Worst feeling post-win and 3-0 start to a season imaginable?

[tukafan21]

Okay, so I'll start this off by saying I'm a tad bit drunk, so who knows how well this will be received on here, but let's go, LOL...........

I'll start this off by saying that I've always been someone who has no problem rooting for the best interests of the Panthers for the LONG term unless the immediate short term realistic goal of the team would be a Super Bowl win.  The NFL is the only sport that one bad season and landing the right draft picks can 100% change a franchise's future (see Cam Newton), and it's not even close, particularly since there is no lottery like the NBA, you get the pick you get based on how your season goes, and every draft position has dramatic differences.

Next, I'll say that I've NEVER been more depressed after a win or undefeated start by one of my teams (non NFL teams included in that, but the Panthers are my one and only NFL team).  

To me, there are only 3 things to root for as an NFL fan, and really there isn't anything else.....

1. Winning a Super Bowl

2. Getting the highest possible draft pick in each round

3. Gaining valuable experience for a young up and coming team who has SB potential within 3 years into the future 

Coming into this season, and even coming into week 3, I never thought #1 was even remotely possible, sorry, love my Panthers, but we weren't winning a SB this year, just wasn't happening.

So I was of course shooting for #3, this wasn't a season I wanted us to lose close games to get a better pick, I saw the future, the team that Rhule is building, and knew that winning close games, sneaking into the playoffs, and even losing in the first round would be what was best for this franchise for the future.  We have significant young building blocks in place who need that experience of playing in key games and how to manage it.

But wow.... after tonight, I'm at a complete loss for the immediate future of this squad this season.

Let's start with the best player on the team, CMC going down for any amount of time is killer for this team.  He's the best non-QB player in the league in my very honest opinion and him just being on the field itself makes all 10 other players significantly better.  Losing him is beyond painful, but as discussed in another thread, it COULD be what is best for Darnold in relation to what he is to our future as we're about to see what the kid is really made of.  

So no, I wouldn't want CMC to be out, but part of me sees how it could be great for Darnold's growth.  But at the same time, losing CMC and that outlet could let defenses focus on Darnold, and if they do that and figure him out, he could struggle and turn into the Jets Darnold and his Panthers career could crash and burn.

And after last season, I'm torn on even not rushing CMC back... hamstrings can linger, even if he's ready in 2 weeks, I'm hesitant of brining him back after 4 weeks right now and risk any further injury in a non SB aspiration season.  So a very real part of me says to IR him and sit him for 6 weeks minimum, regardless of how healthy he is at any point during that time.  If he's ready at that point, okay play him, if he needs one more week after that, shut him down for the seasons and let him come back strong next year.  

I'm sure that in itself will be very polarizing on here, but I think on a SB contender, a healthy CMC for a full season is the difference between winning a SB and losing in the conference playoffs and I have zero issue sitting him to keep that potential alive, he's that much of a difference maker, ON A LEGIT CONTENDER, serious difference there between that and just a "good team"

Then let's get to the defense......

The combo of Burns/Reddick are our best players, they're terrors on the edge so far and completely change the game.

Chinn might be our most valuable defender given the various things he can do on any given play and the versatility he brings.

But Horn.... man... Horn in my again very honest opinion was out most indispensable defender, even in just his 3rd game of his career.

Pass rush can be schemed up and figured out with lesser players, same goes with versatile safeties.  But lockdown corners, to me, are the most valuable player a defense can have because it eliminates an entire side of the field and quite possibly takes out the opposing teams best weapon in 90% of games.  Before the draft this year I told all my friends that I wanted an OT, CB, or trade everything to get a top QB, as I thought OT and CB are really the two most key positions that are the hardest to fill with elite players, outside of QB.

So to lose both Horn, potentially for the season, and CMC for any amount of time, in the same game, and in just week 3 of a promising yet not SB contending season, completely screws up my feelings/desires/wants/etc coming into the season.  As now I don't think we're going to be SB contenders to begin with, and I am now also torn on if this is the type of team that will benefit from being in the close games that help a team grow or be bad enough to get a top 10-13 pick in each round.  For example, the 13th pick in this years draft was a LEGIT franchise LT, but the 16-20 picks in the draft look to be solid to above average players at random positions... getting a top dozen or so pick in the draft compared to just below that can be a SIGNIFICANT difference in quality of player.

