Yahoo Finance Panthers giving Christian McCaffrey 30 touches per game isn’t sustainable. The solution?
When people ask if Christian McCaffrey should get 30 touches every game, as he did against the New York Jets in Week 1, the answer can be boiled down to two words:
Absolutely not.
There’s a reason why 34 of the 35 highest-touch seasons in the NFL came before the 2010s. Coaches now realize that if you feed a running back the ball that much, you’re shortening his career. You’re robbing Peter to pay Paul, as the saying goes.
If McCaffrey touched the ball 30 times a game in every game in 2021, he’d end up with 510 touches. The NFL record, set by James Wilder in 1984, is 492. Thirty a game isn’t sustainable. Historically, 25 has been for McCaffrey — that’s what he averaged in 2019 — but 20-22 per game would likely be ideal for his long-term health.
Enter Chuba Hubbard.
Hubbard is a speedy rookie from Oklahoma State by way of Canada with loads of potential. But Carolina doesn’t totally trust him yet in the backfield. It’s not because he can’t run or catch the ball, but because he made a key blitz pickup miscue in Game 1 that could have led to a huge hit on quarterback Sam Darnold. Hubbard has been made well aware of that error this week.
“I just kind of need to calm down and relax,” Hubbard said. “Just breathe a little bit.”
The Panthers only played Hubbard for seven offensive snaps in Week 1, but he also had 24 snaps on special teams.
Carolina wants to get Hubbard and his athleticism on the field so badly that they use him all over the place. He threw his blocker into the Jets punter on one play, unintentionally injuring the New York punter (the play was legal and no flag was thrown). Hubbard is the Panthers’ primary kickoff returner. He also is on the punt coverage and punt return teams.
“He’s not just a guy out there,” Panther coach Matt Rhule said of Hubbard on special teams. “He’s a physical force.”
The pass protection, though ...
“The thing about playing on offense is you can have one lapse, one mistake and somebody comes off the backside (while rushing the quarterback), and that can change the game,” Rhule said.
I hope we see more of Hubbard against the Saints. If you remember his 59-yard rush in the preseason, you know the rookie has big-play potential. It’s just a matter of time before he does something significant.
“I’m going to fix the mistakes,” Hubbard said. If he does that, getting the ball to Hubbard a handful of times every game will undoubtedly help preserve McCaffrey for the season’s long haul.
NOTES AND A PANTHERS-SAINTS PREDICTION
▪ The Saints didn’t allow a single sack against Green Bay last week. Carolina had six against the Jets, and really should have had more like nine, except the Panthers had several point-blank misses. Something has got to give.
▪ As good as Darnold was in Week 1, he also missed two potential touchdown throws in red-zone situations: one to Ian Thomas and one to Terrace Marshall Jr. Darnold’s ability to perform against a superb Saints defense that intercepted Carolina quarterbacks a staggering five times in the final week of the 2020 regular season will be Sunday’s biggest key.
▪ Prediction time: I’m 1-0 after hitting on Carolina’s win over the Jets last week.
This time I don’t foresee it going as well for the home team, although at least it will be closer than some of the Drew Brees era games. Final score: New Orleans 28, Carolina 24.
