Tag: Eddy Pineiro

Chris Tabor on 1st win as interim HC: I couldn’t be more proud

Chris Tabor spoke about his first win as Panthers interim HC.

Ever since stepping into the role of interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers, Chris Tabor has stressed the importance of having fun. Well, some fun was certainly, and finally, had this afternoon.

Week 15 brought the Panthers’ just their second triumph of the season, as Tabor’s crew walked off on the Atlanta Falcons to the tune of a 9-7 win. Appropriately enough, the wet and windy conditions made Sunday a dream scenario for the longtime special teams coordinator, who spoke about the resolve of his crew after the game.

“It was fun,” Tabor replied. “We talked about it all week. We talked about it right in here, startin’ on Wednesday of what the day was gonna look like. From everything—the weather, the wind, how we were gonna have to play the game. And at the end, we just kept sayin’, ‘We are gonna win this game.’ And that’s what they did. Any time you have a 17-play drive at the end of the game to get a walk-off field goal, I think that says something about your kids and your guys. So, I couldn’t be more proud of ’em.”

Rookie quarterback Bryce Young orchestrated a sound 17-play, 90-yard drive to get the Panthers on the doorstep of victory for kicker Eddy Piñeiro. And Piñeiro, who was perfect on the day, came through with his third field goal of the contest and his second game-winning boot of the campaign.

Now, moving forward, Tabor is sure to stress of the importance of making plays when they matter—something his guys did in his first win at the helm.

“The thing that I saw today, that you can’t argue with, is that there were plays that needed to be made and they made the plays,” he later added. “So you can say, ‘Hey, did they take a step?’ And based on that game, I’m gonna say they are. So now next week, that’s the standard. And now, can we move it forward and push it forward?”

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Eddy Pineiro field goal gives Panthers win in front of practically no one

A stunning 90-yard drive in the final minutes leads to a Panthers win

If no one saw the game, does it still count as a loss for the Atlanta Falcons?

In front of no one at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, Eddy Pineiro kicked a 23-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Carolina Panthers a 9-7 win over the Falcons.

The game was played in soggy Charlotte and somehow, Bryce Young led a 17-play, 90-yard drive to end the game.

The Panthers, who currently sit in the first slot in the 2024 NFL draft but have dealt that to the Chicago Bears, had 283 yards of total offense, 90 on the final drive.

The Falcons came up empty in falling to 6-8. They wound up with 204 total yards, 52 on the ground in 31 attempts.

Chris Tabor agreed with call to attempt 59-yard FG in Week 10 loss

Panthers special teams coordinator Chris Tabor agreed with Frank Reich’s call to attempt a game-tying 59-yard FG at the end of last Thursday’s loss.

Fresh off their 16-13 loss to the Chicago Bears last Thursday night, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich told reporters that his decision to attempt a pretty improbable field goal at the end of the game received “mixed opinions” from the sideline. But special teams coordinator Chris Tabor wasn’t very mixed about it.

Tabor was asked about the call this afternoon.

“I think Coach made the right call,” he said. “I know we can talk about it at length. It’s the call, you made it, went out there and obviously we didn’t make it. Got a lot of confidence in Eddy [Piñeiro]. Seen him hit those kicks. Wind was at his back.”

The kick was a 59-yard try from Piñeiro, who came up well short. His miss allowed the Bears to take over and kneel the game out from the 1:40 mark of the fourth quarter.

Piñeiro is now 16 of 19 on his field goal tries this season, and has hit on three of five attempts from at least 50 yards out. Tabor later added that he and the team, regardless of what happened last week, remain confident in their kicker.

“He’s hittin’ the ball really well, and I like where he’s at,” he said of Piñeiro. “That’s what practice tells me. His ball flight, there’s a lot of things. So we got a lot of confidence in our guy.”

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Frank Reich explains why Panthers attempted 59-yard FG in Week 10 loss

Panthers HC Frank Reich explained why he opted for a 59-yard FG try on a fourth-and-10 at the end of Thursday’s loss to the Bears.

So, why did the Carolina Panthers try for a 59-yard field goal at the end of Thursday night’s loss to the Chicago Bears? They were just playing the percentages.

