CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales strongly suggested Monday that he will ditch his two-game experiment of evenly alternating series for running backs Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard and give Dowdle a heavier workload.
"Chuba has meant a lot to his organization, certainly to the identity that we wanted to build our team on, and we wanted to give Chuba the opportunity to go out and continue to impact our team in a positive way,'' Canales said as he began preparing for this week's game against the Green Bay Packers (5-1-1). "We cannot ignore that Rico has been exceptional in a couple of games, and then in the opportunities he's had over the last two weeks.
"He's made some excellent plays. Love the tempo and violence that he's running with. And these are all things that we're talking about and working through this week.''
Dowdle had a franchise two-game record 473 scrimmage yards during a stretch in which Hubbard was sidelined with a calf injury. He came within 17 yards of having consecutive 200-yard rushing efforts.
Coming off injury, Canales opted to start Hubbard against the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, and then alternate series the rest of the game.
Hubbard, who last year was given a four-year, $33.2 million deal, had 26 carries for 65 yards in those games; Dowdle had 25 carries for 133 yards.
The Panthers (4-4) won both games that Dowdle started and had the bulk of the carries, averaging 25.5 points a game. They are 1-1 with the alternating rotation, averaging 11 points a game.
"Obviously, this has been a topic of conversation the last two weeks,'' Hubbard said. "My main focus is it's never solely about me. It's always about the team and winning games.''
Canales made the decision to possibly switch things up after Sunday's 40-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills, who entered the game with the NFL's 31st-ranked run defense. Hubbard averaged 2.8 yards on 12 carries; Dowdle averaged 6.8 on eight carries for 54 yards.
"We have to respect the job that Chuba has done for us to get us to the point where we've established a mentality about how we run," Canales said. "And we cannot ignore the fact that Rico has made an impact when he's been out there."