Haason Reddick takes the blame for losing composure

Again, there were plenty of breakdowns that kept it from being all on Reddick’s play, but that encapsulated a frustrated, and frustrating day. A week after letting the Washington Football Team run for 190, the Panthers allowed the Dolphins to put together long drives, run the ball at will, and make big plays in the passing game against the league’s top-ranked pass defense (rookie Jaylen Waddle had nine catches for 137 yards and a touchdown, similar to the way Washington’s Terry McLaurin made big plays).

The Panthers have a very thin margin for error at the moment. So while the defense still can be good, seeing Reddick lose composure at the wrong time speaks to a larger issue.

Head coach Matt Rhule was direct, when asked (before Reddick spoke to reporters) what precipitated the incident.

“Does it matter? He told me a guy grabbed me, and I told him, ‘Does it matter?'” Rhule said. “So, the guy grabbed you. We had third and (long), and we needed those plays to win that game. So we’ll have to learn from it.”

It was just the second time all year the Panthers have been called for taunting (Ian Thomas had one in the loss to the Patriots), and that underscored the frustration that it would happen when it did.

“We had other people hit us and turn and look at our sideline, and our guys have been great,” Rhule said. “And all of a sudden we get in this ball game, and I can psychoanalyze for hours … These guys really want to win, they’re trying so hard to win, and not have success and they try harder, get emotional a little bit and it gets away from us. Guys are yelling at each other because they want to win.

“No doubt in my mind guys were ready to play. We knew it was going to be a tough game. So I don’t think they weren’t ready. I just think we got outplayed in certain areas and they started to panic a little bit, and did some things that were uncharacteristic. And when you learn that when things aren’t going well, to settle down, and take a breath, and go back to your technique, you have a chance. A lot of our players are not doing that at the level I need them to do it. So that’s on me.”