Freddie Falcon
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Things are bad enough for the Panthers, who fired their coach last week.
Now after a frustrating 40-20 loss to the Falcons, they’re firing on each other.
Via Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer, Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson wasn’t thrilled with the defensive calls dialed up by interim coach Perry Fewell and the rest of the staff on a pair of touchdowns.
One of them went 93 yards for a touchdown to Olamide Zacchaeus, and left Jackson chasing.
“First of all, it was two bad calls,” Jackson said. “Two horrible calls. Two calls that we didn’t call in those situations all week at practice.”
Jackson was particularly critical of the long one, when the Panthers blitzed and left the back of the secondary on their own.
“Zero coverage. No help. Backed up. With a quarterback like that?” he said. “I don’t care if you’re Champ Bailey or any of those quarterback on the (NFL’s) 100 list, that is a play that’s hard to make for any guy. Especially with a guy like Matt Ryan.”
Jackson’s a talented former second-round pick, who has made some plays in his career. But he was also criticized for his approach at times (especially through the lens of last year’s All or Nothing cameras) with coaches and teammates trying to talk him through his rookie struggles.
The Panthers have lost five straight and are playing out the string, and outbursts like that will make the next three weeks uncomfortable for all of them.