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I get the feeling but unfortunately that is both pro and college sports right now. i mean, In what world, with education being what, 49th or thereabouts, in the country should,LSU, a state school, supported by state taxes, be paying Kiffin the money he is getting

By Joseph Person Dec. 8, 2025Updated 3:07 am PST CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jonathon Brooks will spend Monday like he’s spent nearly every other day over the past two years: Rehabbing his twice-repaired right knee while an NFL season continues without him. Monday marks one year since the Carolina Panthers running back tore his ACL a second time on a non-contact play in the first quarter of a 22-16 loss at Philadelphia. Brooks didn’t realize a year had passed since he went down at Lincoln Financial Field on his only carry against the Eagles, but he appreciates the significance of the day. “Honestly, it just makes me see how far I’ve come,” Brooks told The Athletic during a phone interview during the Panthers’ bye week. “I feel pretty much almost 100 percent again. From the moment it happened, I knew that God had a plan. I knew that it was all gonna be OK and I was gonna be right back to where I was.” Brooks isn’t all the way back, but he’s doing straight-line running while improving his speed most weeks. He hopes to start incorporating full-speed cutting and route running soon and return to the practice field in the spring in time for OTAs. Brooks, the Panthers’ second-round pick in 2024, has endured some down days over the past year, particularly in the immediate aftermath of his re-injury. “When it first happened, he was devastated. I was, too. I just couldn’t believe it,” said Jennifer Donovan, Brooks’ mother. “I thought for sure he was healed completely. Just didn’t hear too many times that it happened again and again like that. And only just a year later, I was devastated. And I know he was, too, at first.” But he pushed through thanks to the support of his family, his Christian faith and his teammates. He received guidance from two members of the training and strength and conditioning departments and drew inspiration after hearing from players like Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry and former Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis. Davis famously became the first NFL player to return from three torn ACLs in the same knee, playing another nine seasons that included a Super Bowl appearance and three Pro Bowl berths. Davis reached out to Brooks right after the injury to express his concern, and later joined Brooks for workouts during which Davis would show him exercises that worked well for him during his recovery. The two have stayed in touch, with Brooks shooting Davis texts or an occasional picture from a training session. That’s a legend in the locker room,” Brooks said. “That’s a legend who’s played for the Panthers, so I’ve got all the utmost respect for him and a lot (of) respect for helping me when he doesn’t have to.” Brooks has watched the replay of his injury more than 20 times. He blames himself for trying to run outside rather than hitting the hole between left tackle Ikem Ekwonu and wide receiver Adam Thielen. But when Brooks spotted defensive back Avonte Maddox coming up in run support, he tried to beat him to the edge with a jump cut. “I had no business even trying to go outside. My read was there,” Brooks said. “My read was supposed to keep me inside. I chased what we call fool’s gold and I was gonna try to outrun the DB. But it was just the wrong read.” Brooks said he’d made harder cuts the previous week against Tampa Bay with no problems. He’s not sure why his knee gave out on the grass surface at Lincoln Financial Field. “I think it was just bad timing,” he said. Panthers coach Dave Canales announced the next day that Brooks had re-torn the ligament. Slavin, Brooks’ Dallas-based agent, was relieved the ACL was the only part of Brooks’ knee impacted. “It was an ACL-only, so it wasn’t like one of these devastating knee injuries that a lot of guys have. When it’s the one ligament, you think they’d be able to come back,” Slavin said. “If we could do it all over again, I’m sure they’d redshirt him last year and this year would’ve been his year. But they tried to get him out there. It’s tough to always look back. Moving forward, I think he’s gonna be an elite running back still.” After waiting a month for the swelling to subside, Brooks flew to Los Angeles for the surgery performed by renowned sports orthopedic Neal ElAttrache. Donovan said ElAttrache harvested part of the patellar tendon from Brooks’ left knee to reconstruct his ACL because the patellar from his right knee was used in the first surgery in Texas. Additionally, ElAttrache used a strip of the IT band from Brooks’ right leg as a graft to reinforce his ACL, according to Donovan. “I’m praying that is going to be the key thing in keeping him stronger. He felt very confident with it,” Donovan said of ElAttrache, who also handled Panthers guard Robert Hunt’s biceps surgery this fall. Brooks said both Dowdle and Hubbard have tried to make sure he still feels like part of the running back room while he’s recovered. Brooks also praised the training staff, especially the two staffers he’s worked most closely with — athletic trainer Harrison Grube and assistant strength and conditioning coach Thomas Barbeau. The team has said little about Brooks since last December. But any expectations the Panthers have for Brooks in 2026 naturally will be tempered by concerns of injury risk. Donovan tries not to let her mind go down that path. “Definitely the first time was worse just because he wasn’t sure what to expect. The second time it was devastating again, but at least we kind of knew,” she said. “So I’m just praying and praying and praying there surely won’t be another. I don’t even want to put it out there in existence.” Having been through all of this just last year, Brooks has a better feel for what works and what doesn’t. When he was experiencing pain in his knee after some of the strengthening exercises, the Panthers’ trainers changed his lifts. The tips from Davis have also helped. If all goes according to plan, Brooks will on the practice field in the spring. And while some might be inclined to hold their breath the first time he gets the call or makes a cut, Brooks is turning it over to a higher power. “I want to be back for OTAs so I can get back on that football field and get back to running the plays full speed, being in a team setting. Just so whenever we do hit (training) camp, I can hit the ground running and ultimately, just prove myself,” he said. “I feel like I haven’t gotten that chance in the league to prove myself. And that’s OK. It’s a part of God’s plan. And I know that when I get out there, I trust in myself, trust in my teammates, trust in God that I’ll be able to get it done.”

Sanders has the normal rookie boost before teams adjust because of them having film on them. We’ll see what happens when that happens.

I think that is a very, very. VERY small issue with them. I think they just generally aren't as good as they used to be. If you look across the board at their roster, the talent level isn't as high.

I agree with this. I've been impressed by what he's been saying all this year. Maybe it's true that he didn't do great in the pre-draft interviews, I don't know, but at this point I'm inclined to give him a chance. I do think Deion's involvement is what really killed him in the draft. I think Deion realized he made a major mistake and is clearly not going to continue to try to be involved.

Absolutely over a decade there are fewer yards thrown per game. I was mostly responding to the OP about shifting priorities for teams and how the stability in recent times and continued emphasis on QB makes that seem unlikely to me.

Rushing attempts are the same as 10 years ago. Passing attempts are down. Possibly related to less good qbs and coaches playing the clock differently

It's all just Bryce dragging the average down*. *I'm joking, but there is a little bit of truth to it. A better QB would have probably thrown for 40 more yards a game which would bump up the league avg more than a yard.

Miller was bad again last night. The rangers fan were right. This dude is a dud.

I took a look at 1990 to 2025(so far). It's an interesting look. In my eyes, I don't think there is a huge difference in the rushing output or attempts over that span. The maximum difference in the attempted rushes over that massive of a span of time was only 2.4 attempts/game. Attempts/game has been rising for the past few years but that isn't the biggest difference, it's the efficiency of those runs that is actually at historic highs over that timespan. Look at YPA averages. The same general thing happened a few years ago with the passing game. Although the range of attempted passes per game is significantly higher in this timespan(5.8 attempts/GM), it's also the efficiency of these passes that has gone up considerably over that era(but peaked a few years ago). I don't think we are reverting to a "previous era" of offense in terms of the rushing attempts vs. passing attempts. I say that because with all the rule changes, it's sort of impossible for that to happen. What you are seeing is more likely an adjustment to the defensive changes that came about to stop the explosive passing offenses that had developed. These changes haven't led to an inordinate amount of rushing versus passing(although that ratio has dropped) but it HAS led to much more explosive rushing output as evidenced by YPA ticking up since 2018.

And nobody was more coddled than Sanders. HoF dad who became a coach just to escort his kids through college to the NFL.

The Chiefs have a, I have enough rings and I don't care anymore problem.

Why would the Browns trade Shedeur?

I don’t care about him one way or another My observation of,him, at a pivotal moment in his life, goes like this 32 teams in the nfl passed on him through what, 4 plus rds, in a league in need of qbs…….and none drafted him…. Then a perennial 1. Super Bowl,contender, 2. with a dynamic qb that gets injured because of his type of play, meaning Sanders could be showcased as a backup on a team that actually has talent 3. and which has a good coaching staff that help him grow his skills 4 that isn’t a laughing stock where qbs go to die calls and says, ‘we are drafting you’ …and Sanders says to,Baltimore, ‘naw man, I’m good here’ ..got what he deserved for a poor career decision and what he got was Cleveland he made his own bed as for the Panthers franchise, no… no distractions and there are plenty of qbs that don’t have baggage, get one of those .

Did Bryce Young have a list of teams he wouldn’t play for? You are mad because he earned being a top college recruit and the top pick in the draft. So weird. Any “competitive hurdle” placed between a #1 overall pick and the starting job is a farce and everybody knows it. What you are talking about is the coach and team playing make believe just for appearances sake. The competitive hurdle already happened in putting out the college tape to be the #1 pick. What is the point in comparing these 2 completely different QBs and situations? Oh yeah, just another opportunity to whine about Bryce Young.

How many 2Cs have more points than him?

I don't know maybe his dad being his only coach and giving him scholarships to wherever he coached. That way he could guarantee he started might have something to do with it. He never earned a thing in his life. Stop it.

even if it ticks up a bit, ypg is still like ~25 yards smaller than it was a decade ago. the game has changed.

It is more how exhausting and tedious everything becomes with the extreme over-exposure. The tv commercials that run constantly. The coverage that is over-the-top because everyone wants to constantly hear how great they are. It's the next big thing! Popularity breeds contempt.

I dont know what is entitlement about anything shedeur has had to deal with this season. If anything it's showed how much of a high character resilient person he is despite the claims. And that has nothing to do with being a supporter, fan or bias. Even people that hate him are giving him props for pushing threw the bs around him.

Anyone else just happy to be playing meaningful football in December. For the last few years, we have been in tank mode before Thanksgiving.

so are you saying Bryce Young is indeed below average in every individual aspect a QB is in measured......but his 4th down completion % somehow trumps all of that? lmao. Yeah, that's below average QB play. GWD is a team accomplishment. Which is why Young is attached to some he didn't complete a pass in.

Hell no….thats it…thanks

Damn....I knew this thread was gonna be a bunch of ignorance. Dont know why i even bothered to click. Lol

No, he is 25th amongst qualifying QBs. Go check ESPN. and it's not just ONE stat for Bryce. It's all the big production measures. Every. Single. Season. If Bryce Young isn't below average. Below average doesn't exist. You are eliminating it lol. this is why people are forced into being haters. It's denial of reality.