All in all, I’m not even mad. Good season for our boys and good season for us.

[TylerDurden]

Yes, I have the lingering disappointment and hurt of a loss, a season ending, and the sobering realization that we have to wait a whole nother offseason to see Panthers football again.  It’s a long offseason.  Ugggh.

BUT!  Y’all know how critical I’ve been of Bryce, and I have to say, that was hands down his best game as an NFL QB.  It might not appear that way on paper, but this is the first game he dictated the defense with his play.  He made plays only the QB is capable of making that win games for their team.  That’s what many of his detractors, myself included, have been asking for - and until that final drive, he finally did it.  Very encouraging.

That being said, my offseason priorities:

*Bring in competition for Bryce.  Sign a vet, trade for a young developmental guy, Chambliss was denied another year of eligibility - go draft him.

*Make major upgrades on the defense, namely rebuild the linebacking corps and bring in some fuging edge rushers.  Sign a vet mentor like Khalil Mack, Von Miller, or I have heard Hendrickson might still become available somehow, etc., cut the dead weight of JAGS  like Wonnum, Gipson, etc. and go get some go-getters.  Continue to develop Princely and Nic, and add other guys to rotate in how can actually get to the QB.

*Fire Evero.  Hire Raheem Morris.  Consider switch to 4-3 scheme.  I know most teams today, including us, run primarily nickel now, but trying to gather effective personnel for a thriving 3-4 just hasn’t worked and I personally feel finding the personnel and executing the schematics of a 4-3 is just easier.  Again, I know some of it is just semantics now because the NFL dictates teams be multiple defensively, but the personnel you build with matters, and trying to accommodate a 3-4 has not been fruitful.

*Ensure Cam is present for every home game moving forward.

If we do this, I really think we have a chance to run the South for the foreseeable future.  A lot is going to hinge on the competition with Bryce.  The QB is the most important position on the field, obviously.  And if the defense is shored up with the edge rushers and LB positions, they will be golden.  And when I say edge rushers, we need guys that we KNOW will get sacks, at whatever the cost…  even if we have to take a swing with a trade, go get them.  The lack of pressure has hurt us long enough.  Again, we fix these things and the future is looking bright.

All things considered, I’m proud of our guys. I’m happy for us as a fanbase.  It felt good to be competitive in moments this year.  It felt good to hear the roar of a real home crowd and see the opponents crumble under it.  It felt good to just dance again.  Cheers, boys!  Let’s keep it going next season! 

[jopie87]

There's two ways this can go. They build off it like 2014 to 2015, or they crumble, everyone gets fired, and people will be like..remember when that team made the playoff?!?! like they did with that Giants team that made the playoffs a few years ago.

Next year is the fork in the road. Keep pounding.

[RJK]

almost beat a SB favorite with a bad HC, DC, and QB. This roster has a lot of potential if tepper and morgan can take advantage of it 

[TylerDurden]

4 minutes ago, RJK said:

almost beat a SB favorite with a bad HC, DC, and QB. This roster has a lot of potential if tepper and morgan can take advantage of it 

I still don’t know what to think of Canales.  I do know that I feel kind of bad because even with that competitive of a game he just coached and how proud I felt of our team, even during the game I was thinking, “I wonder if Tepper would consider firing him if Harbaugh was willing to come here?”  Also, we still don’t know what Tepper’s relationship was with Tomlin, as some have said he may have been the minority owner who tried to hold a coup to get Tomlin out of Shittsburgh, but there was also the rumor that if Tomlin was available, Tepper wanted him here.  So, I also wonder if Tomlin does indeed leave Pittsburgh, would Tepper dump Canales to go get him?

I know I wouldn’t be upset at all if we dropped Canales for either of them.  Also, not a fan of Izdik for whatever he does either.

[jopie87]

I want a former head coach as DC, someone who can help Canales with some of the weaknesses he has.

[parker]

4 minutes ago, TylerDurden said:

I still don’t know what to think of Canales.  I do know that I feel kind of bad because even with that competitive of a game he just coached and how proud I felt of our team, even during the game I was thinking, “I wonder if Tepper would consider firing him if Harbaugh was willing to come here?”  Also, we still don’t know what Tepper’s relationship was with Tomlin, as some have said he may have been the minority owner who tried to hold a coup to get Tomlin out of Shittsburgh, but there was also the rumor that if Tomlin was available, Tepper wanted him here.  So, I also wonder if Tomlin does indeed leave Pittsburgh, would Tepper dump Canales to go get him?

