Ricky Proehl on Disrespect of Panthers Receivers: "It pisses me off"

One of the narratives around the Panthers this season is how miraculous it has been that Cam Newton and the offense have accomplished as much as they have with a ragtag group of wide receivers. The team’s receiver coach Ricky Proehl, who joined Carolina’s staff in 2011 after a 17-year playing career and began his current role in 2013, is tired of hearing about that.

“It pisses me off, I ain’t going to lie to you,” Proehl said, via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. “These guys have developed into such a great group that plays for each other, and I think that’s important.”

“We know we lost a great receiver in Kelvin Benjamin,” Proehl continued. “He brings so much to the table: size, strength, quickness. He’s a Number 1, plain and simple, and we don’t have that. But we have a group of guys who have a lot of grit, heart. I think that’s part of what I bring to the table, understanding who they are and what their strengths are and transferring that information to [offensive coordinator Mike Shula].”

The Panthers’ leader in receiving yards during the regular season was Greg Olsen, who had 1,104 and ranked 17th in the NFL in that category this season. From the wide receiver position, Ted Ginn Jr. led the team with 739, and ranked 49th in the league. After Ginn comes Jerricho Cotchery, Devin Funchess, and Corey Brown, who were all in the 400’s for the year.

Ginn, also quoted in Somers’ piece, acknowledged that “we were a whole bunch of misfits and different things like that.”

As the world searches for any morsel of material in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, it’s hardly surprising that the purported deficiencies of this group of receivers has become a topic of conversation. On Sunday, they’ll have the opportunity to have the last laugh.

[Arizona Republic; Photo via USA Today Sports Images]