NFL News

[jaadam4]

And everyone knew that Pitt wanted rid of him. Chicago ate shit on that one

[Fraquar]

Never though Butkus would die. Thought if anyone would be immortal it would be him.
RIP you beast.
Somewhere Jesus just got a new addition to his heavenly football team and Lord help the opposition......

[edindetroit]

Green Bay Packers tackle David Bakhtiari is done for the season: Report

https://www.tmj4.com/sports/green-ba...-season-report

[jaadam4]

Green Bay Packers tackle David Bakhtiari is done for the season: Report

https://www.tmj4.com/sports/green-ba...-season-report

I hate the Packers but I always had a lot of respect for Bakhtiari. Seems like a chill dude.

[jaadam4]

The Rock who’s part owner in the XFL / USFL merger had a meeting with Kaepernick and his agents awhile back to see if he’d play in the league. “Doesn’t sound like it’ll happen”. For all the talk and begging for tryouts it doesn’t seem like he wants to play.

Pretty sure the crybaby millionaire will still be seeking headlines well into his 40’s begging for NFL teams to sign him. What a joke

[froot loops]

You are the one crying about it, take the win, he has been successfully blackballed out of the league. Take the W and move on.

[jaadam4]

You are the one crying about it, take the win, he has been successfully blackballed out of the league. Take the W and move on.

As he should have been blackballed. He’s one of the prime reasons all these woke little bitches have fallen out of the woodwork and everyone is taking a stand to be seen. He wanted the attention and got it.

He also got a ton of money to go away yet every time a QB goes down he takes a page out of your book froot and turns into little yappy dog. He doesn’t want anything he just wants to look like he does

[froot loops]

Again, you got the win. Move on.

[Iron Lion]

C'mon man. Isn't it obvious that racism magically ended when civil rights passed? As soon as it was illegal to hang obscenely racist signs on diner windows excluding certain clientele, everyone's brain switched the racism off. It's not like the decency police of TV and radio continued to allow the most racist of all words to keep going while banning words like fuck and shit.

All that being said though, Kap was a distraction and he put football 2nd. He wore a Dolphins hat as a member of the 49ers and I think he was just clueless about how sacred winning is. I've been an atheist for two decades and if I was an NFL player I'd pray with the team if that was the locker room thing because winning trumps your feelings or even right and wrong. Kap was not for team cohesion so why bother with him? As a political figure I back him 100% though.

[JGSpartan]

You realize Fox Corp owns the USFL right? XFL's merger with them more than likely closed any door that would have been open. I think assuming it's because he doesn't want to play is probably incorrect.

[Cody_Russell]

If the Broncos are soon down for a fire sale, Pat Surtain ii please.

[jaadam4]

If the Broncos are soon down for a fire sale, Pat Surtain ii please.

Hell yes although the price tag there will be steep. Seattle should be in cuffs for the damage they did to Denver. Complete fleecing

[Topweasel]

You realize Fox Corp owns the USFL right? XFL's merger with them more than likely closed any door that would have been open. I think assuming it's because he doesn't want to play is probably incorrect.

Doubtful. I really really doubt Fox Sports even with New Corp ownership could even if they cared effect player personal decisions. But don't confuse Fox's mad rush to the far right as anything but ratings driven. They figured Trump would be such an enigma that would drive ratings and when he won went all in with him and his fan base. They don't actually at the top have a real Political bias and their pull on Fox sports isn't that large either.

Kaps issue is that he is wealthy, his family is wealthy enough that he doesn't have to do the hard work to get a starting spot in the NFL. But it's the only thing he will accept. When he was out for 2-3 years he had like 2 chances for backup positions and turns then down because he wanted 18+ mil. He isn't going to take a 500k-1 million deal to play in a spring league, in hopes a team will pay him 4 million to be a backup, in hopes the starter goes down and he shines and gets a full time starter spot. He thinks it was all politics that caused him to lose a starting spot. Some of the rest of the black listing was the politics but his regression over his last 2 years in SF is why he wasn't offered a starting spot and he won't put in the effort to earn it back.

[whatever_gong82]

NFL bye week schedule 2023: When each team is off, who they play in return week



By The Athletic Staff
Oct 8, 2023


As the NFL carries out Week 5, some teams will take off, meaning they won’t play due to a bye week. Each team has one bye week per season, with no byes in Week 8 or Week 12.

The bye week period this year kicks off with four teams not playing — the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Week 14 is the final week that includes byes, with the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders off.