Down 16-13 with 1:44 left in the game, the Panthers were facing a fourth-and-10 from the Chicago Bears’ 41-yard line. Instead of trying to pick up a first down on offense, head coach Frank Reich sent out kicker Eddy Piñeiro for the 59-yard try—one he fell short of.

Reich explained his choice after the game.

“Yeah, it was a tough decision,” he told reporters. “And honestly, as far as percentages, I felt like the percentages . . . I listened to the analytics guys, I talked to Coach [Chris Tabor]. There was mixed opinions about what we should do. That’s my call. I’ve seen us make 60-yarders in practice. Felt like there was a little bit of a breeze at our back.

“If you just look at the pure percentages, I think the pure percentage play is to kick it. Fourth-and-10 conversion is probably 30 percent conversion. Kicking a 60-yard field goal is higher than that.”

Well, Reich probably isn’t wrong—especially given how poorly his offense played.

Save for a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown by wideout Ihmir Smith-Marsettte, the Panthers hadn’t come close to tasting the end zone in Week 10. They totaled just 213 yards, averaged a paltry 3.7 yards per play and converted on three of their 15 third-down looks.

Reich continued.

“Do I second-guess myself over it? I mean, yeah,” he added. “After we missed—yeah, I did. Because the one reason why maybe you go for it there—even though the percentage play is to kick it, if you’re just goin’ pure percentages is to kick it—is because if we make it, we still have a chance to win the game and not just tie. There was time left.”

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3 biggest winners and losers of Thursday Night Football: Woeful Bears help 2024 draft pick

The Bears’ TNF win officially opens the door to drafting a new QB.

No one expected a show of fireworks between the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers on Thursday night. In fact, we knew this was a patently garbage game on paper and would probably not morph into an instant classic.

In a 16-13 win for Chicago, the Bears and Panthers predictably delivered boredom amid an unrepentant snoozefest. As someone who literally (and regrettably) watched all 60 minutes, I’m not sure I remember more than a handful of select plays. And even then, this game is already fading from my memory because I’m probably trying to repress its ugliness.

But it wasn’t all bad! Chicago’s victory carries some serious ramifications for the organization’s future. Meanwhile, Bryce Young’s failure to outduel a former Division II quarterback doesn’t spell out good things for his future.

Let’s dive into the winners and losers from TNF in Chicago.

Chris Tabor comments on Texans’ mind games in Week 8

Panthers ST coordinator Chris Tabor agrees that the Texans’ deliberate offsides penalties in the final seconds of Sunday’s win don’t belong in the game.

Before Carolina Panthers kicker Eddy Piñeiro got himself acquainted with redemption this past Sunday, he was met with some horseplay. But it didn’t matter.

In the waning seconds of Sunday’s matchup, the Houston Texans attempted to play some mind games on Piñeiro—deliberately jumping offsides multiple times to throw off his potential game-winning field goal. Well, it didn’t work—as “Steady Eddy” connected on the walk-off try, time and time again, to give the Panthers a 15-13 victory.

Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor was asked about the approach prior to this afternoon’s practice. He stated that he agreed with head coach Frank Reich, who said what Houston did doesn’t belong in the game.

“I get it. I understand it. But I thought our guys did a good job of just staying in the process,” he said. “I think when you look back at it, you took a game-winning field goal—and I’ll be honest with you, it was windier than people thought—and obviously, we’re moving the ball up and just increasing our chances of making it. I think that’s a decision you have to make on the other side. Do you wanna do that continuously and shrink your chances of him missing it?”

Spoiler: The chances were shrunk. The Texans ultimately turned what would’ve been a 38-yard attempt into a much easier 23-yard look for Piñeiro, who Tabor had more praise for.

“I was really proud of Eddy,” he later added. “Because, obviously, he missed the extra point. It was the same way that he missed it, that end zone right there. And I was anticipating what we call a hand key where they’re goin’ off the hand instead of the ball and just tryin’ to get a jump and when I kept seein’ ’em go offsides, I just kinda felt more, obviously . . . he’s getting three chances.

