When it rains it pours. Well that certainly seems to be the case for the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, NC.
11 weeks into the season the Panthers find themselves at 2-8 on the year. They find themselves continuing to lose tight games, continuing to ‘”quote un quote” choke, continuing to make special team errors, continuing to over expose Cam Newton, and continuing to air out their dirty laundry.
Just a few weeks ago, the Steve Smith vs. Cam Newton sideline fiasco was just the start to the madness of what goes on behind the scenes of Bank of America Stadium. With a public announcement from Steve Smith, and a situational address from head Coach Ron Rivera, Panther fans thought the public blasphemy was behind the team.
This was proven false after yesterday’s game against the Buccaneers.
Multiple members of the Panther organization decided to let the world know just how fed up they are with the outcome and individual players performances.
Defensive end Charles Johnson was one of the players to jump into the mix of social networking. He tweeted after the game, “Embarrassed to be a part of that last drive! Some people study and work harder than others and they get exposed in the game #saynomore”
Starting wide receiver Brandon LaFell joined in on the madness calling out the whole entire offensive staff and unit. “It’s hard to say, but in that four-minute offense everyone in the stadium thought we were going to run the ball,” LaFell said to the Charlotte Observer. “It’s already hard to run the ball against a good defense like this. So when you get negative plays and put yourself in third-and-long, you are kind of kicking yourself in the butt.”
Cam Newton refused to answer questions in the post-game press conference about where yesterday’s loss ranked on the “shoulda” charts. His confident demeanor that we saw in the game, had definitely flipped a 180 in the post-game press conference.
Things have been ugly, both on the field and off, in Charlotte for some time and will likely get worse. The coaching staff seems to have no control over what the players are doing, tweeting, and saying. And to make matters worse, they seem to have no control over the outcome of the game.
Only thing the Panthers have going for them in week 12, is the fortunate timing of meeting up with the Philadelphia Eagles, possibly the only other team in the league who has just as much turmoil in the media when it comes to the coaching staff.
@a11aboutSPORTS
