The Panthers are 10-4 and a team no one wants to face in January, but they’ve lost an owner in an era where the old harassment game is no longer playedWhen one of the NFL’s most stable and respected owners is forced to sell his team the rest of sports should know there is no room for creepy comments, lurid stares and strange requests to come to the owner’s suite. The harassment game, long accepted with knowing smiles and smarmy smirks, has been shut down. As #metoo hashtags embolden women to talk about the dignity that has been stripped from their lives, there are plenty of players, coaches, executives and owners holding their breath wondering if past crimes will catch...
The Carolina Panthers quarterback lit up the NFL last season. But it’s hard to maintain such excellence when you’re let down by your supporting castNo two quarterbacks in the NFL have the same supporting cast. Playbooks, offensive lines, receivers and coaches all affect how easy it is for a quarterback to do his job, and have a huge impact on his statistical output because it creates the margin for error that he is afforded. Take Aaron Rodgers for example. Rodgers hasn’t changed his level of play much this year. But how he is perceived has changed because his receivers have recently been getting open more consistently and, most importantly, are catching the ball more consistently. Over the first eight games...
Jimmy Garopollo’s injury may end up being merely a temporary setback for the New England Patriots, but they are far from perfectFor most of the first half, it looked like the New England Patriots had discovered their Next Tom Brady. OK, that may be a stretch, but it at least looked like they had found a player they could sell as a potential Next Tom Brady to one of the many quarterback-starved teams once the Actual Tom Brady returned from his four week league-mandated vacation. In his second game as a starter, Jimmy Garoppolo went 18-for-27, passing for 234 yards as the Patriots built up a 21-0 lead over the Miami Dolphins. Garoppolo, coming off New England’s huge Week 1...