"First loss a blessing in disguise?"

[Cary Kollins]

courtesy of the fantastic What They're Saying daily column over at BBR...

 

NFL writers who get paid to write such things had this to say:

 

Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report:

Quote

Now, there is no more pressure to go undefeated. No more pressure to catch the Dolphins, something that no one has done or may ever do.

Now they can relax. Get their minds right. Make sure the inevitable taunting and cheap shots to come don't cause them to lose focus.

Quite simply, the Panthers can now rest.

 

Don Banks of Sports Illustrated:

Quote

I think the Panthers may come out the big winner in the long run for having lost in a sizable upset on Sunday, 20–13 at Atlanta. Yes, the perfect season is gone. But so too is the unnecessary pressure and unhelpful specter of a team with a divided focus, trying to chase both an unblemished record and the biggest prize of all: the franchise’s first Super Bowl ring.

 

and Will Brinson at CBS Sports:

Quote

It's probably not a bad loss, honestly. There are plenty of people who see Carolina as an overvalued 14-0 and considering their record, the Panthers flew under the radar a little bit. Getting to 16-0 would mean the pressure cranked up -- this loss should invigorate the silly hot takes about Carolina being the "worst 14-0 team of all time" or "deserving" to lose.

 

So, everyone take a deep breath and remember that the Panthers are still 14-1 and in great position to finish with the best record in the league.

[Ornias]

It doesn't matter to me that we lost, it matters to me how we respond next week. 

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Ending the season on a two game skid would not bode well for the Panthers getting far into the playoffs.

Not to mention the loss of home field advantage.

Carolina has several critical issues to figure out on both sides of the ball and special teams if they plan on surviving long enough to make it to the big game.

Cam can't continue to carry the offense all on his own, the D needs to get some pressure on opposing QBs and stop allowing big gains on third downs, and special teams better figure out why they are so vulnerable to blocked punts and field goals.

Don't address these issues and playoff caliber teams will take full advantage to send us packing till next season.

[scpanther22]

This is more of an established narrative with teams that are close to going undefeated rather than something specific about the panthers. imo

I think we handled the pressure than any prior team. This team is young and was thriving off it. We just got beat by problems that have been there all season even before the run.

[Paa Langfart]

10 minutes ago, scpanther22 said:

 This team is young and was thriving off it. 

According to this there are only 6 teams older on average than the Panthers

 

[scpanther22]

1 minute ago, Paa Langfart said:

According to this there are only 6 teams older on average than the Panthers

 

You really think i'm talking about old vets/role players that bring up the avg age of this team?

You have to be looking for an argument if you think this team is old,,,this team goes by Cam, Stew and Kuechly,Ginn. Thats youth in the right spots. This team has the entire NFL and suburban America doing a dance about choking on weed. 

Thats youth.

[Bartin]

Someone on reddit posted that his plane was delayed out of Charlotte because they were scheduled to use the same equipment that the Panthers took back from Atlanta and that the team trashed it on the way home so it took extra long to clean.

Suffice to say the team is pissed the hell off and that's a good thing. I wanted to go 19-0 but it was started to seem like they were getting too cocky. The loss is a good thing. I don't see overconfidence being a problem again this season. 

[Darth Biscuit]

The Falcons had a solid plan for pressuring Cam and it worked.... however, I'm less worried about that going forward than I am the lack of pressure our D line, particularly our D ends, are getting on opposing QB's.  With no pressure on NFL QB's they can stand there and rip our zone coverage apart, as they have been the last two games.

 

If we can get JStew back for the playoffs, and I think that's the obvious goal, the offense is still fully capable of rolling... the defense has me worried honestly.  There's something that's not clicking and I'm not sure what it is.

[mbarbour21]

We could've gone 19-0 and still not got respect. Let's just get the ring. 

[IMON KRAQUE]

We wanted to leave something on the table for KB next year.....Granted I or anyone on earth doesn't like a loss. I am still on cloud 9 after seeing my team go on a historic run for the franchise. Cam is a legend in the making and will only be better next year. Knowing that we still have as good if not better chance at winning the SB this year. I believe we will be the first repeater in a long time. This division is ours and quite possibly the league for that matter!!! Sour grapes are for Giants and Falcon fans. I say we take this loss in stride and just KEEP POUNDING like we always do!

[VerticalThreat]

I'm not worried about this team. We are a team that is resilient and, if anything, will allow the team to focus even more on the "week-to-week" mentality that RR preaches. With the historical significance of the undefeated season, I'm sure it's easy to let just a little bit of your focus slip to the "what if we do it" thoughts. Now, this team needs to focus on going 4-0. Something they've done (while facing some very good QBs - Rodgers, Wilson, Luck and Cousins). 3 of which will be in the NFC playoffs. 

[nctarheel0619]

45 minutes ago, scpanther22 said:

You really think i'm talking about old vets/role players that bring up the avg age of this team?

You have to be looking for an argument if you think this team is old,,,this team goes by Cam, Stew and Kuechly,Ginn. Thats youth in the right spots. This team has the entire NFL and suburban America doing a dance about choking on weed. 

Thats youth.

Ginn's 30 years old................Stew is 28.............

[scpanther22]

18 minutes ago, nctarheel0619 said:

Ginn's 30 years old................Stew is 28.............

and you really think that's old? (player years year as it relates to their bodies sure but we're not talking about that)

 

[IMON KRAQUE]

Another blessing is that this game probably saved Matt Ryans job for another year? So, we shouldn't have to worry about them winning the division or going to the playoffs for another year?