Guys This Team Is A SuperBowl Contender No Lie.

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

all i remember hearing from the last game is...we want MOORE!

Well, stop listening to that part of the fans

[Carolina Husker]

all sarcasm, homerism, and joking aside...don't be surprised if this team dupicates or bests the 12-4 record from last season.

You should be extremely surprised if that happens.

[methodtoll]

I will withhold judgement until I see production on the field, plain and simple. Every year, we say the same thing which is, "With the pieces we have in place, we are going to the Superbowl!!!!!" and yet, at most, we'll get to the NFCCG (with the exception of one Superbowl run cut short by the Pats)

[Cpt slay a ho]

this team has been a superbowl contending team,but poor decision like who qbs for us and some bone head coaching here and there have shutdown hopes lately

[bleys]

I think this whole, "we're unlucky so we will go 7-9 since we were good last year" is utter bullcrap.

The reason we fell after 96 was because of poor decision making, by stacking the team with veterans for short term success. In 04 we did poorly because of the numerous injuries. 06 was because of building through FA and giving guys like Mike Wahle and Ken Lucas monster sized contracts that hurt us big time. Also, the team had some bad drafts.

So what about this year? We still have the same great players, and we got rid of some more dead weight in guys like Ken Lucas and Trgovac. "Well, what about the issues we encountered last year?" Those were addressed in the draft, where you build your team for the future. We added a legitimate pass rusher, a run-stopper, more secondary and offensive line depth, and more weapons on offense to make a run attack, that last year was hardly surpassed by anyone in the league.

The reason we failed in the past, was because the team felt they were just one or two free agents away from being great again. You see tons of teams doing that today (Jared Allen with Minnesota and Haynesworth with Washington). But I really feel that Fox and Co. know what it takes this year to get this team back into the post-season.

good post... and I must say I agree..

I fully believe Fox and CO have gone through some growing pains in finding what works and what doesn't. You don't make drastic changes in this league as you will find drastic results and if it's a negative one, we could have seen worse football played. What we have seen is consistency, but what we will be seeing is a better draft of players, unity, and smarter football played.

We are going to see some good Panther football in the next couple years.. I really doubt Fox and CO is gone. I do think they have learned from past mistakes and are always trying to find that key to success.

[top dawg]

I agree about Fox and Co learning (and knowing) about what it takes to get to the postseason, and that's why I think that the worse we'll do is 10-6. You may say I'm wrong, but I feel that failings in coaching was at least 33.3 percent of the problems against the Cards. Moreover, I feel that a few of the losses during the regular season were (like the Minny loss), to a large degree, the coaches fault as well.

Of course the coaches can't make the plays on the field, but they do "play" on the sidelines (during the practices and team meetings, and in the film room). You may disagree, but it's all philosophical at the end of the day.

In any event, our team was talented enough to get to the Super Bowl last year, and the 12-4 record supports that fact. All the philosophizing about the strength of the schedule is really smoke and mirrors. This is the NFL, not the NCAA, and ANY NFL team can bring it on any given Sunday. So, to me, schedule is not a valid excuse for your W-L record. Pros are paid to perform, period. All this being said, when you have a team that goes 12-4, but arguably did not even play its best football to reach such an impressive record, you really have to ask yourself why did a 12-4 team lay an egg in one of the biggest games in franchise history, and the obvious answer is that they weren't ready. They weren't prepared. They weren't motivated. That falls on the coaches.

Now, we have some new, more experienced coaches. Our relatively young and talented team has one more year of experience under its belt, and we have some more talented players to throw into the mix. I can't see dropping to 7-9 or 8-8. I just can't. I don't blame people for lowering their expectations a bit, but from a perspective of pure football, I think that perhaps some of you are being a bit cynical and coming from a more emotional angle than an analytical perspective.

Now, I am not going to say we're ready to go dancing either. We'll have to wait and see what transpires on the field.

[prowler2k8]

I agree about Fox and Co learning (and knowing) about what it takes to get to the postseason, and that's why I think that the worse we'll do is 10-6. You may say I'm wrong, but I feel that failings in coaching was at least 33.3 percent of the problems against the Cards. Moreover, I feel that a few of the losses during the regular season were (like the Minny loss), to a large degree, the coaches fault as well.

Of course the coaches can't make the plays on the field, but they do "play" on the sidelines (during the practices and team meetings, and in the film room). You may disagree, but it's all philosophical at the end of the day.

In any event, our team was talented enough to get to the Super Bowl last year, and the 12-4 record supports that fact. All the philosophizing about the strength of the schedule is really smoke and mirrors. This is the NFL, not the NCAA, and ANY NFL team can bring it on any given Sunday. So, to me, schedule is not a valid excuse for your W-L record. Pros are paid to perform, period. All this being said, when you have a team that goes 12-4, but arguably did not even play its best football to reach such an impressive record, you really have to ask yourself why did a 12-4 team lay an egg in one of the biggest games in franchise history, and the obvious answer is that they weren't ready. They weren't prepared. They weren't motivated. That falls on the coaches.

Now, we have some new, more experienced coaches. Our relatively young and talented team has one more year of experience under its belt, and we have some more talented players to throw into the mix. I can't see dropping to 7-9 or 8-8. I just can't. I don't blame people for lowering their expectations a bit, but from a perspective of pure football, I think that perhaps some of you are being a bit cynical and coming from a more emotional angle than an analytical perspective.

Now, I am not going to say we're ready to go dancing either. We'll have to wait and see what transpires on the field.

:iagree: :cheers2:

Excellent post, TD.

[III]

wow...this place reeks of stale kool-aid-farts and taco bell.