On Wednesday in his Twitter account, Jonathan Stewart posted that he was going to have surgery later in the day. He had a chronic pain in his toe and also on left Achilles’ tendon that kept him away from number of practices in last year.

Stewart tweeted that the injury took place against the New Orleans in the season finale and hence he was knocked out of the game.

Stewart played all the sixteen games and also he rushed for a team-best 1,133 yards and 10 touchdowns. He and DeAngelo Williams together became teammates first set since the merger of NFL-AFL in 1970 to each rush for over 1,100 yards.

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If there is ever a time of year for your running game to get going, December and January is that time.  With the Panthers now 4th in the league in rushing, they will be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs, especially if they are able to lock up the division, which will ensure a home game at Bank of America Stadium were the Panthers have been alomst unstoppable.

Probable Starter: DeAngelo Williams

Like the offensive and defensive lines, the running back position for the Panthers was a focus for revamping this offseason. First, Carolina started by finally releasing DeShaun Foster, a move that was a season overdue. Foster had shown flashes of greatness in previous seasons, particularly late in the 2005 season, but Foster couldn’t stay healthy, and his style of running never fit Head Coach John Fox’s vision of a north-south, downhill runner. The problem with Carolina’s running game the last two seasons was that the Panthers were really using two change of pace backs. The two back system is really meant for when a team has big pounder, something they had in Stephen Davis, and a speedy outside back, Foster and Williams. With Foster and Williams though, the Panthers didn’t have that back that could wear down defenses so that the speedy guy could come in later in the game and break off some big runs.

With this in mind, Carolina dropped Foster, which also freed up some cap space for later signings, and started looking for backs. The high profile guy that everyone, including myself and other sports aficionados who post their opinions on the (of all places) discussion boards of poker download websites wanted was free agent Michael Turner, but thankfully the Panthers steered clear of Turner, who eventually went to Atlanta and signed a monster deal on really no proven NFL experience. No, instead the Panthers went out and signed little known LaBrandon Toefield, who was burried on the depth chart in Jacksonville behind Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Toefield seems almost nonexistent now, with most of the focus on the Panther’s number one pick, Jonathan Stewart, but Toefield received high praise for the Jags head coach Jack DelRio, and Toefield could do a lot next season in backing up Williams and Stewart.

Anyway, moving on the what the position looks like next year, the Panthers appear to be set. After picking up Jonathan Stewart in April’s draft, Carolina finally got that downhill runner they’ve been missing since Stephen Davis, who took the Panthers to the Superbowl in 2003. With Stewart’s punishing style of running, he should do a great job of wearing down defensive lines for DeAngelo Williams. Williams had a number of big runs last season, most of which coming later in the game, showing that Williams has that much needed big play ability, which should be seen a lot more with Stewart in the lineup. With these two guys, the Panthers finally have a true two-pronged rushing attack, and I would expect them to be in the top seven in rushing next season (they were 14th last season, even though they seemed more like 25th).

Stewart and Williams also have good depth behind them as well, I mentioned Toefeild who has some promise, but Nick Goings who has started games is also there to help back up the starters. As of now, Carolina has both quality starters and good depth behind the starters, the keys to a good rushing attack.

Overall Position Grade: B+

“He’s the guy who’ll start off with those duties when we get to (training) camp,” said Fox “Based on past history, he can do it”

Fox is right. Stewart was one of the NCAA’s top kick returners while he was at Oregon, returning 58 kickoffs at Oregon for a 28.7-yard average, with two touchdowns. Hopefully Stewart will be able to improve over the last two season in which Carolina 19.4 and 19.1average return yards respectively. These numbers are primarily due to the fact that Carolina has been without a legitimate kick returner since they lost “He Hate Me” (Rod Smart’s Jersey name while in the XFL) in 2005.

“Returning kicks is another offensive possession” said Stewart, who seems very willing to step into this role “It’s an opportunity to get the game rolling for the offense.”

Stewart will be one of the biggest returners in the league, and will look to work with Special Teams Coach Danny Crossman to get the Panthers back to the level they were at in 2005 ranking 9th in the NFL.

For the past two seasons, Williams has been waiting for his chance to shine. Playing back-up to Deshaun Foster was not easy. It was obvious that he wanted to go out on the field and make some plays as a starter. However, the early role of back-up has helped Williams. He has learned the virtue of patience, something that is essential to have when running. He has also learned to not take his playing time for granted.

In the off-season, the Panthers found that it would be best to part with the dependable Deshaun Foster. In the draft, the Panthers were able to acquire a great and consistent runner in Jonathan Stewart, who fit the mold of a young Stephen Davis.

Now, DeAngelo Williams is the starter. It is his chance to show the coaches why they selected him in the first round. He still has some work to do, but he feels prepared overall. “I know that I have some improvements to make this off-season,” Williams said. “I need to get better at blocking and reading the holes.” This role will feature him the Panthers offense, which likes to have a reliable running game.

Williams will also have to play teacher to the young Jonathan Stewart. It was not long ago that DeShaun Foster was teaching Williams the tricks of the trade, and now Williams will have to pour that knowledge onto the Stewart.

Asked about the possibility of having to share playing time with Stewart, Williams had this to say: “Whether or not Stewart or I will start the game, we will both get about the same number of touches, more or less. Having both of us will keep the defense on its heels.” Having a great attitude like this will definitely promote camaraderie in the locker room.

DeAngelo Williams was solid last season in the back-up role. He carried the ball 144 times for 717 yards. He also had some key receptions during the season. The two running back system the Panthers will run will have both running backs seeing these kinds of numbers.

Down the road, I could see Jonathan Stewart being featured as the team’s number one running back, with DeAngelo coming in on passing downs and after the defense is tired. Stewart would pound the defense down, then Williams would come in and provide a spark. It will be an exciting tandem to watch.