Panthers offensive weapon Christian McCaffrey only touched the ball five times against the Titans in the first half on Saturday, but when he touched it, he did some great things. And more importantly, the Panthers put McCaffrey in really good positions to succeed, with Mike Shula indicating he has a strong understanding of how to utilize his newest toy.
Late in the offseason I wrote about the Panthers offensive failure from last season, a big part of which was the swaths of unused field space in front of the line of scrimmage. During the initial preseason foray into using McCaffrey, it was clear the young man can be special for Carolina, but it was imperative Shula use him the right ways in Carolina's schemes.
On Saturday afternoon, it was clear the Panthers are willing to be creative with their first-round pick. Sometimes teams will hesitate to use players like McCaffrey -- undersized as a traditional running back -- as a featured back in the red zone. The Panthers were not afraid against Tennessee.
This was on a first down from the 17-yard line.
And it resulted in McCaffrey's first touchdown as an NFL player (albeit one that won't count).
Welcome to the end zone, @run__cmc! #CARvsTEN
— NFL (@NFL) August 19, 2017
📺: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/ITvYVnhqTF
Watch that a couple times and look what happens when he bursts through the hole. He cuts right towards the sideline and there is a zero percent chance he is going to get caught by cornerback Brice McCain in pursuit.
Late in the first half, Derek Anderson found McCaffrey on a delayed screen pass up the middle that helped to put him in space.
This is what Panthers fans should want to see. @run__cmc in the passing game and in space. pic.twitter.com/f5c85w774w
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) August 19, 2017
When he's given room to run, good luck taking him in one-on-one tackling matchups. McCaffrey ended up just having three carries but he ran for 33 yards. His three targets resulted in two receptions for 39 yards. That is some high-level efficiency, and it should be welcome news for Panthers fans to see how McCaffrey is being deployed in the offense.
This isn't trickery, it's just smart usage. If you put McCaffrey in positions where he can use his athleticism, burst and quickness to accelerate into space and away from defenders, he is going to do damage. The Panthers appear to have a good understanding of this.
Suffice to say Cam Newton is pretty excited about it.
tfw you watch Christian McCaffrey operating as the Panthers feature back in the red zone pic.twitter.com/bixMfm2fRw
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) August 19, 2017