What were the main talking points as the Carolina Panthers put in another disappointing performance at the Miami Dolphins to effectively end their playoff hopes?
The Carolina Panthers put in another putrid display as they completely folded against the Miami Dolphins blitz-heavy defense. On the other side of the ball, Tua Tagovailoa was able to throw the ball at will, with rookie Jaylan Waddle having free reign of the secondary as they struggled to get off the field.
This ended with the Panthers giving up more than 300 yards and allowing Miami over 37 minutes of possession.
This most recent loss leaves the Panthers floundering in purgatory at 5-7, seemingly out of playoff contention and leaving head coach Matt Rhule firmly on the hot seat.
Let’s get into five big talking points from another miserable Sunday.
Talking Point No. 1
Stephon Gilmore must have a bigger role in the Carolina Panthers defense
Stephon Gilmore has made it clear in his short time in Carolina he’s still one of the premier corners in the league, with the Panthers heading into a bye week this is a perfect opportunity for their All-Pro to be given a full role within a secondary that has struggled in the last two weeks.
With Donte Jackson having his recent struggles against the opposition’s No. 1 option in the last two weeks, it would be a surprise if we didn’t see Gilmore matched against the Atlanta Falcons premier receiver in Week 14.
Many Panthers fans were baffled on Sunday with Jaylen Waddle having his way that Gilmore was constantly matched up with Mike Gesicki. Whether this was an audition for Jackson to see if he justifies a big contract next season or not is another matter.
Moving forward Gilmore must be on the field for as many snaps as possible and must be matched up against the opposition’s highest quality receiver. With the Panthers still having the likes of Stefon Diggs and Mike Evans to face they need to get the South Carolina product fully integrated and quickly.
Matt Rhule is not an NFL head coach
Let’s get this one out the way early, Matt Rhule is not capable of leading this franchise to success.
While you can’t doubt Rhule’s success at the collegiate level, he has shown nothing in his tenure with the Carolina Panthers to show that he is capable of being successful at this level.
You’d imagine owner David Tepper is regretting his decision to give Rhule that seven-year contract. If anything, the Panthers have regressed and with no pandemic to blame, we are seeing plenty of failures.
His constant confusing decisions are causing him to lose the trust of the fans. On Sunday we saw the Panthers’ second-round pick Terrace Marshall Jr. was a healthy scratch.
Then we get to the circus that is Carolina’s offensive line.
Why the Panthers continue to deploy Dennis Daley at left tackle is farcical. To make it even worse we saw Michael Jordan exit the game with rookie Brady Christensen sent in.
This meant we saw Daley playing blindside and Christensen on the interior when both are suited to the opposite. Fans don’t know whether to laugh or cry, these are coaches earning millions of dollars a year and they can’t seem to play players in the correct position.
Moves made by the Carolina hierarchy, including trading for Stephon Gilmore, bringing back Cam Newton has shown that Carolina was serious about a playoff run this season. But we’re not even in December yet and the Panthers season is all but over.
It would take a small miracle for Carolina to be involved in the postseason. Considering their final five games involve two games against the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a trip to the Buffalo Bills, it seems unlikely.
Rhule isn’t the only Panthers coach under pressure. We saw another stagnant display of playcalling from Joe Brady, who again in his second season leading the offense has flattered to deceive.
And finally a special mention to Chase Blackburn. You’d think as one of the only remaining members from the previous regime he’d be eager to prove his coaching nous, yet here I am wondering what he actually does as Special Teams coordinator.
Even from the Ron Rivera era, we’ve seen Blackburn struggle and it’s a wonder how he still has a job.
The hashtag FireMattRhule was flying around Panthers’ social media after the loss in South Beach. It remains to be seen whether he will be leading Carolina in Year 3, especially now with the Oklahoma job available.
Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton had a bad game
I’m really stating the obvious here, but Cam Newton had probably his worst game for the Carolina Panthers in Week 12.
When he was relieved in the fourth quarter by P.J. Walker, who on his first series was sacked twice and then threw an interception, Newton ended the game 5-21 for 92 yards, two interceptions, with a passing rating of 5.8.
There’s no way to sugarcoat these statistics. This was a bad game for Newton and something I’m sure he’s aware of.
However, once again we saw an offensive unit that showed no cohesion. Against the heaviest blitzing defense in the league, the Panthers’ line reverted back to the unit that had failed to protect Sam Darnold earlier in the season. We also saw a return of Carolina deciding they needed to drop an abundance of easy catches.
Now as bad a game as this was for Newton, he’s been with the team for two weeks. This bye gives him the perfect opportunity to fully immerse himself in the playbook.
However, the calls from some areas of the media for Newton to be replaced after just three bad quarters is laughable. Where was this accountability for Darnold when he continued to underperform for weeks, not quarters?
It seems the media was rushing to make excuses for his poor play, blaming the offensive line or the receiving core.
It seems those excuses don’t extend to Newton, with one column even stating the signal-caller should retire after Sunday’s game.
Make of that what you will.
Donte Jackson is losing a lot of money
Just two weeks ago fans were calling for Donte Jackson to be given an extension at that point that he richly deserved. Fast forward 14 days and people are now questioning if the cornerback will be on the team in 2022.
After a stellar start to the season, the past two weeks have been chastening for the former LSU man, matched against the top Terry McLaurin and Jaylen Waddle has not gone well for Jackson.
The pair ended the games with combined stats of 14 receptions for 203 yards and a pair of scores. For someone who is meant to be a No. 1 option, these stats are concerning.
With the Carolina Panthers cornerback room as stacked as it is Jackson may find himself as the odd man out. It seems with the way they are slowly easing Stephon Gilmore into the defensive scheme he is someone who will be around next season.
This means that the Panthers will be left with two cornerbacks who are demanding a big contract. Considering the cap space and needs elsewhere one suspects Carolina will only re-sign one and you take the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year each time.
With other cornerbacks, Jaycee Horn, C.J. Henderson, and Keith Taylor all on rookie deals, Jackson may find himself looking for a new home in 2022.
Carolina Panthers must sort out their penalty issues
Another week, another multitude of Carolina Panthers penalties.
Coming into Week 12 the Panthers were the most penalized team in the league with 81 infringements. They added to that total on Sunday with another seven.
This is the sign that the Panthers are simply a badly coached team, heaping more pressure on Matt Rhule. This number of penalties through 12 weeks is totally unacceptable.
Now in Carolina’s defense yesterday, we saw some very questionable calls by the officiating team, including a farcical roughing the passer call on Haason Reddick. However, this doesn’t excuse the issues that have plagued this team all season.
On many occasions this season we’ve seen chunk plays called back for offensive holding. Another sign of how poor the Panthers line is.
The icing on the cake yesterday was Reddick. A week after he’d spoken about accountability in the locker room, the stud edge rusher was given a taunting penalty.
What he had to taunt about down 10 points I don’t know.
These penalties give an inkling of just how poor a coached team this unit is, making it hard to see how Rhule can lead them moving forward. The play yesterday in what was Carolina’s biggest game of the season shows a team who have lost all trust in their head coach.
And frankly, they don’t seem to want to play for him.