Panthers' Mike Mitchell tells Drew Brees to 'stop being soft'

Carolina Panthers safety Mike Mitchell has found himself lighter in his wallet because he feels the league is targeting him. Based on what he had to say about New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Mitchell might find himself with a big bullseye on his back when the Saints and Panthers square off.

Mitchell went on Fox Sports L.A.’s FnA podcast and explained why he thought Brees was soft and accused Brees of flopping after being hit by San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks.

“The thing that I hated about the play, the whole thing, and this is what these offensive guys are doing, they’re kind of running with it,” Mitchell said.  “Drew Brees is throwing a fit in the post-game interview saying how he got hit in the chin and he was dazed, and all this other stuff.  And it’s like, dude, the replay clearly shows he did not even touch you in the chin.

“Stop being soft, get up off the ground,” Mitchell said.  “You fumbled the football, that’s why the only reason you were acting like you were hurt, is so you could draw a flag.”

How are you gonna tell another player how he feels after being hit? Was the hit clean? In my opinion yes it was, by the rules no,but Brees did get his bell rang on the play. Did you see how his neck snapped? Someone is gonna feel a some pain after a hit like that. So I don't see how Mitchell accuse Brees of flopping.

Mitchell had more to say.

“He did not get hit in the chin.  He got hit hard, which he should have got hit hard because we are playing full speed tackle football.  And he fumbled the football.  And I think that’s really was the reason he was down so long.  He was really trying to sell that and trying to get a flag.  And obviously it worked, and their team was able to steal a win because of that play.”

The Panthers are chasing the Saints in the NFC South. The teams will face off twice in the next four weeks. Mitchell’s comments make an already interesting pair of games between the Panthers and Saints even more compelling.

I'm sure Brees will be eager to show how "soft" he is.

Saints bring back receiver Robert Meachem

The New Orleans Saints have re-signed wide receiver Robert Meachem to a one year deal.

Meachem recently played one year with the San Diego Chargers but was released last weekend after an underwhelming season last year (14 receptions for 207 yards in 15 games) and struggling in the preseason.

Who knows what kind of production the Saints will get out of Meachem. Th Chargers are desperate for receivers and they cut their losses which might tell us there might be something wrong with Meachem. On the other hand Meachem had his most productive years in New Orleans and used that to cash in with San Diego on a big contract.

The Chargers were counting on Meachem to be something he's not. With the saints he's just another weapon in quarterback Drew Brees' arsenal. Meachem is happy to be back in New Orleans since he thrived in the system there.

 "You take a negative and you turn it into a positive," Meachem told the New Orleans Times Picayune. "That's my mission now. To go out there and show the gifts that I was blessed with. Put my head down and just relax and go play football." 

The Saints have decided to go younger at the receiver position with Nick Toon and Kenny Stills being in the rotation so who knows how much Meachem will be able to provide.

Drew Brees Defends Sean Payton's Move To Dallas

When New Orleans Saints Sean Payton decided to uproot his family and move to Dallas, all kinds of bells and whistles went off in New Orleans. The move was signed off by Saints owner Tom Benson and General Manager Mickey Loomis.

The rumors that came out of it were that the Dallas Cowboys were looking at Payton to fill their general manager post. Another was that Payton was having family troubles. Saints quarterback Drew Brees says it's none of that and everyone is making a big deal out of nothing. Where there's smoke there's fire but I don't think Payton is going anywhere right now either. 

"It's a non-issue,'' Brees said. "I think everyone wants to immediately jump to conclusions and all of them are so untrue. The first of which is his family and him are having problems. No, that's not the case at all. The other one is he's taking a job with the Dallas Cowboys. No, not true either. People want to immediately jump to conclusions as to why he's bought a home in Dallas but most players and coaches in the league have a home base, a place where they're either from or where they spent a lot of time before so they have a solid foundation. There's not a guy who's more committed to his team and the city of New Orleans than Sean Payton. I think he's proven that.''



If the Saints struggle early you know the Dallas move will be the focal point behind it. Everyone will say that Payton has an eye on a different job, so the Saints players will feel sold out or why do they want to play for someone who doesn't want to be here. This will be something to keep an eye provided there is an NFL season.