Mercury Morris: No one will care if Panthers go undefeated

Every year when the last remaining undefeated NFL team finally loses a game, former Miami Dolphins running back Mercury Morris is the first person to celebrate. But the 68-year old isn’t concerned about the 12-0 Carolina Panthers.

Morris, who was part of the 1972 Dolphins team that went undefeated, sounds like he is anticipating a loss for the Panthers against the Atlanta Falcons this weekend.

“The Broncos (got to 12-0), Colts and the Saints a few years back,” Morris told TMZ this week. “Let (the Panthers) get past that jinx of the 13th game and then come ask me again if I think they will have a perfect season.”

Of course, Morris also had to protect himself in case the Panthers do pull off the seemingly impossible.

“Do you know the second biggest canyon in the U.S.?” he asked. “No, because everyone only knows about the Grand Canyon. No one cares about the second to do anything.”

There’s a line between being proud of your achievements and being obnoxious, and Morris crossed it years ago. He has spent his entire post-playing career trying to explain why NFL teams will never be as good as the ’72 Dolphins. He’s also in denial, as he refuses to admit that going 19-0 would be a slightly more impressive feat than going 17-0 like the Dolphins did.

The ’72 Dolphins have no control over the fact that they had to play two less regular season games, but all we ever hear about is how difficult it is to win in the NFL on a weekly basis. If a team like the Panthers ever went 19-0, it would be a better accomplishment than 17-0. And yes, plenty of people would care. Sorry, Mercury.