Leadership, ron rivera, and the variable rigidity of discipline

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

7 hours ago, PhillyB said:

bubonic plague looking acne scars

yeah he's on par with james hetfield in that area

[Cuttinedge]

10 minutes ago, tiger7_88 said:

It was Tolbert.

Yes, our first play of the game was to washed-up fat-ass Tolbert.

That this was our first play from scrimmage should be the reason someone gets fired today.

 If that's the best shula can come up with then he should be left in Seattle 

[SmokinwithWilly]

6 hours ago, SmootsDaddy89 said:

As much as I'd like to poo on Rivera, three straight playoff appearances and three straight division titles can't be taken away from him. Ron took this team to the playoffs three times in 5 years, it took John Fox 7.

 

That being said, Ron has shortcomings that will never change. So it's about whether you're okay with the inconsistency or not. But Fox was our most successful coach before Ron and we let him go, so my guess would be no.

I'll give him credit for what he deserves for the second division title. 7-8-1. Sure, 3 straight titles sounds great, but let's call it what it was, pure dumb luck. No other NFC south team got their poo together long enough to get to .500. I can't celebrate mediocrity. I didn't then  I don't now.

[truthjuice]

8 hours ago, PhillyB said:

Ron Rivera's shit stinks. We all know it, the whole team knows it, the whole fanbase knows it, even Ron Rivera knows it. You can see it in his poke-hole eyes as they glower off into some other dimension where the bubonic plague looking acne scars on his cheek aren't better play callers than Mike Shula. So since there's no point in prefacing this post with the obvious, there are two competing thoughts on what happened tonight:

(1) Cam Newton didn't bring his tie on the plane. Whatever, you keep the discipline in-house.

(2) Cam Newton didn't bring his tie on the plane. Whatever, you don't bend the rules for one player.

 

Let's address both of these points even though one of them is laughably retarded for reasons I will explain. First, point number one, which is not retarded. I would like to point out that JESUS CHRIST ON A CRACKER IT'S A FUCKING TIE. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?! I thought maybe he wore a hashtag fire Shula shirt or nut checked a security guard like that fake Bleacher Report tweet suggested. But it was a TIE. That's stupid enough. Even stupider than getting legit mad about it is benching him for it. Even stupider than benching him for it is benching him for it during a primetime game when he's already constantly taking media heat and you know this move will bring an unholy shitstorm down onto your football team. And even stupider than all that is taking your MVP off the field when you're still in the playoff hunt against a hungry team, a traditional foe, and sacrificing a shot at the playoffs to make some sort of a point about the way things are done around here. This is such a staggering exposure of Ron's lack of judgement and composition as a coach that there are few choices besides kicking him out of the plane over Idaho with a parachute and a bag of chips.

But let's humor the second argument for a second. It's actually completely true. It's a fact that you don't bend the rules for one player. That creates locker room division. No one actually disputes that.  Anyone who's taken intro level sociology courses in college knows institutionalization is necessary for the development of teamwork, and institutionalization can't happen if one guy's treated preferentially. But that is a bullshit argument because the issue is not the crime, it's the punishment.

Ultimately it's Ron Rivera not knowing when to back off. And sometimes you do back off. You have to. Ten or so years ago I was in Marine Corps OCS up in Quantico in the world's most intensive leadership school, surrounded by elite drill instructors whose personal mission it was to pound discipline and code into a bunch of soft ass braniac college kids trying to be hard asses. If there was ever a place you don't fuck up and forget your tie (or muzzle control or your fucking compass, jeebus that was a bad day) it's officer training in the Marines. Not a dumb football game. But even in OCS the drill instructors had the wisdom to know there are times you back off of rigid disciplinarian structure for the betterment of the group. There were times when tensions ran high (dropped candidates, silver bullet, OCS version of the crucible) when the DIs backed off of the billy badass routine even if it was warranted because they had the wisdom to understand they'd lose more respect by enforcing something petty at a very bad time than they'd gain authority points for being ticky-tack. In fact they often gained respect and promoted group cohesion by knowing when not to enforce things that they had the right to enforce whenever they wanted.

Ron Rivera doesn't possess that wisdom as far as I can tell. To this point his only real outstanding strength as a head coach was his ability to develop a team's intangibles and manage its locker room, but this evening he compromised even that en route to dishing us a head start on our only blowout loss of the season and knocking us out of the playoff running against a hated rival.

Goodbye Ron.

Very well said, but the bolded literally has me laughing out loud in my office! The fact that he did it, during a prime time game, to a quarterback who is not only your franchise but hated in the media tells me a lot. I do agree, don't bend the rules, but this was a freaking stupid decision. What's more, it's came back to slap him in the face because Cam was out of the building before he even entered the game and players look like they just quit on Ron last night. This isn't Cam being late for team meetings, Cam caught in a bathroom smoking weed, Cam missing the team bus, Cam throwing on sweats, etc. This was a tie, Ron. A TIE!!! Of all things you can discipline an elite player for, a tie is what you choose. Pick and choose your battles, Ron. I had to get on my son this weekend about him not letting the toilet seat down but I didn't snatch all of his electronics. It's a toilet seat, I'll win the war but this battle wasn't worth it. Ron is terrible at this point. 