So yea, after all that, I'm not even sure where I'm trying to go with this other than saying this is the most conflicting feeling I've ever had after a win before.  To get win and move to 3-0, albeit against 2 rookie QB's with rookie coaches and a third against freaking Jameis Winston with no coaching staff and half missing starters, is an awesome feeling, but man, I still just have no idea how to feel about this team and we possibly just lost our most impactful player on each side of the ball, just awesome......................

[tukafan21]

(Like I said, kinda drunk and just started typing.... so it is, what it is, lol)

[mav1234]

Not the worst feeling, but bad.  If we had barely held them off in the 2nd half it would be worse.  The fact the team showed resilience, even if it was against an undermanned Texans team, mitigated a bit of that pain.

[tukafan21]

1 minute ago, mav1234 said:

Not the worst feeling, but bad.  If we had barely held them off in the 2nd half it would be worse.  The fact the team showed resilience, even if it was against an undermanned Texans team, mitigated a bit of that pain.

In my mid-30's and I can only think of one other time I've ever felt this bad as a fan after a "normal" game, as in not counting losing the Super Bowl.  And that was when the Arizona Wildcats (I'm an alum) lost to Stanford in 2013 when we were undefeated and also lost a starter to injury in the game and felt our legit championship aspirations disappear in an instant.

At least then we still had a 1 loss team that still had a ton of stars and ended up losing in OT in the Elite 8... this Panthers team isn't that team, so yes, this is the worst I've felt after losing a non SB type of game unfortunately. 

[PantherKyle]

No time for negative energy. 3-0 

[Bartin]

I’m too drunk to read all that but yes

[tukafan21]

5 minutes ago, PantherKyle said:

No time for negative energy. 3-0 

Yea, I'll be honest, I hate when fans think like this.

I'm not stupid, I can look past my fandom to realize what my team is, or isn't.

I was the person still calling for Rivera and staff to be fired when we were still 12-0, 13-0, etc, in 2015.  Sure, we were winning, but it was in spite of our coaching staff, not because of it, and they proved that in the SB when they couldn't figure out how to make in game adjustments.  And yes, we still made the SB that year, but time has clearly told it wasn't because of our coaches, but because of some special players that year and I very honestly believe with better coaches, we win that SB.

I'm not a player on the team, they need to be positive, but I'm a fan, I can look at my team and objectively think about what is best for them.  My positivity or negativity isn't going to affect them or the outcome of games in the slightest, so I'll look at things how I see them, not how I what or hope them to be.

Edited September 24, 2021 by tukafan21

[DIO84]

4 hours ago, tukafan21 said:

I was the person still calling for Rivera and staff to be fired when we were still 12-0, 13-0, etc, in 2015

And I hate fans like that.

[Eazy-E]

Our Pass rush is insane currently and could be a major reason why Horn has looked so good right out of the gate. We’ve yet to see him have to cover when a QB has all day to throw.
 

This team reminds me of the 2013 team that went 12-4 and should haven’t beaten the 49ers in the playoffs if weren’t for terrible refs. That team was starting guys like Melvin White and Drayton Florence at corner. CJ and Hardy were so good that year it didn’t matter who we had back there. With Bouye added to the mix and hopefully another vet FA for added depth (already have seen people suggesting a guy like Richard Sherman) I’m not overly worried about the defense with this front 7.

As for McCaffrey, boy that one hurts. We really need to bring in a guy who can consistently catch the ball out of the backfield. Hubbard can become a nice player but he already dropped 2 or 3 wide open passes. Reggie Bonnafon was nothing special but he shared a similar skill set to McCaffrey allowing us to not have to alter the offense. Surprisingly Mike Davis ended up being a decent receiver out of the backfield which helped Teddy tremendously.

The NFL is crazy man. I never count us out of the Super Bowl especially when we have a winning record. Hell the last two times this team started 3-0 we made it the the Super Bowl.

Edited September 24, 2021 by Eazy-E

[mrcompletely11]

5 hours ago, tukafan21 said:

Okay, so I'll start this off by saying I'm a tad bit drunk, so who knows how well this will be received on here, but let's go, LOL...........

I'll start this off by saying that I've always been someone who has no problem rooting for the best interests of the Panthers for the LONG term unless the immediate short term realistic goal of the team would be a Super Bowl win.  The NFL is the only sport that one bad season and landing the right draft picks can 100% change a franchise's future (see Cam Newton), and it's not even close, particularly since there is no lottery like the NBA, you get the pick you get based on how your season goes, and every draft position has dramatic differences.

