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(Sorry for the late submittal, I didn't realize these posts come out every Tuesday.) Huge game. Great TEAM win. While I'm not superstitious, I am a "little-stitious", so that's all I'll say about the season right now.
I appreciate your response to the overtime question, and I must say that my idea actually sprang from the reality show, Survivor. I'm a huge fan of the show, not so much for the "reality" portion, but for the challenges and competitiveness. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend. The older seasons are the best, in my opinion, but the best change to the newer seasons is the fire-making challenge. Pretty self-explanatory, but the creators do a great job of capturing the intense moment and fueling the anticipation. That's what I imagined an overtime kicking competition to be like (probably too optimistic), but I am in agreement with you about the college rules, which are much more entertaining.
So, here's my question: Jokingly, can I respectfully request that all football-themed video games and/or movies, i.e., Varsity Blues, be banned for a minimum of 48 hours before gametime? If not the whole team, just for Xavier Legette? What the eff was he doing? We could have easily went into halftime down two scores. — Jonathan, Whittier, NC
Scratch my last submission, let XL watch whatever the heck he wants before games! Feels great to see him start producing. I'm sure it helps when all the attention is focused on Tetairoa McMillan. And Jimmy Horn Jr. looks FAST.
Just based on the last three games, it sure seems like Rico Dowdle should have gotten the start and should be RB1 going forward. I feel like he earned it. That's not to say Chuba Hubbard isn't valuable, especially as a pass-blocker. I feel like that should be the plan moving forward. Let Rico be the three-down back and bring Chuba in on obvious pass plays, or should I keep my day job? — Jonathan, Whittier, NC
Jonathan here was all ready to unload on Legette for his lateral against the Cowboys a week ago, but then saw something to distract him — namely, the career-high nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown against the Jets.
(And, that lateral, encouraged in the moment by Dowdle, was the kind of thing they're not looking to repeat. As Dave Canales said last week, "don't make stuff up.")
But all of a sudden, XL makes some plays, and people think differently.
To Jonathan's larger point, made in conjunction with the receivers and the backs, is that it takes more than one of them. If a team wants to shadow one receiver, the Panthers have enough targets to spread it around and continue to run a functioning offense. And having size-speed guys like Legette and Jalen Coker and Brycen Tremayne, and a speed guy like Horn, along with McMillan, makes the whole group harder to cover.
Same with running backs. Any one guy can get hot or cold in a short amount of time, but if you've got two of them, it gives you a much better chance to sustain the kind of run game you want to have over 17 weeks.