Much has been written and discussed about Carolina's red zone woes this season and rightfully so.   The team just isn't scoring touchdowns when inside the opponent's 20 yard line.   Penalties and bad calls have had as much to do with this as anything but I came across some interesting stats from a fantasy football article on ESPN earlier today that helped shed some light on this problem of the Panthers.

When the Panthers are going to run the ball inside their opponent's 10-yard line, they turn to Newton. Newton has had 10 such carries. If you are wondering about how much the Carolina Panthers' running backs are used in those situations, the numbers are surprising.Jonathan Stewart has only two chances, and DeAngelo Williams' next carry inside the opponent's 10-yard line this season will be his first.

http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/football/ffl/story?page=trendspotting111005

More after the jump...

Now I for one am deeply enjoying Chud ball as we finally have a fun and exciting offense to watch.  But if Newton remains our leading rusher for TDs, we may be in trouble.   Granted he scored on 4 of the 10 attempts but how long will he hold up?  To me it is unconscionable that we are not using our backs more inside the 10.   We have arguably two of the best RBs in the game and you're running your prized franchise QB 5 times more than JStew? DWill hasn't even been given a touch?  I would much rather take my chances in the red zone lining up in the Power I with JStew or DWill and pounding the ball than throwing outs to Naanee or fades to LaFell or worse, risking injury to Newton. As for the guys upfront, is this not the same OLine that dominated the league in 2008 running the ball?  

Chud can shorten a field as well as any OC in the league.  But he needs to remember his titans near the promised land.  He needs to remember he has two of the best scoring weapons in the league behind a once great line looking to regain its' swagger.