Panthers Stewart Set to Return Kick Offs

Panthers coach John Fox had this to say today during a  Q & A session at the Charlotte Touchdown club regarding whether Jonathan Stewart  would see action returning kick-offs .

"Jonathan Stewart was one of the leaders in the country, as well as leading the Pac-10. He's the guy who'll start off with those duties when we go to (training) camp. Not only is he an outstanding running back, but that was one of the key factors but in our search for a kickoff returner -- that we were able to address that."

I think the fact he returns kicks is just a bonus in John Fox’s book as he would have picked him at #13 anyway. If DeAngelo Williams is the starting RB then I wouldn’t see a problem letting Stewart return kick offs. Giving him touches in the open field can’t be a bad thing, he averaged over 28 yards per return this past year at Oregon. That’s nine yards more per return (not the NFL I realize).

 Letting Stewart returns kicks will help the Panthers in another way, he will either fix the problem with our kick returns or help us pinpoint the problem. I’m not sure if the problem is with the returner as much as it the blocking scheme. I think early last season the problem was rookie jitters by KR Ryne Robinson. Later in the season he showed promise on punt returns but the kick returns still suffered. J-Stew should tell us if the problem is the blocking scheme, the execution or a combination of both. That is unless he busts a few long ones and averages 28 yards per return. All be forgiven then!

 The Panthers better show some improvement in this area or Special Teams coach Danny Crossman might be in the hot seat come January. Actually just a little excitement would go a long way. How long has it been since we didn’t wince every time the other team kicked off? I lost so much confidence in the unit my only hope was that they would not lose the game for us (remember the Houston game?).

 The Panthers kick return unit needs a shot of adrenaline. Here’s to J-Stew taking his first kick return to the house!

J-Stew is looking to get unleashed from his boot