Checked out?

[Seltzer]

I'm as big of a Panthers homer as there is, but even I am taking a wait & see attitude this season.  

Since 2017 (and our last playoff appearance):

• Julius Peppers retired.
• Jerry Richardson was caught in a sex scandal and had to sell the team.
• Chronic mismanagement of Cam's shoulder and blowing a 6-2 start in 2018 ruined the season.
• An 0-2 start and Cam foot injury ruined 2019 from the start
• In 2020, Cam is unceremoniously let go and Matt Rhule was hired to start an even worse time period.
• Luke Kuechly sees where this trainwreck is going and retires.
• The 2020 Season brought early hope, but then we started to realize just how far out of his depth Rhule was in the NFL.
• In 2021, we ran Teddy off after signing him to significant money to replace Cam and gave up 3 draft picks to the Jets for the failed Sam Darnold reclamation project, only to sign Cam back in a desperate attempt to save the season and keep fans even remotely engaged.
• In 2022, Rhule's nonsensical QB carousal and undeniable incompetence led to another wasted season and his dismissal.
• Wilks brought some stability, but the season was too far gone.

Obviously, there has been a lot of general positivity with the Reich hire and drafting BY, but there is just so much negative that has happened over the past 5 seasons of gloom.

Given the WR injuries and Burns' contract, it is just mentally tough to get in the right space given how badly the last 5 seasons have shattered us as Panthers Nation.

I'm almost annoyingly optimistic, but this has been a lot for even me as a fan.  Objectively, it's hard to make a case that this franchise hasn't been the worst run in the entire NFL over the past 5 years.

That's hard to accept, but there is a lot of truth to it.  Only winning will cure this franchise of the cancer that has metastasized throughout this organization and fanbase since 2017.

[NAS]

We have PTSD we have seen this hype before and as fans are right to be cautious and not get too euphoric prior to Week 1.

[frankw]

Not checked out at all. But not going to pretend the front office isn't bumbling their way through this Burns situation either.

[ForJimmy]

20 minutes ago, NAS said:

We have PTSD we have seen this hype before and as fans are right to be cautious and not get too euphoric prior to Week 1.

This is a good summary.

[Jackie Lee]

Is his kickoff jam thing not selling tickets or something? I think people are cautious to buy into the "vanilla" offseason stuff, the issue wasn't the play calling it was guys getting beat on the line and receivers not getting open. If we have to call plays to cover up players physical deficiencies then it's gonna be a long season in a bad way

[csx]

Maybe people just aren't interested in the kickoff jam because it's sounds sort of lame.

[therealmjl]

6 minutes ago, csx said:

Maybe people just aren't interested in the kickoff jam because it's sounds sort of lame.

And it's like $80 lol. I bought row 4 500 level aisle seats to the MNF home opener for $88 with fees. One of those is not like the other.

Edited September 8, 2023 by therealmjl

[TheMaulClaw]

Yeah it's not the most exciting of year. I'll tune in for sure but it isn't like the past.

[d-dave]

I'm not checked out by any means.  I'm "here" for the Panthers.  I have my entire Sunday cleared so I can see the full rework we're in.  Will Burns play just as hard?  How will we stop the run game of Atlanta?  Can Bryce Young survive a full game if Icky hasn't cleaned his game up?

Lots of interesting things to watch.  If the Panthers lose, it's not going to ruin my day.  It will suck, but I have a life to live!

[Khyber53]

2 hours ago, rayzor said:

winning will get the excitement going.

 

And year after year after year after year of not doing that has made us probably a little standoffish when things start to look difficult yet again. The really abysmal pre-season and the handling of the Burns negotiations have diminished my hope going into this season.

Just win fellas and you'll win me back. We won seven games last season between the worthless Rhule and then Steve Wilks being handed a team with a bare cupboard. I hate to say it, but Reich and Fit need to at least hit that number before I'll begin thinking we didn't make yet another huge mistake.

Normally, I'd think asking for seven wins out of a new head coach would be ridiculous, but you've got to compare it to the guy who got fired AND then the guy who didn't get hired.

Hoping all of this works out and that preseason was really meaningless and that the Brian Burns thing is happening as it should. But really... there's a restlessness in the fanbase that needs soothing.

Win. That's all it takes.

[SmokinwithWilly]

3 hours ago, TheCasillas said:

Reminder: This is the guy who handles our financial decisions... 

While true, he's not the one that stood on a podium and said Burns is a big part of our future plans and he will be here in 2023. Fitts publicly announced to the world that we were going to do anything to sign him. While we all knew it, saying it to the rest of the NFL and the world wasn't the smartest thing to do. 

[Cullenator]

Im excited enough that Im paying to watch the games on Sunday Ticket this year as opposed to just catching whatever showed up on RedZone last year and illegal streams the 3 years prior to that.

 

Football is a family thing for us and so getting together and watching the team play every week is what is important.  If the boys win that's great, if they don't we still spent time together and had a good time.

[Tomcatn]

3 hours ago, rayzor said:

winning will get the excitement going.

 

This, right here.

[Tomcatn]

3 hours ago, PappyMay said:

I just want to see improvement. Horn stay healthy. Icky take back over, Mingo look well and get 7-800yards his rookie year. Hurst be steady at TE which we haven't had lately.  Giving Chicago a top 5 pick would make me sick to my stomach. Caleb Williams, Drake Maye,  Marvin Harrison, Brock Bower, and Jared Verse all could be franchise changers.

Too many unknowns for me. I'm optimistic but at the same time pumping the brakes.