CHARLOTTE — Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard has responded directly to concerns about the team’s offensive performance in the season opener, emphasizing the importance of focusing on details.
“I mean, obviously, last week didn’t go the way we wanted to, but you know, I think it was really a lot of small things,” Hubbard said Thursday. “And the small things mean a lot in the grand scheme of a game, so I think we just clean up those things and we’ll see a lot of things happen.”
Hubbard has developed a reputation for attention to detail since entering the league. His commitment includes extra work catching passes after practice and arriving early on game days. He routinely follows an extensive pre-practice routine designed to improve his skills and readiness.
His example has influenced teammates such as undrafted rookie cornerback Corey Thornton. Last week, Thornton made an effort to be first on the practice field ahead of Hubbard. “Just watching him, you know, he stays late,” Thornton said. “He’s consistent. When he gets there to practice, he’s going all out, every play, is not taking off one play, and that’s something I want to take into my game, you feel me? Like, don’t take one. Every play like I’m going to 100.
“The first time I told him I wanted to beat him, he just looked at me and said, ‘Never.'”
Following that instance when Thornton arrived before him once at practice, Hubbard began carrying his pads out early and staying outside during breaks between walkthroughs and full practices so as not to lose his place again.
“He’s different,” Thornton said admiringly. “He’s not going to let anybody get him again.”
The trust placed in Hubbard was reflected last week when he scored a touchdown that narrowed the deficit during the opener. Despite offseason additions—such as signing Rico Dowdle—Hubbard played two-thirds of offensive snaps compared with Dowdle’s third.
Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik described how playing both backs helps keep them fresh: “You’d love to be able to continue to run the ball late into the second half,” Idzik said. “I think you’ll start to see a balanced attack when you’re in four-minute mode and you’re up on teams and you’re trying to finish games out with running the ball and being physical. So that’s when I think you’ll see more base-down carries from Rico.”
“It’s going to pay dividends in the long run, so I do think that that distribution, you feel the emphasis of trying to get Chuba going, trying to let him impose that physical mentality early and often. But then also just keeping a pulse on it as the game goes; he takes a big shot; give a drive to Rico when you need to; knowing we’re not going to lose a step as far as quality of running.”
Last season included key moments for Hubbard—such as an overtime-winning touchdown against Arizona—that helped energize hopes for improvement within Carolina’s offense.
“I mean obviously winning is a confidence booster,” Hubbard said about last year’s finish. “Obviously that’s why we play the game.
“I can’t just say the feeling I had because that was last year but obviously the way we finished last year was the right way to finish.”
Despite ongoing questions about execution issues from last week’s loss—including timing problems—the team remains focused on correcting minor errors under Hubbard’s steady approach.
“It’s just little things,” he said.
And Chuba Hubbard is one of those players whom coaches rely upon for attention in these areas.
