NFL’s response to Damar Hamlin situation a shameful new low
Tim Weaver
Mon, January 2, 2023 at 10:55 PM EST
The look on Josh Allen’s face is the image we will remember most from this evening. His hands were cupped over his nose and mouth, but his eyes revealed a story that was also reflected by his teammates’ reactions: they were afraid that Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s life was in danger.
After making a tackle that took the brunt of the force in his chest, Hamlin stood up and then collapsed on the field. CPR was performed on him for several minutes, then he was taken to the University of Cinncinnati hospital, where he’s reportedly been intubated and is listed in critical condition.
Credit should go to the Bills and the Bengals players, whose shared humanity shined through in the most horrific live-sports moment of all time.
Head coaches Zac Taylor and Sean McDermott also deserve commendation for putting the health of their players over the demands of the National Football League, which has hit an unthinkable new low when it comes to “player safety.”
There have been some awful takes tonight on Twitter regarding the postponement. However, the true villain is the NFL, which told players they had five minutes to get ready and resume the game. The league added more insult to injury by not calling the game off until over an hour after Hamlin collapsed – well after they knew that he was not breathing on his own.
Bills S Damar Hamlin has cardiac arrest on field, NFL suspends game vs. Bengals
Mon, January 2, 2023 at 9:16 PM EST
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital after collapsing on the field with cardiac arrest Monday night in a game against the Bengals that was postponed.
The Bills announced his diagnosis of cardiac arrest early Tuesday morning, hours after he left the stadium in an ambulance.
Multiple Bills and Bengals players gathered around Hamlin in extreme concern as he was down and being helped by athletic trainers after he collapsed following a tackle. Hamlin took a big hit in the chest area during the first quarter in a collision with Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, who was running upfield after a catch. Hamlin got up after the play, then suddenly collapsed
.
Reporters at the stadium said Hamlin was given CPR on the field. More than 15 minutes passed from the time Hamlin collapsed to when he was taken off the field. A little after 10 p.m. ET, ESPN said on the broadcast that the game was suspended for the night, without an immediate update on whether or when the game would be played.
The NFL put out a statement that said, in part, that Hamlin was in critical condition at a local hospital.
Steve Wilks’ attorney ‘shocked and disturbed’ over Panthers’ HC decision
Thu, January 26, 2023 at 3:02 PM EST
The Carolina Panthers and the NFL may be hearing from an attorney.
Shortly after the team announced they’d hired Frank Reich as their new head coach, Wigdor Law—the legal representation for Steve Wilks—made an announcement of their own. The firm was none too pleased with the decision from the franchise and owner David Tepper, especially given what their client had done this past season.
Wilks was named the Panthers’ interim coach on Oct. 10, following the dismissal of Matt Rhule. From there, the 53-year-old Charlotte native revived the team and its fan base—dragging a once 1-4 squad to the doorstep of an improbable NFC South title.
Nonetheless, Tepper and his braintrust set out—very early on—to find an offensive-minded coach to eventually fill the position on a full-time level. That coach, of course, eventually ended up being Reich.
In early April of 2022, Wilks joined fellow African-American coach Brian Flores in his discrimination lawsuit against the NFL. His one-year tenure as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 raised many questions about the organization’s true intentions of hiring Wilks.
His complaint in the lawsuit reads as follows:
“Mr. Wilks was replaced by a white coach, Kliff Kingsbury, who had no prior NFL coaching experience and was coming off of multiple losing seasons as a Head Coach at Texas Tech. Mr. Kingsbury, armed with quarterback Kyler Murray, has been given a much longer leash than Mr. Wilks and, to his credit, has succeeded. That said, Mr. Wilks, given the same opportunity afforded to Mr. Kingsbury, surely would have succeeded as well.”
Fletcher Cox responds to angry Eli Manning after Eagles cost the Giants a playoff spot
The NFL world and New York Giants are currently in an uproar after the Philadelphia Eagles seemed to take their foot off the gas while trailing Washington.
With the Eagles trailing 17-14, Pederson removed Jalen Hurts and inserted Nate Sudfeld into the ball game.
Giants players took to social media irate over the move.
Giants legend and former star quarterback Eli Manning, chimed-in on the matter as well, stating, “this is why we don’t like the Eagles.”
Eagles star defensive tackle Fletcher Cox responded appropriately.
Former Panthers OLB, Hall of Famer Kevin Greene dies at 58
Tim Weaver
Mon, December 21, 2020, 5:14 PM EST·1 min read
Kevin Greene was one of the NFL’s great pass rushers in the late 1980s and the 1990s, including a few years with the Carolina Panthers. Greene died today at the age of 58.
He played for Carolina during the 1996, 1998 and 1999 seasons. In 47 games, he racked up 41.5 sacks and 149 combined tackles. Before he came into the league, Greene played his college football at Auburn, where he won SEC Defensive Player of the Year and the Zeke Smith Award.
After that, Greene was picked in the fifth round of the 1985 draft by the Rams. He spent eight years there, followed by three with the Steelers before his first stint in Carolina. All in all, Greene totaled 160 career sacks, third-most all time. He made five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams.
Panthers part ways with general manager Marty Hurney
CHARLOTTE – As they prepare to move into an offseason of significant change, the Panthers will be making another one atop their personnel department.
The team on Monday announced it is parting ways with general manager Marty Hurney, whose contract initially ran through June 2021.
A search for his replacement will begin immediately.
Panthers owner David Tepper said that after recent conversations with Hurney about the structure of the team's football operations, it became clear they had some different ideas. Tepper was careful to say he respected Hurney's traditional approach but hopes to blend more of a data-driven process into the football operation.
"I think sometimes you just need a restart, a refresh," Tepper said. "We did it last year on the coaching side. Maybe you could say it should have been done before on the GM side. Maybe it should have been. I'm sure people may say that, or otherwise, on both sides.
"I think it's just time, on both sides, to do that. It just seems like the right time to move forward."
Tepper has some names in mind that he wants to interview for the Panthers' GM job, but obviously, he isn't sharing them yet. He plans to begin the process of identifying and interviewing candidates, along with the help of chief communications officer Steven Drummond, who participated in the interview process with Tepper and Hurney when head coach Matt Rhule was hired last offseason.
Tepper said Rhule would also be a participant in the GM search.
"You look at successful organizations, and there's a certain alignment between the head coach and the GM," Tepper said. "To think that you can do that without some sort of alignment is nuts. So to not have a head coach with some input into that is stupid. I don't want to be stupid, OK?"
He also wants to start winning.
When Rhule was hired a year ago, Tepper was upfront that it was going to be a long process and urged patience. But asked about the progress made during a 4-10 season so far, Tepper saw the positives in a season played mostly without star running back Christian McCaffrey.
"This team could easily have another four wins," Tepper said. "The eight games that we had the ball last to win or tie — seven to win, one to tie — if you win four of those games, you're in a totally different position right now with this young team. So looking at next year, I'm very hopeful where we will be and what we will do."
Hurney joined the Panthers in 1998 as director of football administration and became GM in 2002. He was removed during the 2012 season, but returned to the role in an interim basis in 2017 before reclaiming the post full-time after that season.
Hurney put together the bulk of the teams that advanced to Super Bowls XXXVIII and 50, with players he acquired including Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, Ryan Kalil, and Greg Olsen leading the way to a 15-1 record in 2015. He also drafted the foundation of talent they'll build on from here, including DJ Moore, Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Jeremy Chinn, and led the searches for and hired coaches John Fox, Ron Rivera, and Rhule.