If we lose on Sunday, will you consider this season to be a success?

[Toomers]

7 hours ago, FugAllY'all said:

Absolutely. People forget that this season started with Cam undergoing shoulder surgery that he still hasn't fully recovered from. His arm just hasn't been the same this season which is why we haven't seen any of the deep balls we'd gotten used to. Combined that with Greg going on IR in week 2 and no one should have been expecting more than 6 wins this season. To get to 11 wins and make the playoffs against probably our toughest schedule in the Ron/Cam era is definitely a success. No question.

   And Ryan Kalil missing most of season. Byrd getting hurt early was bigger than expected, with Ginn gone and Samuel hurt as well. Benjamin traded. Turner missing last month.  It was a tough hand to play on offense. I’d prefer Shula be gone. But he wasn’t terrible with what he had to work with. Which means you pay him on the back on the way out instead of using your foot.

 All things considered, It was a good season for me. All I had to do was remember last year. 

[rodeo]

the goal of the season was to entertain me and it succeeded, i like to watch the games

[FuFuLamePoo]

Overall yes

I do feel really good about the "big picture" ideas within the franchise right now.  Last year we had very minimal athleticism on the offense.  Our offense and our QB sputtered because of that. Well this past offseason we spent our top two draft picks on players that should be playmakers for the next few years and take some of the weight off Cam.  CMC has mostly had a good rookie season and I truly think Samuel will be dangerous if he can stay healthy. Not sure how good his hands will ever be but his speed and ability to stretch the field will be a huge asset for years to come.  I think we'd all have a completely different outlook on these playoffs if we still had Samuel, losing him was that much of a killer.  Also I really like how Byrd stepped up.  I think he can be a solid #4 - perhaps #3 - guy if he recovers from his ACL tear.  Simultaneously, letting go of Ginn turned out to be a massive mistake.  Imagine how good we would have been with him?  While the main reason we probably won't make a big run in these playoffs is because of the lack of athletes/playmakers - I do think the franchise is actively addressing this issue in a big way.  Again, if we still had Samuel I think we'd all be talking Super Bowl right now.  

For us 11-5 is a traditionally a good season, and for any team it is.  We played a pretty difficult schedule and beat some good teams.  But my God, WHY can we STILL not finish teams?

I just hope we can finally have back to back winning seasons next year lmao 

[JARROD]

I feel like the Arizona Cardinals in 2014 That got cheated when Carson and the backup went down and they had to play us on a 3rd string QB.

successful season, anytime you win 11 games and go to the playoffs it’s successful but like a great movie with a bad ending,..

all you remember is the bad ending.

thats how I feel. But then again, that was 1996, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2013, and 2015,...

i leave out 2014, hell we won 7.5 games,..won a playoff game like the Seahawks did some years back(against the saints haha), great ending to a crappy season. So I remember a great ending haha,.. but it’s the Cardinals like I said above,.. so it was nice, unexpected and above all expectations after a dismal season.

this season is more like the 2013 season, just more frustrating and with less hope.

yes successful, but frustrating.

[pantherphan96]

Not at all. 11-5 and playoffs is nice but losing in the WC is unacceptable. Our SB window is closing if not already closed with Hurney back at the controls. It's SB or bust.

[pantherphan96]

If you consider losing in the WC to be a successful season then you should know that Marvin Lewis just signed a new contract with the Bengals.

[AceBoogie]

Has the WRs around Cam gotten worse every year he's been in the league?

[toldozer]

I've felt since the super bowl debacle against the broncos that Cam and TD were going to get their rings in Atlanta in 2019. I feel like we are a good off season away from making that happen. We will need to acquire another pass rusher,  cb, and at least one safety on defense.  On offense if Byrd and Samuel can stay healthy next the offense will be good enough to get it done.  Adding someone like Watkins to the group will be ideal.  So yes this season has been successful. It's been a big step in the right direction.  The team has some big flaws, but nothing that can't be quickly fixed if done correctly. 

[Jangler]

yes, if we can back it up with another.

[Khyber53]

Sure, it beats the heck out of not going to the playoffs. Or posting a losing season. 

[TheMaulClaw]

17 hours ago, Sam Mills Fan said:

Pros of this season (if we lose this weekend): 

- Went 11-5 a year after going 6-10

- Made the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 years, something I don't think we've appreciated enough

- After a slow start, McCaffrey has turned it on as of late and is exciting to think about going forward

- Beat the Patriots in Foxboro, Cam and Rivera are 2-0 against Brady and Belichick

- Funchess hasn't taken a huge step forward, but he's definitely taken A step forward

- If Byrd can stay healthy, he looks like he's going to be very very very good

 

Negatives of this season (if we lose this weekend):

- The defense regressed as the season went along. The only breakout defensive player was Julius Peppers, who probably has only one year left. I can't really point to any other defensive player as someone that took a step forward or looked better than I thought they were going to look

- Cam was incredibly, ridiculously inconsistent week-to-week. It's possible he peaked in 2015 and we'll never see that player again consistently

- The Saints hitting the trifecta sweep against us would be a bitter pill to swallow when it comes to offseason trash talk..

- ....As would losing our last 2 games of the year, against division rivals no less.

- Matt Kalil wasn't a complete disaster, but he definitely wasn't worth the contract we gave him

If we lose Sunday...this team would have only worn the minimum amount of flare.  Just barely alright.

[PanthersBigD]

Yes. The team went 11-5 and made the playoffs, and have for the last few seasons save the Super Bowl hangover last year. We're getting spoiled. Look how excited the Bills and Jags are just to get in after such long droughts. Ron Rivera is a really good coach, who will never hold up to the standard that overly passionate fans hold him to. We're fortunate to have him, and again, we're spoiled in that we expect to win the Super Bowl every year and almost always have a fighting chance. On his best day, Cam annihilates his competition, and on his worst days, well we all know how those go. Let's hope he gets hot and hype in the playoffs, and we can go on a run. It's not impossible. The Saints have been on fire this year, and have played like a Super Bowl team. If they win again, they will have had to earn it the hard way. I still think we can go all the way. We'll find out starting Sunday. 

[cookinwithgas]

Of course it was a good season, went 8-2 at home, beat the Patriots in Foxboro, beat the Vikings. It just wasn't a smooth season and many times we managed to grab victory from the jaws of defeat.

Getting swept by a division opponent does make it less fun though.

[dpm0409]

It becomes very apparent which posters are "glass half full" kind of people and which ones are "glass half empty" reading through this thread.....

Sure, we have glaring holes in our roster that need to be addressed and a laundry list of off the field ish to sort through, but us Panthers fans haven't really had it that bad this past 4-5 years.  We complain a lot on here, but there are soooo many teams that are so much worse than us and can't even make the postseason.  Bottom line.....it could be much much worse people.