I know the mantra is "1 game at a time" but, looking towards the end of the season...

[Bronn]

...how do you see the playoff seeding shaping up?

Me personally, I think it'll be as follows:
 

1 CAR (16-0) (fug yeah bitch!)

2 ARI (12-4)

3 GB (11-5)

4 NYG (9-7)

5 MIN (10-6)

6 STL (9-7)

Teams close but no cigar (8-8): SEA, PHI, CHI, ATL

 

This would possibly mean:

RD1 - STL @ GB, MIN @ NYG

RD2 - GB @ ARI, NYG @ CAR

Who would you rather come to the CLT? GB or ARI? Do you think we'd have a better shot against NYG or MIN in RD2?

Personally, I think we can beat anyone. But, I still want to take it one game at a time.

[Cyberjag]

In your scenario I think we would face the Rams, then the Cards, and finally play against the eventual Super Bowl loser.

[Bartin]

St Louis just named Case Keenum their starting QB. I really can't see them closing at 5-2 with him leading the way.

[Bronn]

1 minute ago, Cyberjag said:

In your scenario I think we would face the Rams, then the Cards, and finally play against the eventual Super Bowl loser.

So you think GB is bad enough to lose against STL in GB?

I give STL a lot of credit, but I think that is a stronger endorsement than what they can play up to.

TBQH I think the Cardinals scare me more than anyone in the NFC right now...

[Bronn]

2 minutes ago, Bartin said:

St Louis just named Case Keenum their starting QB. I really can't see them closing at 5-2 with him leading the way.

DET and TB at home, then they only have to 3/4 of the road games at Baltimore, Cincy, Seattle, and SF... I think they'll get SF, Baltimore, and Cincy. Their defense matches up well against those teams in my opinion, and none are particularly good against a strong run game.

[Ivan The Awesome]

Facing AZ doesn't scare me, it actually makes me excited. I want to face them. They are probably the best team in the NFC besides ours. 

[tondi]

Well if we are playing the look ahead game the question that has to be asked is whether we should start resting players if we have a 2-3 game lead for home field advantage even if it means losing a late season meaningless game and sacrificing a perfect regular season.  I feel like a dirty jinxing whore for even typing that sentence but if we win a couple more its going to become a big question around here.

[mc52beast]

Probably not going 16-0, Ron will rest players if he gets a chance vs going for a perfect season. 

Arizona scares me the most out of all the contenders, some have them as the best in the NFL even though they've lost twice. Would love to get GB at home again.

[Cary Kollins]

Green Bay is a bad, bad team right now and they don't have the personnel to fix it. I would much rather face them than Arizona.

 

 

[TheWiz]

The most important thing to me is homefield advantage. Our typical mindset had us playing "just to win the NFC south."

But this year, we're atop the entire NFC standings. This last half of our schedule is tough mentally because every team we're playing is fighting for their playoff lives... or just for bragging rights to be the team who brought the Panthers back down to Earth. Going undefeated is only nice if you win them all. 

I think that still have that chip on their shoulder. We still feel disrespected and overlooked. Our guys are clicking together... and we're just gonna get healthier with CJ coming back. I dont see them losing focus on anyone. After what Washington did to NO, the guys take them seriously. 

We legitimately want to beat the Cowboys with Romo/ Hardy, in Dallas, ON Thanksgiving? - c'mon man.  And I think The best thing we have going for us is that the last half of our schedule is mostly NFC South teams.... and the vitriol these teams have for one another is historic. 

Buckle up. 

 

 

[TheWiz]

8 minutes ago, mc52beast said:

Probably not going 16-0, Ron will rest players if he gets a chance vs going for a perfect season. 

Arizona scares me the most out of all the contenders, some have them as the best in the NFL even though they've lost twice. Would love to get GB at home again.

If we win the NFC, we get an automatic bye. Winning every game does matter. 

[panthers55]

At this point unless we go on a losing streak, we should win the division which gives us a home game.  With Arizona and Minnesota at 7-2, it depends on how they do as to where we ultimately end up.  I would love to be 16-0 but think that it will be very hard to win out.  We have struggled to sweep Atlanta and think that they will be working hard for the wild card spot so we likely split with them.  I also think it will be very hard to beat Dallas with Romo back in their house.  For whatever reason, we lose to Dallas in the regular season and sometimes it is by incredibly bad calls by the refs.  So honestly I think we end up 14-2 at best and 13-3 at worst.  That means we might not be the number 1 seed if Arizona or Minnesota win out.

Long story short, it is too early to know as there are still 7 games for us to play.  By week 14 we should know where we stand..

[Bronn]

I feel like you Panther faithful aren't being so faithful.

We can easily beat TB, NO, WAS, and DAL. TB we've already beaten at pretty much full strength. NO will be tougher with Brees but I don't think they scare me at all with that defense. Washington is a one trick pony on offense (quick pass game) and Dallas is an outright circus, Romo or not.

The Giants game, out of our remaining schedule, worries me the most. However, Eli doesn't scare me in the least. OBJ will have his hands full and Eli will be on his back a lot.

That leaves Atlanta twice... Let's be honest. JNo vs. Julio is the biggest matchup here. Freeman will also be a handful. But again, I don't think their offense can handle our defense, and Ryan will be on his back most of the game both times.

My decades of Panther fandom have taught me not to count my chickens before they hatch and that our team can lapse on any given game day.

That said, this year has shown me we will always find a way to keep pounding and preserve (and even earn) the W.

16-0 is entirely doable. Don't sell us short!

[Moorgan]

Prefacing this comment with my opinion has no effect on the game or the season, the mantra has always been win the game this week. I'm against sitting guys out of fear of injury. Sit them if they are banged up...actually banged up? Yes. Sit them so they're fresh for the playoffs? No way. That's what that first rd buy is for. With our buy coming so early this year, that first round buy should not kill momentum like it does in other sports. We can have such a great season to get 2 buys in one season and that could be a huge benefit. I just don't think you should sit guys that are healthy. That screws up chemistry and momentum. They are all still looking for that perfect game.

I don't expect them to lose before Valentine's Day is all I'm saying.