More DeFos/DWill fodder for you folks out there......
DeAngelo or DeShaun? For now, it's an easy De-cision
By Darin Gantt · The Herald - Updated 11/22/06 - 7:45 AM
CHARLOTTE -- In any debate, the easiest position to take is the contrary one.
It makes you look smarter and more thoughtful, since you've chosen a position counter to the established norms. Then again, choosing that position doesn't make you right and can quickly expose you as the opposite.
There will come a time when the Carolina Panthers' offense belongs to DeAngelo Williams. That time is not now. There's too much at stake.
You'd think with the beating running back DeShaun Foster takes on the Internet message boards and radio talk shows, he must be some sort of deficient character -- lacking either personal ballast or football talent. Neither is true.
Since the day he walked through the door, all he's done is wait quietly for his chance and perform admirably when he's gotten it.
Whether it was one injury or another or Stephen Davis, forces conspired to keep him from his opportunity to do what he does best, and what he's doing now -- run.
Yeah, that DeShaun Foster, he's no good. All he does is gain positive yards behind a suspect line. All he's done is author some of the most memorable runs in franchise history.
Quick, how many specific Stephen Davis rushes do you remember? Now, how many of Foster's spring to mind?
His six-tackle breaking explosion in the NFC Championship Game win over Philadelphia stands as one of the three best individual plays in franchise history.
How about the 33-yard burst in the Super Bowl, the longest run the Patriots gave up that year? Maybe the 71-yard cannon-shot in Kansas City in 2004? The 70-yard power-cut-back-and fly in Atlanta on New Year's Day? How about the game-clinching 43-yarder in the fourth quarter against New Orleans a few weeks back?
Foster's done it time and time again, always with a flair for the dramatic, even though his personality runs just as fast in the other direction.
Maybe that's part of the current sea change, the sudden Williams movement that has sprung up among the knee-jerk class.
The rookie's personable, for sure. He plays with chain saws to scare little kids -- because he is one. He's also shown a knack for being able to break big runs.
The difference between the two backs, however, came clear in the first game Williams missed.
When the Panthers went to Baltimore, they went in head down and running. It didn't matter that they weren't going to gain any yards, they were running anyway.
Somebody had to run it.
To me, the 58 yards Foster gained that day on 26 carries were perhaps the strongest he's posted, the validation that yes he can be the power back the Panthers want him to be. Does he dance at times? Sure, but not because he's a dancer by nature. Watch from behind him and tell me what's there.
That afternoon in Baltimore, he repeatedly slammed himself into no-hole times, and the fact he averaged better than 2 per shot (considering what was on either side of the line) seems amazing.
To say he's not a physical runner like Davis is perhaps the reddest herring ever waved in these parts.
It's a faulty assumption based on the fact that since Davis was here and was a true power back, any other backs who were here at the time were complements. If Davis was brute force, Foster must have been finesse, right?
Wrong.
The same bad logic applies to the comparisons to Williams.
Because the rookie's so quick to the hole, he must have more functional speed than Foster, right?
Nope.
The differences between the two backs at this point are subtle ones, ones easily lost on those who chatter on.
Williams looks good, but the third carry of the game is much easier to look good on than the 23rd -- and the rookie hasn't proven himself trustworthy on that one yet.
There's a cumulative effect to running the ball inside, to beating the rock with a hammer when the crack's not apparent.
It's part of the setup, part of the chess game that the Panthers' offense is built on. For Steve Smith to have room to roam deep, it takes a consistent plowing up the middle. Foster's handled that load so far.
Williams has a low-cut frame built for leverage, but at some point this season, the back's going to have to pick up a defensive end on a key third down, and Foster's better there, too. Running backs coach Jim Skipper said in 2003 that Foster was the best pass protector in his group, and that was when it included Davis and the staples, Brad Hoover and Nick Goings.
Over the next six weeks and beyond, the Panthers will need both Foster and Williams. So debating which should take a greater role's a pointless exercise. The fact that there is a bit of a contrast between them works to the Panthers' advantage, not disadvantage. Those who would give that away don't see the larger picture.
It's easy to say it's Williams' time. He's shiny and new.
But the Panthers are approaching the time of year when you need things solid and dependable.
If things play out as they should, they're going to be one the road somewhere late, needing to grind some time off the clock. Then they're going to have to throw at some point, and someone's going to have to step in front of a man who means harm to Jake Delhomme.
When that time comes, when it matters, who do you want there?
The new kid, or the guy who's fought that fight before?
Darin Gantt | daringantt@carolina.rr.com
For those of you keeping score at home, here is exactly where things stand:1) Foster - starter2) Williams - will play as much as, or more than Foster going forward3) Hoover - short yardage & GL option4) Goings - the x factor could get 0 touches or 5-6 any given week.
atientdeangeloowner:
