Khyber53

Let's go ahead and see how it all works out. The challenges don't get easier. And if he's going to make it, this is Bryce's chance to do more than chip away at the wall between who he has been and who they want him to be. If we win, let's enjoy it, though. Because it is getting old just pissing on ourselves even when the wind has changed just because we've gotten used to having a wet pants leg.

It's about learning to play without fear. That's something this team has to learn.

His absence here over the last couple of seasons speaks volumes otherwise.

He played better for us than any of the linebackers we've had not named Shaq for the last few years. Especially this year. The guy would have been a starter and probable star on any of the other teams in the league. He had to come in and start between Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly, though and well, those guys cast some long, long shadows.

Did I miss something or in opening lineup announcements at this past Sunday's game, did they have us showing a 4-3 (really a 4-2-5) alignment as our base set? It also seemed like we moved to that for much of the game, but maybe I wasn't seeing what I thought I was. I've been hoping we'd leave behind the 3-4 defense for years now as it just doesn't match the team or pair up well against the builds of the opposing teams in the NFCSouth.

You are probably right. And let's not wish for a Philip Rivers. All hat and no cattle... all stats and no wins.

Both were heroes, just of different recipes. We've got to celebrate both!

Look, I've been pounding on the Canales shouldn't be calling the offensive plays thing since last year. He's first off, not very versatile and makes Ron Rivera look like a master of mid-game adjustments. Also, because I think you really, really need to be calling the offensive plays from the booth with a better view of the whole field. A coach on the field cannot grasp how the opposing sideline WR is doing in coverage while also checking the two receivers on his side, plus keep up with how the line is doing and if the RB is in the groove. Heck, for the line alone he doesn't have the best view of where the RB is going to see success and how to best exploit it. Hence Rico saying, Yo coach, keep running this. Still, all these things in there, no matter how hard I'm banging on that drum, I can't let it drown out my joy in getting one of those rare Ws. Even coaches can learn and grow from them. I sure hope he will.

Heroes don't last forever. Villains do, though. Brady, Manning, Belichick, Favre, Rodgers, all villains. To us, at least.

There was no fight, no sulk, no give up in that guy. A true on-the-front-lines leader.

The question is, how can you tell which are just bad wins and which are good wins? Is there a measurable, quantitative way to do that or is it just "this fits my storyline" or "yeah, but it's not with the people I want to see it happen with"? Back in the day, there were a lot of folks, believe it or not that couldn't stand seeing Cam Newton's ascension to a Super Bowl contender. They had all these criticisms but it really boiled down to something that didn't fit their view of how the game should be or how the world is supposed to work. And then, there was 2003 when John Fox wasn't supposed to have changed a massive losing culture overnight working with a General Manager that came from a newspaper background and a metric butt ton of supposedly washed out free agents and nobodies. Heck, we had a big DE who they thought should have gone on to play basketball (he was a national champ there after all) AND he would have to sit out the beginning of the season for a PED violation. And there we were on the "no disrespect, but you ain't getting respect" tour that had us out gritting teams like the Rams and Eagles in the playoffs and just about sending Brady home with a loss in the big dance. You know, we didn't deserve to be there in a lot of eyes. We were such nobodies that Muhsin Muhammad did the cover of SI posed with the shoosh don't tell thing because no one considered us anything but popcorn farts in the wind. So, back to the thing... how do you, you personally, tell good wins from bad wins? Especially only five games into the season. Here's my take on why we have two good wins under our belt... building blocks. We kicked Atlanta's teeth in for our home opener. Any defeat of a divisional opponent is an important step in the right direction. If you can do that you are making strides. And with as weak as our division is, we need to be able to do it. And against Miami you had two teams hitting a crossroads at the same time. Both were heading somewhere: one trajectory up, one trajectory down... a loss could cost a coach their job, a win could extend their chances at seeing their vision through. We were kicked in the guts and should have died on the field, but managed to do the second biggest comeback in team history right then and there. To win. Any time you get a win like that, it's a good team-building win. And it's about the team, isn't it. Look, I've criticized the heck out of Bryce and I'm still not sold on him, but a team doesn't have to win pretty for me to cheer their wins. They've just got to win and show some fight. Right now, they're doing that. We don't have a winning record yet, but we could break even this weekend. That means something. It really does. Win the next two and we would have a winning record for the first time since I don't know when.

I've been here for a loooong time and been through this a lot. And I write a bit on the side, too.

And that 2003 team, made up of virtual nobodies, the whole Cardiac Cats thing. Honestly, it was even more magical than 2015 because it was so unexpected. I love me some Cam, but with his gifts and skills, that Super Bowl run was inevitable and wholly warranted. Now Jake... there's a gunslinger, never say die guy that just caught the magic when he finally got his chance. Totally different guys, both great in their own times here.

It may not happen for a while. Really. It sure won't overnight. In the meantime, you can just constantly torture yourself with the overpowering angst and disgust for the team until it miraculously changes or not. Or you can get what enjoyment you can out of wins when they happen, if for no other thing than they lighten the load even for a moment, or perhaps go find a team that more fits your desired results. I mean, honestly, this is about you enjoying your life. If looking back over the last 30 years doesn't give you some at least moments of pride, then, well, you should know by now that it might be time to leave a relationship that's pretty abusive to you and your needs. Best of the world to you, either way.

