Who saw it coming?

[firstdayfan]

I have tried to hold my tongue for three weeks but now that the bye is here I want to take the opportunity to call out all the people who talked crap during the preseason. I lot of guys (including myself) didn't like what we saw in preseason and were absolutely attacked for our opinions. People really loved the whole "preseason doesn't mean anything" bit, which I now find hilarious and it just goes to show how little those people know about football. Some people called it right, while others (usually the bigger egos around here) had no clue what they were talking about. I'm not going to name any names but here are some interesting quotes from threads during the preseason (I went back as far as I could). Enjoy.

Seriously, what's the problem with our defense? I've never seen it play this poorly, preseason or not. And spare me "Preseason" crap, you don't suddenly remember how to tackle when the games mean something. I get the lack of scheming, but the lack of fundamentals is really disturbing.

Might as well be playing touch football. Preseason still don't mean poo.

This year is different. I've been a fan long enough to know that when our team stinks it up - it REALLY stinks it up!! It's ugly and I'm starting to sense this is the direction we are going after these first few games.

This is easily the worst I've ever seen the Panthers play in pre-season. I've got tickets to opening day and vs. the 'Skins, I really hope it's not as bad as it looks. This team looks horrid on the absolute basics and fundamentals. No excuses ,they know what they need to work on...everything!

Panthers will be 7-9 at the worst

wanted to go through all the posts and write down the names of everyone who thinks the sky is falling, but now figure it would be easier for them to just post here.

So we can rub it in your faces come end of season.

My favorite:

So sign up if:

- you think we should fire Fox

- you think we should not have Jake

- you think Peppers is tanking

- you think Hurney should go

- you think we will have less than 9-7 record

God Im tired of seeing all these Doom and gloom threads..... You could atleast wait till our first real loss......

Boy if we start off 0-3 or 0-4 we would be a game back in the division and 3 back in the conference.

I just went outside to take out the garbage and got hit by a fugging piece of sky.

I hope our secondary sure's up before the end of preseason.

If the Eagles study anything from that tape, they're in trouble...Fox has repeatedly said he plays the preseason with the intent of giving the other team nothing valuable on tape

Panthers play better when they are disrespected and underrated!

If we were 0-3 after the 1st three games then you have some pretty valid points....YOUR THOUGHTS???? Your thoughts based on 3 preseason games where there wasn't any game planning. There were 4 or 5 starters who didn't play? John Fox said earlier before the preseason ever began we weren't gonna show everything.

But if you insist on having the Doom and Gloom attitude. Don't jump back on the bandwagon when the Panthers prove you wrong.

Because I've already come to terms with the fact that we're just not a very good football team right now. Anything more than an poor to average regular season performance would make me ecstatic.

Preseason is more about evaluating players than anything else.

Lol is just preseason, but hey if you want to wave the white flag that badly be my guest

I'm worried as balls, but I'm still optimistic. Preseason tells us more about who has the ability to make plays rather than who has the ability to win games.

Sadly we haven't played one game yet. You have NO IDEA, NOT A CLUE of what was discussed and planned for in this preseason or this game. NOT one clue. If we had negative yards I wouldn't care. It was pre-season. ANYBODY that is doom and gloom like you are.....IS A FAIR WEATHER FAN

The tackling is worrying me though. It seems like everyone is flying to the ball and tryng to strip it but no one wants to plant and wrap up. I hate Poor tackling more then anything else in football. I hate it more then Peppers disappearing in games and more then watching Delhomme throw bonehead INTs.

Classic!

.its on opinion dude you have one I have one like I said earlier to call me names such as idiot,bandwagon fan,or fairweather fan none have any basis since you dont know me this is not based off of 3 pre-season games it comes from years of watching fooball and several of being a panthers fan...and...everyone knows that the 3rd game of the preseason is when we see the starters the most...no 1st downs and 3 points...optimism?...really?...ok

It is what it is.

[firstdayfan]

Before anyone gets upset this was all in good fun. And I definitely think the Panthers could be 3-3 at the end of October.

[Wither]

I did.

I didn't buy into the "it's just the pre-season" stuff. I understand where it came from, but I didn't like the vibe that I got from the pre-season.

[Fireball77]

I wasn't upset with the fact people pointed out the issues in preseason nor was I calling them out as idiots. I was more along the lines of "let's wait and see if it carries over, it might not". I do think I expressed concern with the length/toughness of TC seeming to decline every year and how that may be an issue.

[firstdayfan]

Yeah I'm with ya bro.

[PhillyB]

goo job u gets a kookie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PanthaSan]

Fireball77 - I wasn't upset with the fact people pointed out the issues in preseason nor was I calling them out as idiots. I was more along the lines of "let's wait and see if it carries over, it might not". I do think I expressed concern with the length/toughness of TC seeming to decline every year and how that may be an issue.

