Level Of Enthusiasm Going into Game 1

[Super Grateful]

its always a 10 but the expectations are low, I'll be pleasantly surprised by any wins or competent play.

I will definitely be finding ways to bet against the Panthers to cushion the blow...

[Move the Panthers to Raleigh]

I'm enthused only because the real bullets will start flying, and that is exciting every opening game.

I will also be attending in JAX, but I really don't expect to be dazzled. It's more a of reunion with old friends in a different city that will be the focus.

As far as the actual performance, that still puts me at a 5. I would be somewhat content with at least a close game

[Greatman77]

Are you really a fan if you aren't at least a little excited about the upcoming season? I'm glad to be thinking about something other than politics and inflation.

[kungfoodude]

21 minutes ago, WUnderhill said:

What about 2023? 

I was more positive in 2023. After getting a new QB and seemingly a real HC, it looked like things were looking up.

Boy was I wrong about that one...

[ProcessBlue2]

I really don’t know what to expect. Last year I thought the season opener would be close but it went horrible. 
 

Really our defense should be around 20th-25th rather than dead last. Our offense is the same other than a few positive additions.

On paper, we should be slightly better. I just hope nobody regressed *cough* Bryce *cough*

Edited August 22, 2025 by ProcessBlue2

[CPcavedweller]

May as well be April in my mind. I think this team is going to be bad, early again. Two touchdowns in three preseason games, regardless of how many starters played, is an ominous sign. 0-3 in preseason is even worse. While preseason doesn’t perfectly correlate to wins, going 0-Fer in preseason is almost certainly a sign of a non-playoff team. 

[Gapanthersfan]

I’m hyped, just as I always am for game 1.  my wife will probably tell me to turn it down a few times. Since it’s J-ville I’ll have my John Fox bobble head beside me for good juju along with my signed Proehl picture of the catch. 

Will good stuff transpire? Maybe. Hopefully. If it doesn’t, I’ll have a couple fishing rods in my vehicle and I’ll find a pond somewhere come 4:15. 

Guarded optimism. 

[Candler Cat]

[Icege]

I'm jacked every opening day!

Plenty of storylines/narratives to follow. Personally, I'm eager to see how the young guys develop (XL, TMac, Bryce, Wallace, Scourton, Ransom, Sanders, Umanmielen), what adjustments are made to the defensive scheme (if any), and how the offense opens up in year two under Canales.

[LinvilleGorge]

I voted 2. I'd say overall similar to last year.

I'm way more excited about football in general about to start back up than I am for Panthers football specifically.

[d-dave]

For me, I'm pretty excited.  I always am.  I want to see a more competitive team that last year's squad.  I want to see Bryce continue to play well.  I want to see our running game put the hurt on teams.  I want to see better play from the defense.

Now, am I expecting a Superb Owl in the future?  No for 2025.  We still have a LOT of weak areas, and we just don't know if last half of season Bryce is the real Bryce?  Or was that just a flat in the pan?  

If the team sucks and is unwatchable, that's fine.   It sucks, but I'm not going to cry about it.  If we're better, then I'm all aboard the excited to see fun football again.

[PantherGuy]

Preseason was largely dogshit. Obligatory it's just preseason. But our guys still mostly looked meh to bad. I'm reminding myself what we looked like in the back half of last year as a reminder that maybe we aren't actually as bad as preseason made us look.

[mrcompletely11]

1 minute ago, PantherGuy said:

Preseason was largely dogshit. Obligatory it's just preseason. But our guys still mostly looked meh to bad. I'm reminding myself what we looked like in the back half of last year as a reminder that maybe we aren't actually as bad as preseason made us look.

If lewis doesnt get better soon, if Moton regresses and if Icky doesnt take another step oy vey this has the makings of a complete poo show

[Jay Roosevelt]

I'll say 6/10.

I don't know that we learned a whole lot about this team during preseason that we didn't already know.

We didn't play the starters enough to really get a feel for what to expect. We had one good drive against the Browns, one 3-and-out and two 3-and-outs against the Texans. That's an extremely small sample size across 3 games regardless of performance.

My camp/preseason takeaways:

• Jalen Coker might be the best WR on this team and is certainly no worse than #2.
• Nic Scourton is going to be a good player for us. Possibly very good.
• Bobby Brown was our best free agent addition.
• Jack Plummer isn't an NFL QB. Not even a practice squad guy.
• Having anyone other than Canales and Evero call plays was a really stupid and pointless idea.
• Our depth is largely non-existent, especially on defense.
• The three areas we actually DO have depth are on the OL, in the WR corp. and at RB.
• I can't fathom why Dan Morgan didn't do more to upgrade ILB during the offseason.
• We better hope Lathan Ransom steps up at FS because if he doesn't we have a massive hole.
• For all the hype surrounding Sanders/Evans, Tommy Tremble is still the best TE on the roster.

I'm only slightly less enthusiastic going into the regular season than I was a month ago. I think our starters on offense are solid and we should be pretty good there unless Bryce totally regresses.

On defense, we're probably bottom 3rd in the league if 100% healthy and significantly worse than that if injuries become an issue. We badly need at least two of our rookies to become high-level players early (ideally one of the pass rushers + Ransom) and at least 2 of our free agent additions (ideally Moehrig + Bobby Brown) to be significant upgrades over last year.

Call me pessimistically optimistic 

Edited August 22, 2025 by Jay Roosevelt