Panthers rookie Artis-Payne makes most of opportunity

Panthers coach Ron Rivera liked what he got out of rookie Cameron Artis-Payne in his biggest action of the season, but the coach wanted the running back to be a little more assertive.

Artis-Payne had 14 carries for 59 yards against the Giants in Carolina’s 38-35 win against New York on Sunday. He had to grind out yards on some carries and showed burst on others, including a 26-yard rush.

Now, Rivera said, it’s a matter of Artis-Payne getting more comfortable on the field and trusting his blockers and himself.

“I thought he played very nicely. He had a couple of big runs that he popped,” Rivera said. “He had a couple of runs where he had to power up in the inside and grind 4-, 5-yard gains. He looked a little tentative at times. He tippy-toed a little bit. Sometimes the runner has to make a hole or trust the hole is going to be there and he stuttered a couple of times waiting for it to show instead of just hitting it like he did on a couple others.”

One area of concern was Artis-Payne’s ability to pick up blitzers, but Rivera said the rookie held up well in protections, and he even caught two passes out of the backfield for 34 yards.

“He’s who we thought he would be, but it’s been tough to get him out there,” Rivera said. “Now we had an opportunity and he looked good.”

Artis-Payne played in 31 of the 77 offensive snaps, besting Fozzy Whittaker’s 26 and Mike Tolbert’s 23.

Rivera declined to say who was at fault for the ride-read handoff fumble in the fourth quarter between Artis-Payne and Cam Newton, but it was clear the two need more practice at that.

“That’s off the zone read and it becomes familiarity knowing he’s going to give it to me or he’s going to take it on CAP’s side,” Rivera said. “And on Cam’s side he has to know hey I’m not going to let it go, I’ve got to let it go. It’s one of those fine lines that the two of them have to work together.”

This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 8:24 PM with the headline "Panthers rookie Artis-Payne makes most of opportunity."