Panthers rookie QB Will Grier put in ‘impossible situation’ vs. Colts
Greg Olsen had something to say after the Panthers’ 38-6 loss to the Colts.
The 13-year NFL veteran’s future in Carolina, let alone the NFL, is still unknown. His thoughts on this team and where it is going, however, could not be more important for it’s future direction.
“Right now I’m not sure what our plan is. I think we want to win now, but we want to build for the future,” Olsen said. “It’s just a really tough way to operate right now.
“Players are underperforming, I think it’s right now a very collective failure, organizational failure. Fans deserve better. A lot of guys in this locker room deserve better. Coaches that have been around here deserve better. It’s just been an overall failure, I think is the best way to put it.”
Part of the Panthers’ uncomfortable position is exactly what Olsen said. This was a team that was built to have Cam Newton, an established franchise quarterback, leading the way. Instead, they have struggled to put together any semblance of consistency for so many reasons. Injuries, inexperience, firing the head coach midseason and a myriad of issues on the field have plagued them.
Which leaves them in the tough position of putting younger players, like rookie quarterback Will Grier, out on the field in difficult spots. Even though it’s important for assessing talent, they are still left in positions in which success appears out of the question.
“(Grier) was thrown into an impossible situation,” Olsen said. “Two games left in a season where there’s been countless issues and now, throw him out there, play incompetent football around him — it’s impossible to get any sort of judgment based on his performance today.”
The third-round pick and Charlotte-area native completed 27 of 44 passes for 224 yards and three interceptions. He was also sacked five times.
Grier’s performance against the Colts was fine. The interceptions weren’t all his fault, especially the first one which was a contested catch between Jarius Wright and Colts linebacker Anthony Walker.
At this point in the season the Panthers should have their younger players in the game to see what they can do. There’s no playoffs to be trying for. Grier especially, but when he is put behind an offensive line that has now allowed 56 sacks this year, the expectations of what he can do can only go so far.
“We’ve got to help Will,” interim head coach Perry Fewell said. “Everybody has to help Will and we have to go up and compete for the ball.”
Without second-year wide receiver DJ Moore, who left in the first quarter with a concussion, the Panthers offense relied on running back Christian McCaffrey in the passing game. Grier was left in a positon where he was simply trying to make something, anything happen. A 21-3 deficit isn’t conducive for a player in his first NFL start.
“We had to go. We had to get something going,” Grier said. “I’m not interested in trying to have the best stats. I’m trying to win the game, trying to do what’s best for the team and trying to be aggressive and trying to make something happen.”
The Panthers did play younger players more vs. the Colts. Brian Burns had a sack and a quarterback hit after playing only seven snaps last week, which the coaching staff admitted was a mistake. Tight end Ian Thomas got in the game more towards the end, finishing with three receptions for 16 yards.
The exception to this was the coaching staff’s decision to bench second-year cornerback Donte Jackson and play proven veteran Ross Cockrell in his place.
“(Jackson) had a poor couple weeks in performance and so we felt we need to make a change and have someone else play instead of Donte today,” Fewell said.
Jackson has struggled as of late, and needed to improve. But with two games left in the season, is benching a younger player going to help? When starting young players and seeing how they can perform is on a premium, why bench a struggling cornerback, not for a series or a half, but for an entire game?
It goes back to Olsen’s point. Are the Panthers trying to win or are they building for the future?
Pushing Grier out and not playing Jackson at all makes a confusing team that much harder to understand.
“There were failures all around (Grier). Failures leading up to it,” Olsen said. “I hope no one passes any judgment on Will’s abilities as a player, in the future going forward. There were a lot of things at play he had to suffer the consequences of.”
Monday notes:
- Interim head coach Perry Fewell said that he anticipates rookie quarterback Will Grier starting for a second straight game when the Panthers host the Saints in Week 17. Fewell said that his performance Sunday was “like a rookie on the road.” Grier was without wide receiver DJ Moore for most of the game after he suffered a concussion in the first quarter. Fewell pointed to losing Moore as something that hindered Grier.
- Despite potential injuries, Fewell also said that he plans on playing all of his starters in Week 17 as the goal is to “win.” The Panthers had their losing streak extended to seven vs. the Colts and have not lost eight straight since 2002, John Fox’s first season as coach. Running back Christian McCaffrey, perhaps the player with the best case to sit Sunday, needs 67 receiving yards to finish with 1,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards. He would be the third player in NFL history to do that (Marshall Faulk and Roger Craig).
- Second-year cornerback Donte Jackson was benched vs. the Colts and did not play a single defensive snap. Jackson had a couple of bad performances in recent games. Defensive back Ross Cockrell started in his place. Fewell said the plan had not been to sit Jackson the entire game, but Cockrell was playing well and they did not want to take him out.While Fewell said the team would look over the situation, it Cockrell will likely start once again in Week 17. “We’ll continue to evaluate as the week goes on, but I would think, right now, that the player that played in his position would start on Sunday,” Fewell said.
This story was originally published December 22, 2019 at 8:31 PM.
