USA Today on how the Panthers are absolutely dumb for not playing Curtis Samuel

[tiger7_88]

6 minutes ago, joemac said:

Is that a joke?  Samuel hasnt played one snap at RB.

The Rivera Defense Squad will come up with any crack-pot theory in support of their hero.

[Little Goody Two Shoes]

It's okay. The next coach will use Samuel plenty.

[joemac]

1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

We had our best shot with Rivera in 2015 and didn't seal the deal.  It just hasn't returned to that level since.

And with the NFL now evolving to produce offenses that put up video game like stats, I can only see us falling farther behind with Rivera in charge.

I think it's possible at this point that getting humiliated against the Saints might be enough to put Rivera out of a job.

Honestly I think the writing has been on the wall since Tepper bought the team.  I would imagine he didnt want to make wholesale changes right before the season this year, but in his mind it was "Super Bowl or bust", and its looking more and more like a bust.  Wouldnt surprise me in the least if Hurney and Rivera are both canned immediately after the seaosn.

[Woodie]

5 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Rivera has just never been good when it comes to setting a depth chart or playing time, and he's loathe to admit mistakes.

I'm beginning to accept that we've probably gone about as far as we can go with him.

While I'm not one to burn Ron at the stake (I think he's been better than a lot here want to admit), I do think it may be time to move on.

I think he may have hit his ceiling as a coach.  I always said with John Fox, he was a great coach to get a bad team to decent, but he's not good enough to get it consistently in the playoffs. 

With Rivera, I think he is a great coach to turn a decent team into a consistent playoff team.  But he's not good enough to turn it into a perennial Super Bowl contender.  Hence, why I think he may have hit his ceiling.

I believe this team is ready for someone that can take it to the next level.  We have a lot of playmakers and a solid core...even with the players scheduled to be FA's this year.  A solid GM and creative coach should push this team into being a legitimate contender, year in and year out.

[JARROD]

1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

We had our best shot with Rivera in 2015 and didn't seal the deal.  It just hasn't returned to that level since.

And with the NFL now evolving to produce offenses that put up video game like stats, I can only see us falling farther behind with Rivera in charge.

I think it's possible at this point that getting humiliated against the Saints might be enough to put Rivera out of a job.

Yep— what is flawed is our defense is mediocre at best but Rivera is having our first half team play like we have a great defense. We score easily on the first drive and then clamp up until we are behind enough to make him open it back up.

so yeh, Rivera needs to get with the program,..open the offense up the first half and get aggressive like with Tampa. 

 

[poorboysrev]

9 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Rivera has just never been good when it comes to setting a depth chart or playing time, and he's loathe to admit mistakes.

I'm beginning to accept that we've probably gone about as far as we can go with him.

Yeah... it seems like Norvs style of offense and the weapons we have now in Moore, Samuel, cmc, Cam, etc are built for this new nfl...and it’s not Rivera’s age cause we see Andy Reid adapting to it just fine. I just don’t think Ron can adjust past his 85 bears, play to your defense mentality and that’s limiting this team when we all see the potential we have

[davos]

We know he'll just continue to throw out excuses.  Any reasonable team (GM/Coach/whoever) would have recognized Smith should have been cut for cash early on and have Wright behind Moore and Samuel.  Funchess was always going to be our #1 but he should seriously be demoted after last week.  I'm tired of his shtick.

What confuses me is that this should be obvious, Ron's job is obviously not safe, and yet, he's just continuing to NEVER learn from anything.  I really think minus a few small tweaks, he's the same coach he was year 1.  Riverboat is such a mirage.  

He missed 2 easy challenge overturns early on to set the tone of the game (who is in the booth for us??), refuses to bench Funchess, refuses to play Samuel (People have been clamoring for him early on this year).   

DJ-Samuel-Wright should be our consistent 3 WRs we trot out. 

Cam shouldn't be subjected to this coaching for a 9th season.  Isn't enough enough? I know we've done well here and there but c'mon, he needs a refresh around him.  Ron can't even field a stellar defense anymore.  

[tiger7_88]

1 minute ago, JARROD said:

Yep— what is flawed is our defense is mediocre at best

This despite the fact that we have spent the majority of our draft picks and free-agent signings on defense in the Rivera era.

[joemac]

1 minute ago, JARROD said:

Yep— what is flawed is our defense is mediocre at best but Rivera is having our first half team play like we have a great defense. We score easily on the first drive and then clamp up until we are behind enough to make him open it back up.

so yeh, Rivera needs to get with the program,..open the offense up the first half and get aggressive like with Tampa. 

 

Open the damn offense up and keep it opened up until the clock reads 0:00 in  the 4th quarter.  I hate that more than anything.  

[joemac]

1 minute ago, tiger7_88 said:

This despite the fact that we have spent the majority of our draft picks and free-agent signings on defense in the Rivera era.

Our next regime better envision us becoming an offensive football team.  We have to hang with the Falcons and Saints, not to mention every other high powered team in the NFC. Its obvious that defenses are not going to be allowed to compete fairly.  Its an exercise in stupidity to build your team around defense in 2018.  Doubly if you dont have anyone at all who can rush the passer.  

[The Lobo]

RR wow

[Mr. Scot]

I mean as far as approach, I could see building the defense as a way to go.  The league is a copycat league as well as cyclical in what works, and sometimes it's the teams that buck the trends that reverse the cycle.

Now with that said, regardless of whether we go that route or follow the league in building a Madden 99 level offense, I don't trust Ron Rivera to steer the ship anymore.

So whatever approach the team chooses, they need someone better in charge of it.

[Mr. Scot]

8 minutes ago, Woodie said:

While I'm not one to burn Ron at the stake (I think he's been better than a lot here want to admit), I do think it may be time to move on.

I think he may have hit his ceiling as a coach.  I always said with John Fox, he was a great coach to get a bad team to decent, but he's not good enough to get it consistently in the playoffs. 

With Rivera, I think he is a great coach to turn a decent team into a consistent playoff team.  But he's not good enough to turn it into a perennial Super Bowl contender.  Hence, why I think he may have hit his ceiling.

I believe this team is ready for someone that can take it to the next level.  We have a lot of playmakers and a solid core...even with the players scheduled to be FA's this year.  A solid GM and creative coach should push this team into being a legitimate contender, year in and year out.

I think if the league weren't evolving in the direction it's going, that Rivera might be good enough to keep at the helm, though admittedly that's iffy.

But the league is changing...big time, and I don't think Ron is equipped to handle what we're going to be facing down the road.

[Moorgan]

27 minutes ago, Saca312 said:

After Sunday’s loss, Rivera said Samuel will “continue to get opportunities,” but his snap count has actually been trending down over the last few weeks. After playing 27 snaps in Week 8, he’s been on the field for a total of 52 over the last three weeks combined. The better he plays, the fewer snaps he gets, it seems.

This actually makes me mad. I've supported Ron for a very long time. I also consider myself level headed and not prone to emotional or rash opinions. But eventually I have to accept that this cannot stand right? Lie to the media and fans all you want. But put the best product on the field. He's consistently shown that playing the right guys is a problem for him. I think these last few games should determine his future here. But I have to admit, I'm leaning towards a new coach.