Yeah I'm with ya bro.

I thought Fireball was a female. Ok, FDF I 'm gonna attack you and call you names for the mis-genderization....

J/k

Nice post.

I'm with Fireball on this, I just wanted to wait and see but I am still all in. I will not start calling for blood until we are worse than the Lion's.

Oh crap1!

[CharlotteBeer.com]

Eh, every year you'll have people call it right and wrong, and this year's no different. Last year, I was one of many posters that thought we would go 11-5 and better, but there were also a lot of people thinking 7-9, or 8-8.

One thing's for sure: just as last year's preseason showed us this team's strengths, this year's preseason showed us this team's weaknesses.

[firstdayfan]

One thing's for sure: just as last year's preseason showed us this team's strengths, this year's preseason showed us this team's weaknesses.

I definitely agree with you on that one. The problem is that people kept saying this preseason was no different, it happens every preseason, blah, blah, blah...and anyone who felt differently was criticized for their opinions. I understand the nature of the beast but to me its nice to sit back and say to all the loud mouths, "hey, you're not as smart as you think you are".

And as far as calling fireball bro, I was actually responding to Dockery and her post got sandwiched in between. I would never do that to Fireball, at least not again, hehehe.

[TheRealDeal]

I was one of the people who was accused of "Doom and Gloom" and one poster promised to eat his crow if we went 0-3 and I can't seem to find the threads I've posted in our search for it but man I wish I could....Not saying I'm glad we're 0-3 because I'm not but I just want to show that fan that because I have concerns and can watch the team with an objective eye I am not a "Fair Weather Fan."

Moral of the Story: Don't promise to eat crow out of blind optimism when others look deeper for meaning.

Also, many of those same posters that claim that we were idiots for our concerns will now claim that they saw it too but had hoped it would change blah blah blah...yah right

[PntherPryd]

Here's my question to all the nostradamuses, why is calling it right such a big deal?

Most of you were the same ones wanting to fire Fox when we were 12-4 and headed into the playoffs. Give me one good reason that normal, sane, even-keel Panther fans should have paid any attention to you guys in preseason?

Hell, even a broke clock is right twice a day!

(btw.....this post is sarcastic)

[TheRealDeal]

I dare you to find one of my posts that indicates I am not sane lol...We are not bragging that we were correct or basking in its glory but simply proving that we were not complete idiots and other posters who badgered us for that just need to let people have their opinions and maybe look at the reasoning behind the opinion rather than the opinion itself if you disagree. Simple as that. Facts were presented that foreshadowed trouble and the only defense against it was preseason this and preseason that. So from now on please look more at reasoning and explanation of opinions and we'll all be better off

[solidkjames]

People want Fox fired because he is not a good football coach anymore. He has not evolved with the game, he runs the same plays repeatedly to the point of other teams sitting on us. We have no offense, our defense would be ok if we could score 35 points a game and we are not a smash mouth team anymore. Fox has lost the teams trust and Jake is a terrible QB who is next to last in QB rating right now. Even if we win the rest of this season I'm ready for a change and to get a coach that realizes it is 2009 and the game has changed as much now as it did from 1989 to 1999. Evolve or get left behind, John Fox has chosen the latter of the two.

[firstdayfan]

I dare you to find one of my posts that indicates I am not sane lol...We are not bragging that we were correct or basking in its glory but simply proving that we were not complete idiots and other posters who badgered us for that just need to let people have their opinions and maybe look at the reasoning behind the opinion rather than the opinion itself if you disagree. Simple as that. Facts were presented that foreshadowed trouble and the only defense against it was preseason this and preseason that. So from now on please look more at reasoning and explanation of opinions and we'll all be better off

I 100% agree with you!!! I would have never made any assumptions about preseason had we played well or even remotely well. Every year I feel like preseason is a great measuring stick to what we do well and what we don't. This year was no different, except the fact that we didn't do anything well at all. Call it injuries or new schemes but this team has something wrong with it and it was evident in preseason. Again, I would love for us to be 3-0 and all those guys would be rubbing it in that we overreacted in the preseason but it just goes to show you that we knew what we were talking about.

I wish I could of found some of the more heated debates that I got into because to me it was absolutely insane the way people were reacting to what we were saying in preseason. I never wanted to fire Fox and I'm not sure that doing that would even be a good idea. I read an article that pretty much compared Fox to Jeff Fischer and they were pretty much even. I don't want to give that kind of coach the boot but I don't know what is wrong with this team.

I do think we are talented, I do think we CAN be good, but I don't think we have shown any of that to this point. I guess the overall point is this, some people just want to make trouble and think they know it all. If you aren't one of those people then all this is just fun to read, if you are, then you got yourself into this situation and I don't feel bad.