Scooter Tuning Pics » The Patriots used seconds and thirds on Ryan

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cam Newton Color Rush Jersey , with the number one rushing defense in the NFL through Seven weeks, has been the only team to successfully defend Christian McCaffrey this season. What’s more is they have done it twice. They held him to a total of 67 yards rushing and 42 yards receiving. Those are stunningly low totals for a running back who is garnering legitimate MVP buzz this early in the year.The San Francisco 49ers currently boast the number two total defense and the number one passing defense in the league. McCaffrey is a threat unlike any they have faced this year. The question of the week is whether or not they can match the magical defensive performances put up by the Bucs. Here to answer that question is the Cat Scratch Reader staff.Evan Leekley, contributor: The San Francisco 49ers’ defense will not shut Christian McCaffrey down completely. Norval will script a mean opening 15 plays during which CMC will accumulate enough yards to not be “shut down.” After the script, when we ram everything up the A-gap from a 22 formation then, yeah, sure.Brian Beversluis, social media czar: They have a great defense with several solid pieces. I don’t think they will sell out like the Bucs quite did to stop McCaffrey Michael Palardy Jersey , but I don’t expect another MVP level performance from him either. I expect the passing game will be a necessity to win this football game. I’d say 100 scrimmage yards is probably what we see from him.Daniel Belton, contributor: Teams are starting to figure out what Kyle Allen is and is not capable of. Any time a single player has similar rushing stats to Ezekiel Elliot and similar receiving stats to TY Hilton, the defense will try to limit him. The 49ers have skilled enough linebackers to do just that.Jason Hewitt, contributor: The 49ers will not shut down Christian McCaffrey because they typically don’t like to blitz like the Bucs do. That opens the window for many big opportunities to feed CMC.Jonathan Delong, editor: I don’t think any team can shut down McCaffrey the way the Bucs did. The Bucs are far and away the best team in the league at containing opposing backs while the 49ers are rather middling in that phase of their defense.MickSmiley, contributor: Believe it or not but Tampa Bay’s defense gives up the fewest rushing yards per game in the league at 68.0. San Francisco ranks eighth at 90.0 rushing yards per game. I’ll play the numbers and say that CMC fares slightly better against the 49ers, but it’s still going to be tough sledding. Only in a land populated by crazy people would the 100th pick in the draft be perceived as a threat to a guy on a $100 million contract who has an MVP on the shelf.Then again — as we’ve written for years — Cam Newton makes people stupid.After using their compensatory third-rounder on West Virginia quarterback Will Grier last night https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Sam-Mills-Jersey , Panthers General Manager Marty Hurney and coach Ron Rivera spent much of their midnight press conference talking about how it affected — or didn’t affect — Newton.“Nothing to do with Cam,” Hurney said. “I said he’s our franchise quarterback. This is about depth and bringing in young guys and developing young guys. This has nothing to do with Cam Newton. Cam Newton is our starting quarterback and franchise quarterback. This is just about bringing in young guys to develop and depth.”So, just to be clear, is this about Cam? Is he the franchise? Will he still be the starter?Of course he is, and was, and will be. And the fact the Panthers had to specify whether they called Cam late Friday night to tell him (they didn’t) or whether Grier was pro-ready (such that anyone is) speaks more to the larger issues that surround the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.Because he never fit in the preconceived quarterback trait box (and because of the unfortunate cultural reality), people have been picking Newton apart for what he isn’t since his days at Florida. He has done things along the way to invite some criticism https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Christian-Mccaffrey-Jersey , but never in proportion with his talents and skills — or the fact he was able to drag a team without great offensive talent to a national title at Auburn and to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance with the Panthers.Simply put, the Panthers needed to draft Grier because they hadn’t drafted a quarterback since Newton, and they lacked enough of a backup to be comfortable.The fact Newton’s turning 30, has two years left on his contract, and is coming off shoulder surgery has created something of a local paranoia. But the kinds of people who think Grier is a replacement apparently don’t realize that good teams regard drafting backups as commodities as a strategy. The Patriots used seconds and thirds on Ryan Mallett, Jacoby Brissett, and Jimmy Garoppolo https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Daryl-Williams-Jersey , and somehow Tom Brady remains; the same way Ben Roethlisberger has continued despite the additions of Mason Rudolph, Josh Dobbs, and Landry Jones with thirds and fourths.“I think Cam understands that this is about depth at the position,” Hurney said.That Hurney had to say it out loud suggests his fan base does not.