When everybody is gunning for you...

[Mr. Scot]

Bill Voth answered a fan on Twitter about just how physically and mentally draining it can be on a team when every single opponent is giving you their absolute best shot.

 

Black & Blue Review ‏@BlackBlueReview 31 Dec 2015

one of many reasons it’s so hard to repeat, do what Pats have RT @C_Smith2325: Getting everybody's best shot week after week is draining

 

i think it's worth noting.

That's something the Panthers have had to deal with for several weeks now, and if we stay good it'll be reality for the foreseeable future.  Just about every single team that faces us will be totally geeked up and eager to knock us off.  And we'll have to be equally ready to answer that challenge.  Throw in that we'll likely be facing better opponents next year as well.

Some will likely expect the team to fold under the pressure.

I like to think it'll make us that much stronger.

This is what you want.  You wanna be a perennial contender, you have to know you're gonna need to bring your A Game every single time.  The teams that can do that are the ones that live at the top of the food chain.  Lots of people say that you have to learn how to be a winner, learn what it takes to wear that belt and be ready to take on all comers. 

I wanna believe that this season has prepared us to do just that, and hopefully for a long, long time.

[FootballMaestro]

I think the loss to the Falcons, may turn out to be a good thing.

Yeah. You would rather want to go undefeated, and make history. However, the loss makes the Panthers re-access (and hopefully correct) some lingering potential issues. This team's not good enough to have everyone giving you "their best shot", with it's holes; carrying the burden of an undefeated season.

I mean, even we as fans would have overlooked certain things at the expense of chasing history (if we weren't already).

Now that's gone. And the Panthers, can focus on 'getting back to the business of being the best Panther team for the playoff's', instead of remaining undefeated.

Regarding, the Panthers new status as a hunted team. I would like to think the return of Kelvin Benjamin next year, will help out with that in the near future? LOL

[ctrcat]

Just the tip.

I also think this year's offseason will bear fruit at least one if not multiple transactions which we benefit from now being THE team, and where a player CLEARLY chooses this team over at least somewhat of a more lucrative offer.  Could be Josh, Alshon, Mario, or someone else, but it will become common.

Also helps tremendously that the Carolinas have become a football breeding ground for guys like the above and the Carolinas are so livable and attractive at the grass roots level.

Just the tip.

[PantherWake]

How was Gettleman never hired as a GM before? Lol just crazy

[ctrcat]

2 minutes ago, JJman Returns said:

This made me want to look at who'd we be playing next year, since it's about guaranteed anyways now. 

We play the NFC West and the AFC West. Our other two opponents will be Washington and likely Green Bay. We will play at Seattle and Denver most notably. We'd host Arizona and Kansas City. But good lord, imagine this

@Seattle, @Denver, @St Louis, @Oakland, vs. Arizona, vs. Kansas City, vs. San Francisco, vs. San Diego

With games also against Washington and Green Bay/Minnesota. No one can throw that "we didn't play anybody good" bullshit at us this time next season. Not one of those games is going to be a cakewalk as I see the Rams, Raiders, 49ers and Chargers all improving. 

Looks tougher, but things always shake out differently.  Said the same thing this year.  All of those teams have major issues for the offseason we'll delve into at a later date.

[FootballMaestro]

3 minutes ago, JJman Returns said:

This made me want to look at who'd we be playing next year, since it's about guaranteed anyways now. 

We play the NFC West and the AFC West. Our other two opponents will be Washington and likely Green Bay. We will play at Seattle and Denver most notably. We'd host Arizona and Kansas City. But good lord, imagine this

@Seattle, @Denver, @St Louis, @Oakland, vs. Arizona, vs. Kansas City, vs. San Francisco, vs. San Diego

With games also against Washington and Green Bay/Minnesota. No one can throw that "we didn't play anybody good" bullshit at us this time next season. Not one of those games is going to be a cakewalk as I see the Rams, Raiders, 49ers and Chargers all improving. 

Of course, everyone will pick those teams to be good next year.

However, like many teams on the Panthers schedule this year, who turned out bad. Many of them will no doubt disappoint. And you can be sure, "media" will forget this and call them lousy.

Moral: We don't know who would be good a year from now. LOL

[LUUUUUKE]

I swear the media reads the huddle and publishes our thoughts. I just put those thoughts in a thread I created the other day title playoff opponents

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, FootballMaestro said:

Regarding, the Panthers new status as a hunted team. I would like to think the return of Kelvin Benjamin, will help out with that? LOL

Ponder for a moment...

We get Benjamin back, Benwikere back, maybe Silatolu back in a backup role;  our rookies like Funchess, Thompson, Artis-Payne et al will have a pro season under their belts; we could be in a position to see more from projects like Wegher and Norwood; we get another Gettleman draft plus a free agency period that will likely have more freedom than past seasons.  Oh and did I mention that our two most important players are locked up long term?

There's plenty of reasons to be optimistic about next season.

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, LUUUUUKE said:

I swear the media reads the huddle and publishes our thoughts. I just put those thoughts in a thread I created the other day title playoff opponents

Well, in this case a fan tweeted Voth about it.

Don't know if that fan posts here or not.

[FootballMaestro]

12 minutes ago, PantherWake said:

How was Gettleman never hired as a GM before? Lol just crazy

Some guys are seen as grunts. And some guys are seen as rising stars.

Gettleman, hung around long enough to where he was seen strictly as a Grunt. He was routinely passed over for younger guys, till Acorsi (who ironically passed him over for a younger guy with the Giants) finally gave him his shot/push with the Panthers and JR.

[FootballMaestro]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Ponder for a moment...

We get Benjamin back, Benwikere back, maybe Silatolu back in a backup role;  our rookies like Funchess, Thompson, Artis-Payne et al will have a pro season under their belts; we could be in a position to see more from projects like Wegher and Norwood; we get another Gettleman draft plus a free agency period that will likely have more freedom than past seasons.  Oh and did I mention that our two most important players are locked up long term?

There's plenty of reasons to be optimistic about next season.

Yup Yup

And on top of everything else you said. History shows us that Benjamin's 2nd year back will be better than his first (per ACL injuries), no matter what dividends his return may pay in 2016.

Along with everything else you said. One would also like to think, Ted Ginn, would be even stronger playing as a third WR/Speedster in the line up.

[2jakefansinva]

who we play never concerns me...........it's where and when.

not fond of 4 west coast trips with StL possible being in LA next season.

hope the schedule makers do us some favors.......

[jackson113]

Two winning seasons in a row, lets start with that....

[Mr. Scot]

15 minutes ago, PantherWake said:

How was Gettleman never hired as a GM before? Lol just crazy

It kinda helps that one of the teams that interviewed him was the Browns.  They had a shot at him...twice.  passed both times.

As someone else posted recently (Bigcat, I think) there's a reason why the Browns are the Browns.