Football

It is officially due or die time for the Carolina Panthers, and maybe Matt Rhule. Carolina is coming off their scheduled by week, sitting at 5-7, and just recently fired their offensive coordinator, Joe Brady. Even with being two games below .500, the Panthers are only 1 game out of the final playoff spot in the NFC heading into Sunday's matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta brings with them a 5-7 record as well, and have won all of their games away from Atlanta, including winning in London earlier this season. It is well documented that Panthers QB, who is from southern Georgia, grew up a fan of the Falcons, and idolized Micheal Vick as a kid. Earlier today on Wilson & Norfleet, Carl Dukes a radio host from 92.9 The Game in Atlanta, joined the show to talk about Sunday's game and Newton specifically. Dukes expressed that Newton will be ready to play on Sunday, saying: "You're going to get Cam's best effort on Sunday, simply from a pride standpoint. I don't know what the game plan is, but I do know this; he gets up for the Falcons, and he will be ready" In his career, Newton is 6-9 against his division rival, having thrown for 21 touchdowns against 16 interceptions in their 15 career games against Atlanta. Carolina is set to host the Falcons, Sunday at 1 PM at Bank of America Stadium. 

Former Panthers QB turned Hall of Honor member and radio analyst for the Panthers Jake Delhomme joined Kyle Bailey on Wednesday’s edition of the Clubhouse as he discussed the changes that will be made for the Panthers offense now that Joe Brady is gone, and how well he thinks Cam will finish this season. The […]

"Head coach next." Those were the words that Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said he was told by a league when asked about Joe Brady's firing earlier this week on Pro Football Talk. Florio, as he does every week, stopped by the Mac Attack to clarify what exactly he was a hearing in reference to the situation in Carolina, a franchise that he referred to as a "dysfunctional" one. Florio is of the belief that this was a move made out of desperation by Matt Rhule with the pressure that he may feel from a less than patient David Tepper. "From the timing of the announcement to the fact that it happened a week into a two week bye and the way that it was discussed and explained, there 's just something about it that doesn't seem right. I feel like there is a heck of a lot more to it. Part of that more to it could be that the head coach realizes there is a good chance he'll be next."

Following the Panthers decision to fire Joe Brady, there were a lot of differing opinions as to why he didn't work out in Charlotte. To get further insight into the discussion, Ellis Williams Panthers beat reporter for The Charlotte Observer, joined Wilson & Norfleet, and when asked why his offense didn't work out he replied: "It is an offense that is predicated on matchups, but it isn't anything that compliments the run or the pass. You don't see his runs looking like passes, you don't see his passes looking like runs. Not in terms of there could be trickery, but in sense you should be running things to set other plays up." The Panthers offense has generated just 18 points in the third quarter, and only average 19.7 points per game. Brady was hired after engineering the LSU offense that won the national championship in 2019, and that success never translated to the NFL, thus resulting in his firing. 

Former Panthers DE Al Wallace joined Kyle Bailey on Monday’s edition of the Clubhouse as he reacted to what led to the firing of Joe Brady, and how this sets the tone for the rest of the year for the Panthers. The conversation started with Al explaining why he thought that Joe Brady wasn’t going […]

With the Panthers have lost 7 of their last 9 games, many people have their opinions of the team, as they currently sit at 5-7 coming off their bye. Last Friday, former Panthers safety Tre Boston joined Wilson & Norfleet to talk about the struggles of his former team. When asked specifically about the issues for the team, Boston replied: " I believe it's an identity crisis. Right now we just don't know who we want to be. We don't know if we're the 3-0 Panthers, the four straight loss Panthers, we don't know if we want to run the ball, pass the ball. We were a good defensive team. We don't know if we want to play good defense anymore. It's all about getting back to your roots. Getting back to what you're successful at. Yesterday the Panthers fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady, so it's safe to say even they don't know what they are successful at themselves. Tre would later go on to say that he thinks this Sunday's game at home against the division rival Atlanta Falcons is a must-win and would go a long way for the confidence of the team heading into 2022, which could be a pivotal season for Matt Rhule, in terms of his long term tenure in Carolina. 

To say that this Panthers season has been a roller coaster is an understatement. The team raced out to a 3-0 start to begin the season, getting the talks of the playoffs stirred up early on before the team would be brought back to Earth and left searching for answers with a six-game stretch where they lost five games, including four straight after the 3-0 start. The franchise was reinvigorated when they resigned franchise legend Cam Newton prior to the Arizona game and followed that with a big win on the road against the Cardinals, making some reconsider whether the Panthers could make a playoff push. However, those thoughts have seemed to be dashed in a lot of people's minds after two straight losses, including a blowout loss to the Dolphins on Sunday.

Host and Reporter for PFF Trevor Sikkema joined Kyle Bailey on Wednesday’s edition of the Clubhouse as he reacted to the massive coaching changes shaking college football and what he makes of the situation the Panthers find themselves at the moment. Trevor started by weighing in on the massive coaching changes in college football at […]

The Carolina Panthers start to the bye week has produced more disappointment following the two-game losing streak that has pushed to the outside looking in at the NFC playoffs. On Monday, running back Christian McCaffrey was deemed out for the season with an unspecified leg injury which has left many confused and wondering about the future of the star running back. Tuesday shifted the focus to the other side of the football when Donte Jackson was placed on the IR with a groin injury.

Rumors started earlier this college football season when the USC job became open, that Matt Rhule would be a candidate for the vacancy. The rumors didn't stop at USC, as since then LSU, Florida, Virginia Tech have since become open. Matt Rhule has deflected any chance at the possibility of him returning to the college game, but that hasn't stopped the rumors or him being named as a potential candidate for some of the best jobs in college football. Even this week, as the USC and LSU positions were filled, Oklahoma and Notre Dame have since become available as a consequence. That, meant more schools that will reportedly have interest in Rhule, who is just 10-18 in the NFL as a head coach. Interestingly enough, as Rhule keeps being mentioned as a possible candidate for those college vacancies, his job security isn't as high as you'd think for a coach on a seven-year contract. Scott Fowler, Panthers beat reporter for The Charlotte Observer joined Wilson & Norfleet earlier today to talk about these matters, saying: "Were I David Tepper would I fire him? Absolutely not, I don't think they should start the process all over again. But I'd give him a third year, after that they really need to improve in that third year."