How close are we to competing in the South

[t96]

I think we'll be close next year but won't win the division until 2022.

[philit99]

47 minutes ago, Doc Holiday said:

2 more years, I think that’s been the plan from the get go tho as I stated before the season started.

This, 2022 and 2023 watch out. 

[Beerfacedlegend]

Not close with this defense 

[TheProcess]

2022 or 2023

We need our franchise QB, Oline help, and 4/5 changes on defense.

We need to be successful the draft and free agency. I think it all starts with getting our QB, hopefully in this years draft.

[nctarheelreincarnated]

I think we'll compete next year, as all these Rookies will get better. However, we're not competing for the Division until the year after with a better QB at the helm. 

[BPF]

2022 we take the reigns and never look back, have a domination like that of the Pats. Continuous playoff exposure will lead to runs unlike we have seen before mainly due to sustained success which would be a major upgrade for this organization. 

[cbully]

Much closer without Whitehead/Boston in the starting lineup.

[DeAngelo Beason]

The Panthers are in position to own the south for years to come with the impending retirement of at least two of the three stellar QBs playing in the south.

What we need is a franchise QB.  I really like Teddy and had faith in him early on, but his true colors are starting to bleed through unfortunately.  He's played admirably as a stopgap, but you cannot compete in the league anymore without high-quality QB play.

[LinvilleGorge]

15 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

This division might get ran for the next decade by the first team to land a new legit franchise QB. Brees and Brady are in their last legs and Ryan looks atrocious. Teddy is Teddy. 

Every team in the division has one eye on the future. Hell, us and the Falcons should already have both eyes in the future.

To expound on this, my biggest immediate concerns here are A) Sean Payton potentially fixes Jameis. There's no doubting Winston's talent. If he cleans up the turnovers he's a problem. B) The Falcons get in draft position to land one.

[Shotgun]

15 hours ago, jtm said:

We are in the middle of a rebuild and folks here get into meltdown mode after losing every time. Let this sink in again...we are in rebuild mode and are several years from being competitive. 
 

Last year was one of the better drafts in recent memory but it takes time for these guys to develop. 

I agree but why sign Teddy then? Makes no sense.

[Khyber53]

It's hard to plan a house party when you are still building the foundation.

If you can ignore the scores, you can see a lot of foundational things being installed in this team. We are nowhere near as talent heavy as other teams are, particularly in the loaded NFCSouth (which is still the most competitive division in football). We've got  great trio of receivers, best RB in the league (and a great one behind him), decent interior D-line and a pair of DEs with a lot of promise. We've got one good LB (and a set of others that just aren't pro quality), an excellent rookie safety/linebacker that could be a fixture on the defense for years to come, a couple of decent but not great DBs and one fairly good safety (and one that just ain't holding up). We've got a kicker with a great leg and a punter who ain't bad (and isn't scared of trick plays). We've got a QB who can compete, but an o-line that really only has one guy that could be considered a starter anywhere else.

Most importantly, we have a coaching staff that has both a program AND the ability to get players to buy into it. They also seem determined and able to coach up marginal players to get better performances out of them. They also seem to have no qualms about letting big names go if those players seem to be coasting on reputations more than anything.

Have we got a winning team for 2021? Probably. There's at least some hope.

[Icege]

A good offseason that addresses the OL and gets improvement out of the young defense I genuinely believe gives the team can compete as soon as next season. They're hanging in there in most of the games, but seem to be cursed by 3s: 3rd down on offense, 3rd down on defense, 3rd quarter adjustments. Part of this is on coaching, part of it is on talent, and part of it is on execution.

The offense and defense getting an actual offseason to gel would be awesome. That OL is in disarray and is going to be needing bodies next season. Shore up the OL, replace Whitehead & Boston, get a big body target for the redzone, and let it ride!

[LinvilleGorge]

1 hour ago, nctarheelreincarnated said:

I think we'll compete next year, as all these Rookies will get better. However, we're not competing for the Division until the year after with a better QB at the helm. 

If Brees and Brady retire, we could potentially be looking at another 7-9 division champ.

[Ricky Spanish]

Next Year. I say that with the caveat that we need to move on from Hurney as GM first.

We can plug up a decent OL next year that will allow us to compete.

A year of experience will do wonders for our young defense. 

Upgrade MLB, Safety, and CB and we can push for the division with Teddy running the show.

I would also like to look at one of the top QBs available in the draft this year too though.