts and the deficits they’ve faced. I don’t buy that all the way. I do believe they’ve abandoned the ground game prematurely in a few games, and that played a role in the eventual outcomes.
Canales is also a first-time head coach and he’s still the play caller on offense. It’s a learning curve and a matter of rookie mistakes. The hope is he can identify that and rectify it. We’ll see.