What’s the NFL’s bye week slate and who will teams play in their return from being off? Here’s the full schedule:


2023 NFL bye week schedule


Week 5

Cleveland Browns — face 49ers in Week 6

Los Angeles Chargers — face Cowboys in Week 6

Seattle Seahawks — face Bengals in Week 6

Tampa Bay Buccaneers — face Lions in Week 6



Week 6

Green Bay Packers — face Broncos in Week 7

Pittsburgh Steelers — face Rams in Week 7



Week 7

Carolina Panthers — face Texans in Week 8

Cincinnati Bengals — face 49ers in Week 8

Dallas Cowboys — face Rams in Week 8

Houston Texans — face Panthers in Week 8

New York Jets — face Giants in Week 8

Tennessee Titans — face Falcons in Week 8



Week 9

Denver Broncos — face Bills in Week 10

Detroit Lions — face Chargers in Week 10

Jacksonville Jaguars — face 49ers in Week 10

San Francisco 49ers — face Jaguars in Week 10



Week 10

Kansas City Chiefs — face Eagles in Week 11

Los Angeles Rams — face Seahawks in Week 11

Miami Dolphins — face Raiders in Week 11

Philadelphia Eagles — face Chiefs in Week 1



Week 11

Atlanta Falcons — face Saints in Week 12

Indianapolis Colts — face Buccaneers in Week 12

New England Patriots — face Giants in Week 12

New Orleans Saints — face Falcons in Week 12



Week 13

Baltimore Ravens — face Rams in Week 14

Buffalo Bills — face Chiefs in Week 14

Chicago Bears — face Lions in Week 14

Las Vegas Raiders — face Vikings in Week 14

Minnesota Vikings — face Raiders in Week 14

New York Giants — face Packers in Week 14



Week 14

Arizona Cardinals — face 49ers in Week 15

Washington Commanders — face Rams in Week 14

[whatever_gong82]

The Panthers are 0-5 and sinking: Could a staff shakeup or a benching be coming?

By Joseph Person
2h ago


DETROIT — A season that started with much anticipation with the arrival of a new coaching staff and a rookie quarterback the Carolina Panthers hope will be the future of their franchise has gone off the rails.

In Week 5.


The Panthers and playoffs should not be mentioned in the same breath and they won’t again after the following sentence. No team has started 0-5 and made the playoffs.

So barring a turnaround of historic proportions, the Panthers’ playoff-less streak will extend to six seasons, coinciding with David Tepper’s purchase of the team in 2018.


The Panthers led in each of their first four games and mostly kept them close. That was not the case Sunday at Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions turned three turnovers — including two by Bryce Young — into 21 points and won a laugher, 42-24.

The loss means Frank Reich matched Dom Capers — a senior assistant on this year’s staff — for the worst start by a first-year coach in team history. Reich could have the distinction to himself next week unless the Panthers upset Miami, which opened as a 14-point favorite.


Reich invoked the team’s Keep Pounding mantra in addressing players after the game and promised: “This’ll be my best week of work ever.”

But that will do little to appease fans — and possibly the owner — who have another losing season to endure.


“We’re gonna hear the wrath of the media. We’re gonna hear the wrath of fans, all that,” wide receiver Adam Thielen said. “But you’ve gotta find a way to get better and you can’t focus on those things. You hear it. It doesn’t matter if you’re on social media, not on social media, you hear it. You feel it.”

With the possibility of an 0-6 record at the bye, The Athletic examines changes the Panthers could make, and the likelihood that each could happen.


Reich gets fired

It was only nine months ago that Tepper signed Reich to a four-year contract, praising Reich’s offensive background and his ability to hire a top-tier staff. While Tepper can’t be happy with his initial return on investment, it’s hard to imagine cutting ties with the 61-year-old Reich so quickly — during the season or after.

If the Panthers were still winless in December or if Reich were to lose the locker room, Tepper could decide to go in a different direction. But after the Panthers finally ditched the rent-a-quarterback approach that characterized the Matt Rhule era, the idea was to pair No. 1 pick Young with a head coach with a quarterback background. I can’t see Tepper bailing on that — and eating the millions in buyout money — after one season.


“No one envisioned this,” Reich said. “So you have to — this is the embodiment of Keep Pounding. And the only way you do that is if you believe. If you believe, it’s going to make a difference. Otherwise, you just check out. So that’s the essence of Keep Pounding.”


Reich gives up play calling


Reich let offensive coordinator Thomas Brown call the plays during the second half of all three preseason games. And while Reich has said he would look to hand off the play-calling duties to Brown in the future, he didn’t mean after five games.


