Panthers News: Jeremy Chinn, Adam Thielen, Miles Sanders and selling assets
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers RB Miles Sanders' role
Frank Reich handing over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown comes with significant intrigue attached. The Carolina Panthers offense has been mundane at best over the first six games, so having new ideas from a branch on the Sean McVay coaching tree should open things up from a creativity standpoint if nothing else.
After all, what do the Panthers have to lose at this point?
One player that could see an upturn in production is Miles Sanders. The running back hasn't been at his best through six weeks, but groin and shoulder issues coupled with not playing to his strengths behind a suspect offensive line mean his poor form comes with mitigating factors attached.
When discussing Sanders' role moving forward, team writer Darin Gantt hinted that Brown will look to devise concepts that maximize his skill set. If he fails to meet expectations, then Chuba Hubbard has already proven more than capable of shouldering a heavy load.
"With his [Thomas Brown] background in the Rams running game, there's a way to use backs like [Miles] Sanders in space, to tap into his gifts as a pass-catcher, and to allow him to use his burst outside. There's a way to create a combination of the two. Last year with D'Onta Foreman and Hubbard, you just had two slam-it-up-in-there guys. You also had an offensive line that was talented, healthy, and most importantly, cohesive. The Panthers haven't enjoyed that this year. So my suspicion is they'll try to blend the things that Sanders is good at with the line in its current state and create ways for him to succeed. If not, Hubbard showed he's capable of carrying the mail, and he's continued to work on his own pass-catching and pass-protecting in case they can't find the right mix."
- Darin Gantt, Panthers.com
Hopefully, Sanders comes back in relatively full health after the bye week. But if the Penn State product does reassume lead-back duties, he'll be on an extremely short leash.