You wonder sometimes about the Carolina Panthers franchise. For all of the flack that Cam Newton has accumulated lately from a highly judgemental social media culture as he walks a scorching hot maze of political correctness while being bashed as a sexist, selfish and ornery player for not speaking with reporters after tough losses, the Panthers have done nothing to address the problems that have plagued their offense.
Newton has performed well this season, but he has no real weapons on offense to speak of. No superstar running backs or receivers. Newtons No. 1 target Greg Olson is out for the season with a broken foot. Christian McCaffrey is a rookie running back still trying to find a flow in the offense and now, with the team at 5-3 and battling New Orleans (5-2) and Atlanta (4-3) for an NFC South title, Carolina dealt top wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills for a third-round pick and a seventh-round pick in the 2018 draft on Tuesday.
CAR Panthers News on Twitter
Cam, what are your thoughts on the Kelvin Benjamin trade?” Cam: https://t.co/fR9K31h4Tq
I’ve been writing about Carolina’s sucky offense since 2014 in an article entitled, “Cam Newton Is Caught In A Patrick Ewing Sleeper Hold.”
“Who devised the sick joke the Carolina Panthers have been playing on Cam Newton since he stormed into the league as a once in a generation baller? Its the same joke the Knicks played on Patrick Ewing for almost two decades. Draft an all-time great talent, give him the keys to the kingdom and leave him to roam the land, defend the palace, make the weapons, cook the dinners, hunt the prey and move the moon, stars and sun all by himself.”
When the Panthers drafted Benjamin out of Florida State in 2014, Cam was in his third-season and the offense struggled due to lack of weapons. The 6-foot-5 Benjamin immediately established himself as a favorite target and topped 1,000 yards receiving as a rookie.
Benjamin tore his ACL in the 2015 preseason, erasing lofty expectations and a blooming chemistry with Newton. Cam led Carolina to the Super Bowl, but they came up short against Denver and Benjamin never got his moment on the big stage. He never really got back to the future All-Pro shape he was in as a rookie either, but the Bills can definitely use his size and deep ability. The guy is only 26 and still good for 60 grabs and 950 yards a season.
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You take a pause and try to understand why a 5-3 team would sell their #1 receiver for draft picks” – Joe Marino on Kelvin Benjamin trade
Benjamin is like a gift from the football heavens for Buffalo. Carolina will move forward and count on unproven Devin Funchess and a trio of speed receivers in Russell Shepard, rookie Curtis Samuel and Kaelin Clay.
The Panthers’ offensive woes just get worse and worse. Carolina brass puts Cam out in front to take all of the blame for wins and losses, but makes him go into war with one hand tied behind his back. The saga continues in Carolina as the team’s front office refuses to address the lack of talent at the skills positions.
Why would they when they have Cam Newton to blame?