[truthjuice]

5 minutes ago, Cuttinedge said:

That this was our first play from scrimmage should be the reason someone gets fired today.

 If that's the best shula can come up with then he should be left in Seattle 

I give Shula a pass for that. He didn't even see that coming. I'm sure he thought up until kickoff  that Cam was starting. But Tolbert was bad lmao. DA was equally bad. 

[Mvp2014]

8 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

If I'm looking at the consequences, I just have a hard time buying that there'd be some major revolt in the locker room if Newton went unpunished for not wearing a tie. 

I don't buy that the Panthers locker room is that petty, and if it were, we'd have larger issues.

But even if I did believe that would cause a ruckus, I have a hard time believing it'd be a bigger mess than the result of that first play.

I think our lockerroom has been f**** up since the SB flop and then proceeding to do nothing in FA and letting a bunch of vets walk including your best DB (by far) when he was under the tag.

I have never seen Cam or any Carolina Panther wear non team colored shoes.  I believe Ginn and a few LB's had red shoes too

[chknwing]

1 hour ago, Anybodyhome said:

Yeah. I'm positive DA and Stewart worked out the entire bobble off his hands into the defender's hands without even practicing it. All behind the scenes... right.

Sent from my SM-G920R4 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app
 

exactly.  its easier to just be part of the conspiracy than to be against it.

[JJman Returns]

8 hours ago, PhillyB said:

for some reason women always turn me down when i tell them about my great internet posts

Did you try showing it to them? 

[SportsCrazie4172]

Why I think Ron will be fired..

Bill f*cking Bellichick was over there for 4 games this season with Backup QBs and w/out Gronk (and dont forget last season) winning games.As much as I detest BB, he can coach. The blue print is in New England so you can't say it can't be done.

Cant use the excuse, well we had injuries. If BB out there winning games with 3rd string backups, then there is no reason Rivera couldn't do the same..

Bellichick might be the one that is the catalyst to get Ron fired..

 

 

[truthjuice]

7 minutes ago, Mvp2014 said:

I think our lockerroom has been f**** up since the SB flop and then proceeding to do nothing in FA and letting a bunch of vets walk including your best DB (by far) when he was under the tag.

I have never seen Cam or any Carolina Panther wear non team colored shoes.  I believe Ginn and a few LB's had red shoes too

But people don't believe it when you say the issues started in the offseason. When the winning team was pretty much dismantled and losing Josh in an "f*ck you" kind of way, that does something to you. It's like losing one of the best employees at your company. It will change the mentality of the team, especially when it's done is a shady fashion. Not only did you take it away, but you didn't have a backup plan other than the draft. 

As the season has gone up, I think players are mentally and physically beat. Cam, TD, maybe now even Greg. It's only so much you can take and do with no help from anyone else. Coaches not trusting players, players not trusting coaches. It's a shitstorm and this offseason some things have to change. 

[PhillyB]

6 minutes ago, JJman Returns said:

Did you try showing it to them? 

they said it was too long. story of my life

[truthjuice]

Just now, SportsCrazie4172 said:

Why I think Ron will be fired..

Bill f*cking Bellichick was over there for 4 games this season with Backup QBs and w/out Gronk (and dont forget last season) winning games.As much as I detest BB, he can coach. The blue print is in New England so you can't say it can't be done.

Cant use the excuse, well we had injuries. If BB out there winning games with 3rd string backups, then there is no reason Rivera couldn't do the same..

Bellichick might be the one that is the catalyst to get Ron fired..

 

 

You didn't know? It's Cam's fault. Cam is mentally and physically worn out. Cam cant motivate his receivers to catch balls or his linemen to create holes. Cam can't make the defense get stops. I mean, this is his fault. None of this falls on Rivera, Gettleman or even Richardsons shoulders. Just absolv them of all responisbility. Ron won't be fired. 

[JJman Returns]

Belicheck aslo once sat out Wes Welker for a whole quarter in a playoff game. Can you imagine the outcry if Rivera did that to Steve Smith in 2013....

[SportsCrazie4172]

Just now, JJman Returns said:

Belicheck aslo once sat out Wes Welker for a whole quarter in a playoff game. Can you imagine the outcry if Rivera did that to Steve Smith in 2013....

LOL..

CBS reported just prior to game time that Wes Welker, the Patriots’ No. 1 receiver, will not be in the starting lineup.

The reason? Patriots coach Bill Belichick benched Welker for making jokes this week about the involvement of Jets coach Rex Ryan and Ryan’s wife in foot fetish videos.

Belichick told all his players not to say anything that would serve as bulletin board material, and he was apparently serious. So Welker won’t start.

UPDATE: Welker took the field for a punt return, then went to the sideline and stayed there throughout the Patriots’ first offensive possession. He was back on the field for the Patriots’ second possession.