By Brandon Simmons
Frank Reich Fired
The Carolina Panthers fired head coach Frank Reich on Monday, after only 11 games into his first season with the team. It was the exclamation point to a season that saw the Panthers win only one game during his tenure, which was the fourth shortest head coaching stint in NFL history. Reich was hired this past offseason to replace Matt Rhule, whom the Panthers fired a few games into the season last year. This year, Reich was inheriting a team that was drafting number one overall after a hefty trade with the Chicago Bears, in which they used the pick on former Alabama QB Bryce Young. They tried to assist the highly-touted rookie signal caller by bringing in former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen. Still, this proved to be a fruitless effort as the Panthers were at the bottom of the league in offensive categories, which probably led to the firings of assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. Defensively, they were not much better, giving up 26.5 points per game.
Reich’s firing isn’t about him as much as it points out that the Carolina Panthers have demonstrated organizational malpractice within the past decade. Owner David Tepper purchased this team in 2016 and has went through 5 coaches since then. The Rhule hiring was the previous example of bad the franchise has mishandled the coaching staff, considering that Rhule’s exit is costing the team millions. Still, money means nothing to this owner who continues to ruin his own investment. It was being reported that Reich had his eye on drafting C.J. Stroud in stead of Young with the first pick in the draft. However, ownership inteferred and after selecting Young, Stroud went to the Houston Texans, where he is having one of the all time greatest rookie seasons. Coaching can impact a rookie quarterback’s development and it helps that the rookie is under the tutilege of someone who can actually work with him. It doesn’t appear that Recih and Young had any fritction but perhaps his system I not align with Young’s skillset. This doesn’t look good on Frank Reich, being fire din the middle of the season for a 2nd straight year but it looks just as bad on the Carolina Panthers for pulling the same move for a 2nd straight year.
Tyreek Hill MVP Talks
It’s sort of shocking that Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is just now being considered for MVP talks. Last week, on Fox Sports 1 Undisputed, co-host Richrd Sherman said the chances for the wide receiver to get MVP are being blocked by the notion it has to be a QB to win the award. He told no lies with his statement but could Tyreek Hill be the one to make that happen. When it comes to Hill, he has been cold for a very long time. It’s almost as if he’s expected to perform at a high level constantly, so much to the point that you forget that he is leading the league in touchdown receptions and receiving yards. But that is an expectation thrown on a lot of great players regardless of position. The one thing that is putting Hill into the conversation is what every award voter loves: records. Hill is looking to become the first wide receiver in NFL history to record 2000 yards in a regular season; he is already sitting at 1324.
Tyreek Hill should’ve been in MVP talks his entire career. In that aspect, Sherman is 1000% correct as Hill shared the spotlight with QB Patrick Mahomes when the wide receiver was on the Kansas City Chiefs. Currently, he’s catching passes from Tua Tagavoiloa, another potential MVP candidate, but it has not stopped him from finally getting the recognition that he deserves. However, that’s where it stops. Despite his highlight-level skillset and production, only one player that isn’t a QB or RB, won the MVP award, and that was New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. This stat was oftwn referenced when former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was chasing the award in 2014. So the NFL can go in that direction but they just pivot from it faster than Hill on a curl route.
Tom Brady’s Comments
Tom Brady’s comments on the current state of the game seem a little delusional. Brady was recently on the Stephen A. Smith Show and expressed his frustrations with the league in terms of what is being n put out on the field. His main gripes were with how coaching is being done today and how defesnive players are being regulated for their tackling techniques. The latter statement is sort of ironic considering many fans pointing out how Brady benefitted from a lot of those calls This was something that was brought up by Alex Smith and Randy Moss on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, in addition to Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons on his podcast, The Edge. However, Parsons did share in Brady’s sentiment that the rules have made it tougher for defensive players to make tackles and sacks for fear of getting a penalty or a fine.
Tom Brady is borderline hypocritical for his critique of today’s NFL because he has played most of his career through these changes. The league made it a penalty for defenders to hit QB’s in the leg area after he suffered a season ending knee injury in Week 1 of 2007. If the game really was to Brady’s liking, he certainly wouldn’t be playing into his mid-40’s. Yes, the NFL has become a more offensive-focused league but according to some experts, scoring is down for the 2nd straight season. There is a whole generation of defensive players that have had to play under these “offensive” rules and maybe they are catching up. Perhaps they’re catching up too quick which is why offciating is getting wacky these days but that’s another story. It’s crazy for Brady to say the game is spoiled when he has enjoyed those same spoils for many years.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to linebacker Shaquille Leonard for being a stand up man. Last week, Leonard was waived by the Indianapolis Colts, but on the same day, he was seen handing turkeys to the less fortunate. Big ups to him for doing a good deed at a time when he could be focused on other things at the moment. Currently, he is making visits with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles for his next stop this season.
Shut out to Diontae Johnson for his lack of effort on the field. Sunday, against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers wide receiver was in on a running play, in which running back Jaylen Warren fumbled the ball. As the ball bounced , it rolled past Johnson who just seemed to ignore it completely as it was recovered by the Bengals defender. Johnson claimed he never saw the ball but it almost could have grazed his feet if he sneezed.
Week 13 is here and tightening up these playoff races. The game of the week will be Sunday afternoon when the Philadelphia Eagles host the San Francisco 49ers. It is a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship, in which the Eagles obviously won, but Niners QB Brock Purdy was injured in. This year both teams have returned to their status of being the top 2 teams in the NFC and they are guaranteed to put on a clash this weekend. But until then…I’ll holla.