Thanatos 2,847 Posted November 21, 2018 https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/11/nfl-panthers-curtis-samuel-snap-count-stats-fantasy-football/amp?__twitter_impression=true People are always on me for saying Rivera sucks (not here so much, assuming Zack is indeed just trolling). These are the kind of things that make me say it. Before referencing the article on Curtis Samuel up there, let me bring you back to SB 50. Offensive woes aside, the best defensive player on the field not named Von Miller was Kony Ealy. Arguably did better than Von, tbh. Ealy had 3 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a brilliant interception- on just 23 snaps. Instead, the coaching staff elected to play veteran talent such as Jared Allen and Charles Johnson over Ealy. Why? Because Rivera & Co. have a long and sordid history of refusing to allow young players to come in and take over. There are two exceptions- Cam Newton, who they were basically forced to start because lolJimmy Clausen, and Christian McCaffrey. This year alone, we have a pretty bad secondary, yet the coaching staff refuses to give Corn Elder even a look. If you weren't going to play him at all, why draft him? We of course have no evidence he is good, but he can't be worse than a few of the guys we have back there. Then, we have DJ Moore, who is a weapon at WR, but can't seem to get snaps to come to him. And then, there is Curtis Samuel. He has 21 touches on 112 snaps- with five touchdowns. Samuel has great hands, runs crisp routes, doesn't take boneheaded blocking penalties- looking at you KB, how's Buffalo treating ya?- doesn't turn the ball over, which Moore did at least do that in the Skins game, and hasn't said a word about not getting enough touches. Samuel should be the #1 WR from here on out, and should play every down he can. There's no more time to be cute, Carolina is in serious danger of missing the postseason after a 6-2 start. If they can't steal one from the Saints, that means the best they can do is 10-6. It's time for Rivera to stop stubbornly staying loyal to veterans over youth when the younger guys are way better. If he can't do that, it's time for him to go, and I hope Tepper lists the misuse of the most efficient TD scorer in the league as exhibit A why he's gone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites