Captain Munnerlyn Calls Out Devin Funchess for Coming Up Small
/It's not like Captain Munnerlyn to kick sand in people's face. The former Panther had one of the few pleasant departures in recent years. Carolina was in the midst of deep salary cap problems and Munnerlyn was up for a free agent contract. He signed with Minnesota and Carolina signed Bene' Benwikere.
Munnerlyn has remained on good terms with fans and the organization in the aftermath. He makes occasional appearances on local sports networks and still appears to be in good standing with his former teammates.
After Minnesota's win yesterday over the Panthers, the 5'9 Munnerlyn had some disparaging remarks for the 6'5 Panthers receiver, Devin Funchess:
“I think we just knew where Benjamin was the whole time. Funchess, we weren’t worried about him. It was Kelvin Benjamin. I’m just going to be honest. Me personally, and I never talk like this, but I don’t think he is that good, No. 17. So, we weren’t really worried about him. We were worried about Benjamin and Ted Ginn Jr. and Corey Brown. We knew they were getting the ball and receiving well. We just tried to communicate and make plays.”
The unabridged criticism of Funchess, a player who any and everyone was raving about this Panthers preseason, was surprising. It's unclear why Munnerlyn felt so compelled to call out Funchess specifically, but Munnerlyn didn't hold back, and Funchess did little to keep the little guy quite.
Funchess finished the day without a catch. He's only had 3 catches for 28 yards and a touchdown this season. The preseason shine is wearing off quickly. On a day where the Panthers didn't go to Benjamin at all, you'd think there would be some favorable match-ups for Funchess. He may be a big guy, but as Munnerlyn described, he's come up small. As of now, defenses are choosing to focus on Kelvin Benjamin, Greg Olsen, and the running attack, and it's working.
By Tony Dunn, aka The Professor
Follow him on Twitter @Cat_Chronicles