Could Tepper try to force Reich’s hand? Maybe. Brown, the former Los Angeles Rams assistant, is a sharp guy who commands a room and will be a head coach one day. But play calling is Reich’s thing, and the Panthers’ offense looked better at times Sunday but was undone by the turnovers.

“I was calling the plays. But it was like every other game, we collaborated all the way through it,” Reich said. “So Thomas is contributing, the whole staff’s contributing. It all comes through Thomas. But no, I call the plays.”


Panthers make a QB change


The Panthers’ best offensive day came in Seattle when Andy Dalton started and Young was on the bench with an ankle injury. Dalton gives the Panthers the best chance to win now but that always took a backseat this season to Young’s development. To sit him now defeats the purpose.

If Young were overwhelmed physically or mentally, then Reich would be wise to consider it. But Young is going through some of the same struggles that other No. 1 picks have gone through — a list that includes Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman.


Young had his second two-interception game Sunday, both of which gave the Lions short fields. On the first interception, Young tried to slip a short pass to Ian Thomas for a tight end screen. But defensive end Aidan Hutchinson stuck his right arm out and snatched the ball with one hand.

Young was trying to find Jonathan Mingo down the sideline on his second interception, and either didn’t see cornerback Jerry Jacobs or tried to jam the ball into a tight window. Young said he should have “dirted” the ball on the first INT and should have done a better job seeing Jacobs in Cover 2 on the second.


“They’re a really good team, really good on offense as well. So it’s not like they need any handouts,” Young said. “Then you set them up, so those are on me.”


Making Young’s six giveaways this season look worse is what C.J. Stroud has done in Houston. Stroud, taken one pick behind Young, has started his career with 186 pass attempts without an interception, breaking Dak Prescott’s record of 176.

The Houston Texans (2-3) will be in Charlotte in Week 8 — and barring injury, Young will still be the Panthers’ starter.


Brian Burns gets traded


Any notion that the Panthers should be buyers at the trade deadline is foolhardy, unless they can find someone (Denver Broncos wideout Courtland Sutton, for instance) who can help them beyond this season AND won’t require much draft capital since the Panthers don’t have much.

We addressed the Burns’ trade possibility last week and the fact that general manager Scott Fitterer already missed the boat on getting the biggest haul for his Pro Bowl edge rusher. But Burns is clearly tired of losing. Those frustrations boiled over when he threw his helmet and came off for two plays after defensive tackle Nick Thurman jumped offsides to allow the Lions to convert a fourth down.


“Yeah, I was frustrated. My passion came out,” he said. “After I did that, I went to my defense, apologized, let them know that I’m still with ‘em, I’m still here.”

But for how much longer? Burns said he wants to see things through in Carolina. But with no agreement on an extension and the losses mounting, the choice may be out of his hands.


Asked about what he would say to Young about dealing with adversity, Burns said he’d tell him to weather the storm.

“There’s a lot of ups and down that come in this league. I’ve been through a lot of ‘em,” he said. “You’ve just gotta persist, you’ve gotta go through it.”


Fitterer gets fired

When Tepper canned Marty Hurney as GM with two games left in the 2020 season, he spoke of the “alignment” needed between the GM and coach. “I think sometimes you just need a restart, a refresh,” Tepper told reporters. “We did it last year on the coaching side. Maybe you could say it should have been done before on the GM side.”

Tepper twice had the chance to start fresh with a new coach and GM in one swoop but decided against it. There’s nothing to suggest Fitterer and Reich aren’t on the same page. But if the Panthers keep losing, Tepper’s track record suggests someone will pay the price. That could be Fitterer, a well-liked, consensus-builder who still has to prove he can build winning rosters.


An assistant gets fired

Would Tepper lean on Reich to get rid of an assistant from his much ballyhooed staff? Or might Reich make such a move himself, as Rhule did when he fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady at the end of the Panthers’ bye week in 2021?


Reich hired a pair of ascending coaches for his coordinator posts: Brown and Ejiro Evero interviewed for head-coaching jobs. Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown also figures to be a head coach at some point. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor and offensive line coach James Campen were holdovers from Rhule’s staff whom Tepper wanted to retain.

So any staff shakeup would likely involve a position coach, and arguably wouldn’t make a huge impact.


Joe Person is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Carolina Panthers. He has covered the team since 2010, previously for the Charlotte Observer. A native of Williamsport, Pa., Joe is a graduate of William & Mary, known for producing presidents and NFL head coaches. Follow Joseph on Twitter @josephperson