A win, no matter what always beats a loss. fug it if that bothers you. Can we win again this weekend? Who knows, we'll have to tune in and see. And if we do, maybe the team is changing its narrative on the fly. And maybe it will change our own narratives, too. Wouldn't it be something to see a cultural and capabilities change in the Panthers? And on the Huddle. We've all suffered for too long here with nothing to believe in. So let's just enjoy the win we had and look forward, even with squinting, disbelieving eyes to the next week. It's all we've got. The real world might take that away from us in due time, but fug man, let's not take it away from ourselves before they make us give it up.

I'm going to agree with you here. Part of the problem is that the coach and Bryce himself have been playing scared. When they decide to just go for it and work that ball downfield things work out. Bryce can chuck it, given protection and some work on getting open by the receivers. And as to the original post, yeah, I like Tremayne. I hope we see more out of him. Kid also looks like a bruiser to try and take down if you're the typical DB.

The biggest part of being a gunslinger isn't just massive arm strength, it's a fearlessness. Brett Favre is of course the best known one, and he's legendary for all of those touchdowns... and the record number of interceptions that came with them. But he was fearless and went down shooting no matter the situation. We had that in Jake Delhomme, too. Cam, definitely not a gunslinger. Had the arm strength (Lord he had a cannon for an arm), but his fearlessness allowed him to become an incredible runner as well. He didn't have to stand there in the street at high noon and just let the lead fly. Bryce... not sure he can become a gunslinger or if he's just a technician (that's not a bad thing, look at Joe Montana or Drew Brees), but he has to conquer that fear. He seemed to do that after those first two bad, bad, bad series. Can he make it happen from the start next week? I hope so for the kid. Would love for him to get it all together and make something happen. If that means he's our franchise QB, as long as he's winning he'll get my support.

The biggest change in that game was that after the fumble and interception, Bryce came back out with nothing to lose. And he wasn't playing scared, which is a major issue he has. And somehow, our O-line got it together, Rico Dowdle played just completely lights out, and when needed, plays were made down field. We gave up on the behind the line screen passes and just tried to move forward. Yanno, we played football. Maybe Bryce isn't a gunslinger. But maybe if he can lose that fear, he could be.

Before the game started, my wife and I were discussing the team and if anything was going to happen for them. And my take is that this was going to be one of those games where you're going to learn where each of the teams are headed. The Dolphins have been in a downward spiral, we've been trying to break out of the cellar we've been living in. A Dolphin win on the road might pull their team out of the dive and save their coach's job. It could bring them back to some sort of upward or at least leveling off trajectory. A Dolphin win would probably also completely crush the Panthers hopes for any growth this season and put Canales and crew on notice that it was time to polish up the resume`. A Panthers win would buy Canales more time and would give the players, owners and fanbase something to buy into, one more step up the stairs leading out of the darkness and maybe, just maybe back into a competitive light. A Panthers win would probably mean that one or more heads were probably going to roll sooner rather than later in Miami's coaching staff. That first quarter... man, that first quarter... it said every damned thing we've been saying here for the last three seasons. There was no longer any denying it. And then we found ourselves down 17-zip. And then, well, THAT happened. Canales coached that team into a comeback, the second largest in Panthers history, on a day when there was every danged reason to pack it in and call it a day. He'll survive this week. I'm not so sure Miami isn't having a called to the carpet moment this morning. We aren't out of cellar yet. But it's looking better. Holding serve on the home field gets you a lot in the NFL. Let's enjoy the win. They've been rare.

He did fine.

A QB passing for less that 200 yards, but two TDs? A running back getting 200+ yards himself? If that gets a win, I'll take it every time. More than anything, coming back from 17 down on a day that I honestly thought this was the straw that broke the camel's back, was eye-opening. They showed a level of grit that I haven't seen here in years. Many years. Do it again next week and I might start really believing something is happening here.

Dang man, you don't have to eat exactly what the team will probably have!

We've got the Dolphins today so in the tradition of feasting on the foes, we're going with Tuna Salad sandwiches here. And Bugles. Because, well, Bugles are the best snack food/ crisps ever invented, hands down.

Part of it is that Canales can create a good series of plays at his desk or around a work table and then get them onto the practice field and then the playing field. That's good. But then, the script runs out and there he is on the frikkin' sidelines trying to manage an entire team while keeping an eye on the game, personnel, the refs, field position, the clock and who is and isn't available for the next play AND THEN HE HAS TO DECIDE WHAT PLAY TO CALL NEXT. I'm sorry, he just isn't far enough into his career to be able to handle all of that. Let an OC up in the skybox with the all-22 field view, communicating with his assistants, make the call based on what he sees. And Canales should be out there managing the whole team, creating to tone and let his folks do the work he hired them to do.

Sitting here watching this, get about 2/3 of the way through it and realize life is too hard right now to even go into how we suck and the minute details as well as the macro of it. Things just suck and this team sucks, too.