Panthers are 3-2 without yet hitting their stride

[Mage]

If playoffs started today, we’d be in.  Some people just choose to expect undefeated every season it feels like.

[RumHam]

We've played 3/4 of the NFC East and the bungals and falcons. We were one play from two of these games of being 5-0, which with competit decision making we would have been and now playing down to our opponents. Granted, two losses are on the road. The schedule gets brutal going forward and we are on par for 7-9. We always have bad years against the NFC North, but thankfully we downed one opponent. 

[d-dave]

I think the Panthers have a lot of good football left, and when we get rolling, we're going to be tough to beat.  I am really looking forward to seeing that happen.

There is a LONG season ahead, and I think it's a little short sighted to want to end the world simply because we lost a football game.  Should we have won it?  Absolutely, but we didn't.  It just means the team has to pull it together and take it to Atlanta and New Orleans.

[RumHam]

24 minutes ago, USC/panthers_11 said:

0 chance, really? You have no clue what you're talking about. Do you want to wager on that? We play them twice in the last 3 weeks of the season (13 days apart on 12/17 and 12/30). From a probability standpoint, its much more likely we split the games. Let me know on that bet. 

We played them three times in the last month of last season. This team is no different than last year and they are no different either. The refs will give them the game in the dome. 

[tiger7_88]

55 minutes ago, Porn Shop Clerk said:

We always play like hot garbage at the beginning of the season

And, here's a dirty little secret about the NFL that somebody needs to tell Ron...

Early-season wins count just as much as late-season wins.

Shocking, I know.

[TheRed]

We have the talent to hang with anyone in the NFL.

But talent alone can't overcome a poor gameplan and awful game management.

It starts with accountability in the staff. Every time you see them talk it's always about execution. The players. Not what the coaches can do better. If we are going to improve and make a playoff run, Ron and his staff need to start holding themselves accountable.

[PFChangz]

15 minutes ago, TheRed said:

We have the talent to hang with anyone in the NFL.

But talent alone can't overcome a poor gameplan and awful game management.

It starts with accountability in the staff. Every time you see them talk it's always about execution. The players. Not what the coaches can do better. If we are going to improve and make a playoff run, Ron and his staff need to start holding themselves accountable.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect Rivera to come out to the media and start throwing coaching staff under the bus or to admit that he may have handled certain situations poorly. All teams handle accountability behind closed doors. They don't owe anything to the media or the fans when it comes to admitting they were wrong about something. Blaming everything on execution is an easy way to answer a hard question and the majority of NFL staff and players look for the easy way out of an interview.

Then again two bad fumbles, a lot of miscommunication on defense and a stalled out potential game winning drive? Rivera isn't exactly wrong. Hopefully the coaching staff can make the right changes to put the team in a better position throughout the game, because at the very least, Tepper will hold them accountable at the end of the season.

[Wolfcop]

Don't turn the ball over like we did in the 2nd half of the Giants game and the first half of the Redskins game and we will be in every game we play with a chance to win. 

[CarolinaNCSU]

Really feel like the Eagles game is as "must" win as we can be at this point.  If we win, that's a helluva win and bounce back game for all.  If we lose, especially in bad fashion, I could see things starting to get dicey as the blame game continues and seats get hotter. 

[therealmjl]

As long as the inclement weather doesn’t disrupt our practice schedule 

[TheRed]

1 hour ago, PFChangz said:

I don't think it's reasonable to expect Rivera to come out to the media and start throwing coaching staff under the bus or to admit that he may have handled certain situations poorly. All teams handle accountability behind closed doors. They don't owe anything to the media or the fans when it comes to admitting they were wrong about something. Blaming everything on execution is an easy way to answer a hard question and the majority of NFL staff and players look for the easy way out of an interview.

Then again two bad fumbles, a lot of miscommunication on defense and a stalled out potential game winning drive? Rivera isn't exactly wrong. Hopefully the coaching staff can make the right changes to put the team in a better position throughout the game, because at the very least, Tepper will hold them accountable at the end of the season.

Well let's talk about those 2 bad fumbles then.

I think what we should be asking ourselves is why are our special teams under Ron Rivera continually either a complete dumpster fire or just serviceable or capable of making a few decent plays once in a blue moon?

Whether it was Moore, Ginn, or for some insane reason, Brenton Bersin, whoever. We've had the unfortunate circumstance of being witness to just flat out dumb plays on special teams from the Panthers. There have been some bright spots occasionally. But much of the time we found ourselves holding our breath on special teams how often over the years? Right. We're talking through multiple players. At what point do you look at the coaching track record?

I know we've got a new defensive coordinator so that can explain some of these inconsistencies in our defense at the moment. But we've kept promoting from within on special teams so if we haven't been able to figure out how to put our players in a position to succeed there yet then I don't know what to tell you. That to me sounds like coaching.

[thefuzz]

Good teams typically win the games they are supposed to win.  That's the issue with waiting to hit our stride, and we seem to do it every single year.

We have now lost 2 games, both to teams in our conference, with one being in our division.  We still have to face NO twice...you know the team that just beat the Skins by 24 points.

Let's don't act like we should have won vs. the Giants either.  That should have been a 3rd loss to NFC teams, with the defending champs coming up next.

[hepcat]

If the run defense was better I'd agree with you

[thefuzz]

1 minute ago, TheRed said:

Well let's talk about those 2 bad fumbles then.

I think what we should be asking ourselves is why are our special teams under Ron Rivera continually either a complete dumpster fire or just serviceable or capable of making a few decent plays once in a blue moon?

Whether it was Moore, Ginn, or for some insane reason, Brenton Bersin, whoever. We've had the unfortunate circumstance of being witness to just flat out dumb plays on special teams from the Panthers over the last in years. There have been some bright spots occasionally. But much of the time we found ourselves holding our breath on special teams how often over the years? Right. We're talking through multiple players. At what point do you look at the coaching track record?

I know we've got a new defensive coordinator so that can explain some of these inconsistencies in our defense at the moment. But we've kept promoting from within on special teams so if we haven't been able to figure out how to put our players in a position to succeed there yet then I don't know what to tell you. That to me sounds like coaching.

When talking about ST, let's please don't leave out Gano's absurd issues with PAT's.

That said, do you think that Ron would rather make a huge splash play on ST's or just do what you are supposed to do, and don't make a mistake?

IMO, it's do what you are supposed to do, and don't make a mistake.  Ron knows that mistakes, or as he calls them "missed opportunities, and lack of execution" sink his ship.  He plays the game too close to overcome mistakes.