Nobody at nfl dot com has winning Carolina winning the division

[Hoenheim]

3 minutes ago, Peppers90 NC said:

most predicted the Panthers to win the division last and we see how that turnt out. Panthers excel only when expectations are low.

do you mean expectations from the fans or media/other nfl fans in general? Because most non panther fans aren't that positive about our prospects this season 

[pantherclaw]

We all need to pray for the overall health of our team, especially along the defensive and offensive lines.

[Harbingers]

12 hours ago, arbnranger said:

Gil Brandt: Falcons. Playing in the best division in the NFL, Matt Ryan continues to be outstanding and Dan Quinn is one of the best in the biz.

It's only a preseason guess. It's easy money to bet early on the favorite because no one remembers or gives a poo what was said a month from now. 

We're always better as the underdog. He is right about the best division though IMO. 

Occasionally I listen to late hits, I'm pretty sure Gil himself doesn't remember what he ate for breakfast anymore. 

[arbnranger]

8 minutes ago, Harbingers said:

Occasionally I listen to late hits, I'm pretty sure Gil himself doesn't remember what he ate for breakfast anymore. 

Haha!

Yea I like him but he does sound like a drunk uncle at times. 

[Lumps]

9 hours ago, panthers55 said:

You will see what I already know is going to happen barring unforeseen injuries.  And if you posted here you would know I am rarely wrong.  Like championing McCaffrey as a real game changer. 

Bold prediction.

 

*rolls eyes*

[trueblade]

4 hours ago, pantherclaw said:

We all need to pray for the overall health of our team, especially along the defensive and offensive lines.

I would add corner as well.

LCB	James Bradberry	Captain Munnerlyn	Teddy Williams	Cole Luke
RCB	Daryl Worley	Zack Sanchez	Corn Elder	Jeff Richards Devonte Johnson

[CRA]

17 hours ago, Saca312 said:

Nobody at NFL.com had the Falcons winning last year either.

Basically we're going to be going to the Superbowl once again and steamrolling the crap outta whoever is in our way. 

And this is about the millionth time I heard "this is the Buccaneers year" and so far they've never shown up. I don't think they begin this year either.

This

plus as we all know, Carolina ALWAYS does there best when no one expects poo.  We always suck when people expect good things.  What did NFL.com said the season when KB went down? Pretty sure they weren't calling a 15-1 season to the Super Bowl. 

[panthers55]

3 hours ago, Lumps said:

Bold prediction.

 

*rolls eyes*

Actually it was a bold prediction when I said I would pick McCaffrey with our first round pick even if Fournette were available and that he would be a much better option. I was in the distinct minority but I also said he would be offensive rookie of the year.  Watch and see what happens and get back with me when I am right again.

[PanthaSan]

 

<------------ waiting for "Under the Radar" post....

[KB_fan]

9 hours ago, pantherclaw said:

We still have fans who cherish the underdog role. 

SMH

Don't cherish it by any means.  But just being honest about the fact that I think our team plays better with a chip on their shoulder / when disrespected or overlooked.  Hope that changes and we can shine in the spotlight when expectations are high, but until we string together a few winning seasons, I can't say that we handle high expectations well.

[KB_fan]

9 hours ago, Moorgan said:

the number one thing that will be said all year...but they have an easy schedule.

I've been looking into this in quite a lot of detail.  To be honest, our 2015 season DID turn out to be shockingly easy.  Much easier than I realized until just recently.  We only played 1 team all season that was above .500 when we played them!!!  We only played 4 teams that finished the season with a winning record. 

I was really shocked...   So not to take ANYTHING away from our 2015 team, but they DID have an easy schedule. (Ok, yes to some extent we make our own luck - our winning reduces our overall strength of schedule... but still....)

2016 was our hardest Strength of Schedule based on final season records since Rivera & Cam in 2011...   I'll have a much more detailed write up of all this next week.

But yes, Strength of Schedule / quality of opponent matters.  How we do against the winning teams on our schedule matters. 

(Think 2013 victories against SF & NE;  2015 victories vs. Seattle, GB... ;  tie vs CIN, loss to SEA in 2014... I think those games had disproportionately huge impacts on their respective seasons.)

 

And here's a look at how we did against teams who ended up having winning records in the ACTUAL season....

[CRA]

4 hours ago, panthers55 said:

Actually it was a bold prediction when I said I would pick McCaffrey with our first round pick even if Fournette were available and that he would be a much better option. I was in the distinct minority but I also said he would be offensive rookie of the year.  Watch and see what happens and get back with me when I am right again.

55 is like the first round prediction Marty Hurney of the board.  55 knocks the first round predictions out of the park.   He has been out in front of the pack before they were trendy many years and been right now.  

He was on Cam, Luke and McCaffrey way before they were board popular. Gotta give him props on the consistency.  Star fell so far that no one could of called that.  Can't remember if you called KB and Shaq.

[Moorgan]

11 hours ago, CRA said:

55 is like the first round prediction Marty Hurney of the board.  55 knocks the first round predictions out of the park.   He has been out in front of the pack before they were trendy many years and been right now.  

He was on Cam, Luke and McCaffrey way before they were board popular. Gotta give him props on the consistency.  Star fell so far that no one could of called that.  Can't remember if you called KB and Shaq.

I'm not sure anyone called Shaq. That pick seemed a surprise to everyone. Not a bad pick mind you, just a surprise. Also really hard to predict any pick near 32. Weren't we like 27 or so that year?