“When teams do that, kickers usually don’t miss two times in a row. And the more times they keep seein’ looks and keep hittin’ the ball, they start groovin’. So I felt good about it.”

Apparently, so did Eddy.

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Eddy Piñeiro talks on overcoming Texans’ mind games on game-winning FG

Eddy Piñeiro didn’t succumb to an early miss nor Houston’s mind games, as he clinched the Panthers’ first win of the season with a walk-off field goal.

There isn’t much defense for a 38-yard field goal try with three seconds left in a game. And while the Houston Texans may have tried everything in (and out) of the book, Eddy Piñeiro persisted.

The Carolina Panthers kicker spoke with reporters following the team’s 15-13 win, a triumph clinched by his walk-off 23-yard field goal. But wait, how did we go from 38 yards out to just 23? Well . . .

On Piñeiro’s first attempt at it, Texans defensive back Tavierre Thomas made a ridiculously early jump off the edge and proceeded to bowl over punter and placeholder Johnny Hekker. The Panthers, of course, elected for the penalty of the 10-yard variety—taking the unnecessary roughness call to Houston’s 10-yard line.

Then, Thomas jumped again on the next look. A second head start resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct call and another five yards for Carolina and Piñeiro.

But, even though the mind games and the additional trash talk that apparently came with it, Eddy stayed steady and put the chip shot through.

“The guys were like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna miss it,” he said of the Houston defenders. “They’re just tryin’ to get in your head. I just stayed focused, followed my technique and just did my normal prayer that I usually do before I kick. And that’s it.”

Piñeiro also overcame a missed extra point attempt earlier in the outing, one that prevented the Panthers from knotting the game at seven apiece in the second quarter. Nonetheless, he finished by banging through all three of his 3-point tries and even sent off the opposition with a warm goodbye.

“They didn’t wanna lose that game,” he also told reporters. “They were trying their absolute best to, I guess, get in my head—but it didn’t work out for them. So, hopefully they have a safe flight back to Houston.”

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Studs and duds from Panthers’ Week 2 loss to Saints

Panthers LB Frankie Luvu, who had a rough Week 1, was apparently feeling a lot more Ucey on Monday night.

Who shined brightest for the Carolina Panthers under the Monday night lights? We have a few of those, as well as some who . . . um . . . didn’t.

Here are the studs and duds from the 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints:

Chris Tabor believes Eddy Piñeiro’s ‘bay day’ in Atlanta is behind him

Panthers ST coordinator Chris Tabor doesn’t think Eddy Piñeiro will be affected by his last visit to Atlanta.

On Sunday, the Carolina Panthers return to the scene of their most painful loss in recent memory—Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But one of the main suspects from the defeat probably isn’t sweating it too much.

Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor spoke with reporters just days ahead of Carolina’s season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. And as far as the progress of kicker Eddy Piñeiro goes, Tabor seems quite pleased.

“I think he’s still workin’ on his craft, and still workin’ to get better,” he said. “Been really pleased with that. And he had a good session yesterday. But there’s still some technical things he wants to work through and I think that’s where we’re at. I just appreciate how he’s been approaching each season. I had him way back in Chicago. So I’ve kinda watched him grow from there to here. And he’s just gettin’ better. Pleased with him.”

Tabor and Piñeiro teamed up in the Windy City between 2019 and 2020. They’d then reunite in the Queen City, at the end of last summer when the Panthers were scrambling for a healthy leg.

Piñiero went on to have a stellar campaign in Carolina, but experienced a pretty awful hiccup right in the middle of it. That came in their Week 8 visit to Atlanta, where he missed two potential game-winners—one an extra point try with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the other a 32-yard field goal attempt in overtime.

So when asked if he’s spoken with Piñeiro about returning there, Tabor dismissed any potentially bad thoughts.

“Haven’t talked about it at all,” he replied. “He had a bad day. We can turn on golf and somebody’s havin’ a bad day. It’s just one of those days and that’s what happened. I think what he did after that speaks to who he is and we’re tryin’ to build off that.”

Following that horrific afternoon, Piñeiro went on to close out the season by converting on each of his 19 field goals and 18 of his 19 extra points.

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