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ESPN ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ Crew Crushes ‘Ridiculous’ Panthers
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ESPN ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ Crew Crushes ‘Ridiculous’ Panthers

Rex Ryan, Randy Moss and the rest of ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” crew held no back as they took down the Panthers, who had yet to win a game and had benched starting quarterback and 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young, during this week’s pregame show.

Moss called Carolina “the laughingstock of the league,” while Ryan said the Panthers considered the hiring of coach Dave Canales a “disaster,” including replacing Young with veteran Andy Dalton for Sunday’s game against the Raiders.

“I remember being in this league where the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders were the laughingstock of the National Football League. And then the Cleveland Browns came along. Right now, the Carolina Panthers are the laughingstock of the National Football League,” Moss said. “And it’s not because of how they play. It’s everything from the ownership all the way down.”

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. Jim Dedmon-Imagn-Images

The Panthers got off to an 0-2 start after finishing 2-15 last year, but they did take the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft and wide receiver DJ Moore traded to draft Young from Alabama in 2023.

“This organization is a disaster. You couldn’t pay me enough money to go play for the Carolina Panthers right now,” former NFL quarterback Alex Smith added. “The idea of ​​an organization is to accumulate talent, not give it away. We’re trading Christian McCaffery. We’re trading DJ Moore. Bryan Burns, let’s just give our best players away.

“They have no idea how to identify and retain talent. And oh, by the way, Baker Mayfield had a stopover here, he wasn’t good enough. Sam Darnold was here, he wasn’t good enough. I pray that Bryce gets out of there… The word is out, nobody wants to go there.”

Panthers head coach Dave Canales. AP

Ryan, the former Jets coach, said he knew hiring Canales, who most recently was the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, wouldn’t work.

“From Week 1, I really had doubts about Dave Canales being the head coach,” Ryan said. “And the reason I did that, and I’m sure part of it, is because he’s the quarterback guru or the quarterback fixer or whatever.

“Yeah. Let me tell you something about a young quarterback. You know how to fix him when they’re struggling? They’re going to struggle, right? With a running game and a defense. That’s how you do it. The funny thing is, you bring in Dave Canales, he was the dead last guy in Tampa, dead last at rushing the football and rushing per attempt. And this is the guy you put in there to help this guy? I knew it was going to be a disaster. I thought it was the worst hire ever. I really did. For the kid’s development, I felt terrible. This has worked out exactly how I thought it would.”

Ryan added that he questioned the selection of Young – who was selected one pick ahead of current Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud – “because this is a league that’s all about size and speed.”

“But you know what? You can’t question the kid,” Ryan continued. “He had all the other intangibles. He never had the size, but he’s smart, he knew how to deliver the ball. And they weren’t the only team that wanted him.

“By the way, they didn’t originally have the first pick in the draft. They traded that pick, so to me, by the way, that team was capable of playing defense until they traded the team away. Sorry, it was a terrible hire, you’ve had a million coaches and you still don’t get it right.”

From left: Mike Greenberg, Rex Ryan, Randy Moss, Alex Smith and Tedy Bruschi discuss the Panthers during ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” on Sept. 22, 2024. ESPN

Several teams have reportedly expressed interest in a trade for the 23-year-old Young, and former NFL linebacker Tedy Bruschi said he hopes it comes to fruition.

“I might play later this year, but I want out. If I’m Bryce, I want out,” Bruschi said. “Because you ruined me, you’re not developed well. I’m sure he has a team (interested) and I would tell him to get out.”