Carolina Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn wasn't happy after his team's loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. And as is becoming commonplace among the Panthers' players, Munnerlyn let his frustration be known in a public forum.

As reported by the Chicago Tribune, Munnerlyn all but called out defensive coordinator Sean McDermott for lousy play-calling.

The National Football Post continued reporting on Munnerlyn's tirade. The Panthers' corner said Cutler and the Bears' offense repeatedly hit Carolina with the same play and no one adjusted.

Cutler concurred with Munnerlyn's report.

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The New Orleans Saints defense is miserable, and miserable might not be a strong enough word.

The Saints dropped their Week 8 game to the Denver Broncos, 34-14, and in the process allowed Peyton Manning and the Broncos to amass 530 yards of total offense. Denver’s success wasn’t an outlier, however.

The Saints are the only team in the NFL this season to give up at least 400 yards of total offense to an opponent in every game they’ve played. They’re also the only team to have 500 or more yards pasted on them three times.

Let that sink in for a moment. There have been only 11 games that have featured an offense that posted more than 500 yards of total offense. Three of those were against the Saints.

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The Carolina Panthers are 1-6 after a heartbreaking loss to the Chicago Bears on a last-second Robby Gould field goal. A record of 1-6 is bad, and so is this team in its current state. But are the Panthers really a six-loss team after just eight weeks of the 2012 season (and remember, Carolina’s already enjoyed its bye week)?

Take away the Thursday night debacle when the New York Giants embarrassed the Panthers 36-7, and Carolina’s other five losses have been by six points or fewer, or an average of 3.6 points per game.

Two of the Panthers’ losses have come on the road on last-second field goals by currently elite teams, Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons and Sunday against the Bears.

“That’s the difference between who they are right now and who we are,” said head coach Ron Rivera after Carolina’s Week 8 loss. “Teams like them are going to win these kind of games and teams like us are learning how to win them.”

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There were definitely doubters around the NFL regarding whether or not the 6-0 Atlanta Falcons, the only remaining undefeated team, were the best team in the league.

There shouldn’t be anyone left after Sunday’s 30-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Falcons are now 7-0 and showed Sunday there’s no doubt they are the best team in the NFL.

Atlanta scored touchdowns on its first three drives of the game. In fact, the Falcons scored two touchdowns before the Eagles had a positive gain on offense.

Matt Ryan hit two improbable targets for his for his first two scores, wide receiver Drew Davis and running back Jason Snelling. Davis was playing for an injured Harry Douglas and made two pivotal catches on Atlanta’s first drive.

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The Atlanta Falcons announced Friday that they were activating defensive tackle Corey Peters from the physically unable-to-perform list.

Peters told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was running to stay in shape during the offseason and injured his foot. The stress fracture forced Peters to miss organized team activities (OTAs), minicamp, training camp, the preseason and the first six weeks of the regular season.

Now that Peters has been activated from the PUP list, he’s eligible to play Sunday in Philadelphia against the Eagles.

But will he?

Peters admitted to the AJC that he’s not in football shape yet, and for an almost 300-pound lineman, getting in peak condition takes some time.

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When the Carolina Panthers fired general manager Marty Hurney it sent shock waves through the organization. And you'd better believe it hammered home the fact among the coaching staff that job security wasn't guaranteed.

That's why head coach Ron Rivera has already instituted slight changes this week, according to the Charlotte Observer.

The team is now taking a 30-minute break between the morning walkthrough and practice. It's also continued to tinker with the offensive line personnel now that Ryan Kalil is gone for the season.

But those are minor changes. There may be a huge change coming.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cleaned house in the offseason, bringing in a new head coach and staff to turn the franchise in a different direction.

What a different direction the Buccaneers are heading in.

After six games last year, Tampa Bay was 4-2 and in serious playoff contention. The Buccaneers lost their next 10 games and finished the year with a 4-12 record.

The Buccaneers were in a different spot after six games this season at 2-4, and after Thursday night’s victory in Minnesota, they’re finally moving in that different direction the front office was hoping for.

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Recent history hasn’t been kind to the Atlanta Falcons when it comes to head-to-head matchups with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Not only do the Eagles sport a 15-11-1 record all-time over the Falcons, but Philadelphia’s won eight of the last 10 meetings dating back to Week 5 in 2000. You have to travel all the way back to Week 9 of the 1988 season to find a Falcons win over the Eagles in Philadelphia.

It gets even worse for Atlanta when you look at its record directly after a bye week. Under head coach Mike Smith, the Falcons are 3-1 the week following their bye week. The only loss came against Philadelphia in 2008.

But history is for academicians (I even had to look that word up) and doesn’t play a part in the 2012 version of the Falcons versus the Eagles, right?

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