Next, I'll say that I've NEVER been more depressed after a win or undefeated start by one of my teams (non NFL teams included in that, but the Panthers are my one and only NFL team).  

To me, there are only 3 things to root for as an NFL fan, and really there isn't anything else.....

1. Winning a Super Bowl

2. Getting the highest possible draft pick in each round

3. Gaining valuable experience for a young up and coming team who has SB potential within 3 years into the future 

Coming into this season, and even coming into week 3, I never thought #1 was even remotely possible, sorry, love my Panthers, but we weren't winning a SB this year, just wasn't happening.

So I was of course shooting for #3, this wasn't a season I wanted us to lose close games to get a better pick, I saw the future, the team that Rhule is building, and knew that winning close games, sneaking into the playoffs, and even losing in the first round would be what was best for this franchise for the future.  We have significant young building blocks in place who need that experience of playing in key games and how to manage it.

But wow.... after tonight, I'm at a complete loss for the immediate future of this squad this season.

Let's start with the best player on the team, CMC going down for any amount of time is killer for this team.  He's the best non-QB player in the league in my very honest opinion and him just being on the field itself makes all 10 other players significantly better.  Losing him is beyond painful, but as discussed in another thread, it COULD be what is best for Darnold in relation to what he is to our future as we're about to see what the kid is really made of.  

So no, I wouldn't want CMC to be out, but part of me sees how it could be great for Darnold's growth.  But at the same time, losing CMC and that outlet could let defenses focus on Darnold, and if they do that and figure him out, he could struggle and turn into the Jets Darnold and his Panthers career could crash and burn.

And after last season, I'm torn on even not rushing CMC back... hamstrings can linger, even if he's ready in 2 weeks, I'm hesitant of brining him back after 4 weeks right now and risk any further injury in a non SB aspiration season.  So a very real part of me says to IR him and sit him for 6 weeks minimum, regardless of how healthy he is at any point during that time.  If he's ready at that point, okay play him, if he needs one more week after that, shut him down for the seasons and let him come back strong next year.  

I'm sure that in itself will be very polarizing on here, but I think on a SB contender, a healthy CMC for a full season is the difference between winning a SB and losing in the conference playoffs and I have zero issue sitting him to keep that potential alive, he's that much of a difference maker, ON A LEGIT CONTENDER, serious difference there between that and just a "good team"

Then let's get to the defense......

The combo of Burns/Reddick are our best players, they're terrors on the edge so far and completely change the game.

Chinn might be our most valuable defender given the various things he can do on any given play and the versatility he brings.

But Horn.... man... Horn in my again very honest opinion was out most indispensable defender, even in just his 3rd game of his career.

Pass rush can be schemed up and figured out with lesser players, same goes with versatile safeties.  But lockdown corners, to me, are the most valuable player a defense can have because it eliminates an entire side of the field and quite possibly takes out the opposing teams best weapon in 90% of games.  Before the draft this year I told all my friends that I wanted an OT, CB, or trade everything to get a top QB, as I thought OT and CB are really the two most key positions that are the hardest to fill with elite players, outside of QB.

So to lose both Horn, potentially for the season, and CMC for any amount of time, in the same game, and in just week 3 of a promising yet not SB contending season, completely screws up my feelings/desires/wants/etc coming into the season.  As now I don't think we're going to be SB contenders to begin with, and I am now also torn on if this is the type of team that will benefit from being in the close games that help a team grow or be bad enough to get a top 10-13 pick in each round.  For example, the 13th pick in this years draft was a LEGIT franchise LT, but the 16-20 picks in the draft look to be solid to above average players at random positions... getting a top dozen or so pick in the draft compared to just below that can be a SIGNIFICANT difference in quality of player.

So yea, after all that, I'm not even sure where I'm trying to go with this other than saying this is the most conflicting feeling I've ever had after a win before.  To get win and move to 3-0, albeit against 2 rookie QB's with rookie coaches and a third against freaking Jameis Winston with no coaching staff and half missing starters, is an awesome feeling, but man, I still just have no idea how to feel about this team and we possibly just lost our most impactful player on each side of the ball, just awesome......................

who the fug is reading that on a friday morning??????

[TheBigKat]

[ForJimmy]

On a positive note. Should Shi Smith be coming back soon? That could help the offense until CMC comes back. He is a fast/shifty player with good hands. 

[Zod]

Sure beats the hell out of how I was feeling the past couple of seasons at this point 

[electro's horse]

more upset about horn than cmc, to be honest