Steve ReedVerified account
‏@SteveReedAP
Daryl Williams, David Mayo and Charles Johnson are OUT for Panthers. Mario Addison, Luke Kuechly, Kurt Coleman, Daryl Worley questionable.
Ehh whatever
Let's talk about the growing sentiment in some quarters of Panthers Nation that Kelvin Benjamin actually makes the Panthers' offense worse.
Huh? you all say.
Benjamin is a physical freak. He's bigger and stronger than most guys at his position, runs like a gazelle, and catches everything within 3 feet of him.
In a lot of ways, he's the WR version of Cam Newton.
Benjamin is lazy and occasionally disinterested. He'll whine and complain when things don't go his way, he'll check out of plays where he's not the intended target, sometimes quitting his routes all together and not giving his QB an extra option to keep plays alive. I've never seen a receiver get called for as many holding penalties in run block situations as he is, mainly because he lacks the form to be a good blocker and the desire to improve himself in ways that don't involve catching the football.
In a lot of ways, he's the WR version of Cam Newton.
I find it hard to blame EVERYTHING on him (this season has been a catastrophic breakdown on every level of the offense), but Cam absolutely looked more comfortable last year when he was forced to spread the ball around to guys like Ginn and Brown and Funchess as opposed to this year where he's trying so hard to get Benjamin the ball and keep him interested in plays.
