Bears’ Nagy for Coach of the Year, Panthers’ Rivera is taking heat
Nagy for Coach of the Year
“We could be looking at the Coach of the Year in Matt Nagy. He’s done a phenomenal job. First and foremost, he deserves credit for keeping Vic Fangio (defensive coordinator he inherited) on the staff. And how about these plays? You fake the football to your defensive end, Akiem Hicks, you throw it to Bradley Sowell, the tackle, for a touchdown — the ingenuity.”
Rich Gannon, NBCS Monday QB
Don’t forget Frank Reich
“Nobody’s done a better job than Frank Reich. His Colts started 1-5 and since then they’e gone 6-1. He’s got Andrew Luck playing really well. This team now believes they can compete with anyone in the NFL. They took down the Texans in their home.”
Steve Beuerlein, Monday QB
Coach in decline
“The Panthers have lost five straight; they’re in danger of missing the postseason. There’s plenty of blame to go around, but you have to look at the top. They’ve lost some good coaches on the defensive side of the ball, coaches who have gone on to become head coaches (Sean McDermott, Steve Wilks), and Ron Rivera hasn’t been able to replace that staff. That’s where a lot of the issues lie.”
Rich Gannon
Rough start for Philbin
“What a way to begin as interim coach of the Green Bay Packers. He has two challenges in the first minute and a half of the game and loses them both. Coach, what were you thinking?”
Rich Gannon
Belichick errs with Hail Mary defense
“Bill Belichick is at fault for having the wrong defense on the field. Not having Devin McCourty on the field for the last play is ludicrous.”
Peter King, NBCS Pro Football Talk, on the Miami Miracle
Vikings have no O-line
“There’s got to be major surgery done on the Vikings’ offensive line. It’s horrible. It’s so leaky it doesn’t allow anything to get started in the running game. You have to give it to Kirk Cousins over and over again. The Vikings this year have had third-and-8 more than any team.”
Peter King
Steelers collapse
“Baltimore is going to finish 9-7 and win that division (AFC North). Pittsburgh has lost three games in a row; they play New England this week and then they go on the road to New Orleans. They’re gonna lose both of those. They’ll finish 8-8 and not make the playoffs. Baltimore plays Cleveland and Tampa in two of the next three weeks.”
Trent Green, Monday QB
Costly comment on refs?
“Whoever is watching that in New York should stay off the bottle.”
Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia Eagles safety, unhappy with a replay challenge
Patrick Mahomes: the eyes have it
‘Patrick has sniper’s vision. He sees like a great fighter pilot. You can’t teach that.”
Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs coach
Derrick Henry
“When you go look at the film, I don’t think you’re going to see the effort.”
Doug Marrone, Jacksonville Jaguars coach, on Derrick Henry’s 99-yard run against his team