I know I wouldn’t be upset at all if we dropped Canales for either of them.  Also, not a fan of Izdik for whatever he does either.

Canales isnt going anywhere, yet. 

[pantherdad]

I think we need a good dedicated offensive coach

[flagfootballcoach28]

Never assume we’ll be back next year. That was a golden opportunity we let slip 

[RJK]

9 minutes ago, TylerDurden said:

I still don’t know what to think of Canales.  I do know that I feel kind of bad because even with that competitive of a game he just coached and how proud I felt of our team, even during the game I was thinking, “I wonder if Tepper would consider firing him if Harbaugh was willing to come here?”  Also, we still don’t know what Tepper’s relationship was with Tomlin, as some have said he may have been the minority owner who tried to hold a coup to get Tomlin out of Shittsburgh, but there was also the rumor that if Tomlin was available, Tepper wanted him here.  So, I also wonder if Tomlin does indeed leave Pittsburgh, would Tepper dump Canales to go get him?

I know I wouldn’t be upset at all if we dropped Canales for either of them.  Also, not a fan of Izdik for whatever he does either.

Harbaugh comes with a lot of demands that tepper can meet. However he wants to be able to pick his GM and coaching staff. That would mean getting rid of Morgan and position coaches, who just gave us one hell of a draft and FA class and had this roster punching above it's weight. Doubt it happens but i'd be down if they at least keep morgan

Edited 8 hours ago by RJK

[RJK]

Just now, flagfootballcoach28 said:

Never assume we’ll be back next year. That was a golden opportunity we let slip 

I also feel this. I wouldn't be surprised if carolina went back to bottom feeders next season

[Castavar]

2 minutes ago, flagfootballcoach28 said:

Never assume we’ll be back next year. That was a golden opportunity we let slip 

Yep. If all my years watching football has taught me anything, it's that the previous year has absolutely ZERO indication of what next year will hold. Momentum does not shift from one season to another. 

[joeyxfresco]

Build out the defense and get the last few pieces we need in the WR room. We’re in a really good place and we should be proud of what Canales and Morgan are building here. I hope we can look at this game years from now and be like “yup, this is where started”. 

[TylerDurden]

53 minutes ago, Castavar said:

Yep. If all my years watching football has taught me anything, it's that the previous year has absolutely ZERO indication of what next year will hold. Momentum does not shift from one season to another. 

While I agree and share the sentiment, I feel that a lot more post-our Super Bowl runs.  I didn’t want to get too Debbie Downer in my initial post, but I’ve said elsewhere here before ad nasueam, and it’s why I get so frustrated with the “well, there’s always next year” crowd, because football is the sport that requires the greatest investment of time, energy, resources for the smallest return.  Basketball is 15 guys, 82 games.  Baseball is 26 guys for 162 games.  Football is 53 guys for 17 games.  It’s not even close.  You wait about 9 months for 3 months, which either culminates in an entire year of fandom feeling like a complete waste and an exercise in masochistic agony, or complete and utter bliss.  Rarely anywhere in between.  And the offseason always feels so much longer than the active season.  When you really think about it, the reward is not worth the investment UNLESS you win it all.  And each time we got to the Super Bowl and as soon as I knew we lost, my first thought was “damn, I don’t know if we’ll ever get this chance again.”  And further to that point, again, I was trying to focus on the positives, but the number of fans even just here at the huddle who have passed from season to season and never got to see that “next season…”  it just sucks.  It’s why, much like life, you have to really savor living in the moment and in football, you REALLY have to hope your team has their poo together every year.

All that being said, it’s why that laissez faire approach to fandom has always pissed me off and I don’t have any patience for it.  Carpe fuging diem.  Every day.  Every year.  My cousin was a huge Panthers fan too.  He was 36 in 2024, had a dull ache in his stomach for a couple weeks, went to the ER to get it checked out thinking he just had an upset stomach, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died within 5 months or so of his diagnosis.  His sister, my other cousin, now lives in GA, and even she posted how excited he would’ve been to see us beat the Falcons like we did this season.  
 

And for all of those reasons,  despite my criticisms, I’m proud of our team.  I always hope for the playoffs but did not expect us to actually make them considering the cold streak we’ve been in for the last 8 years.  At times, it felt like we’d never be back. And as I said, the Super Bowl losses really depressed me because all I could think of was that time investment.  All of those players.  All of those months.  All of those battles.  And you get as far as you can possibly get to stretch out a season and to lose is complete agony, because if you don’t win it all, you may as well have never made it out of the wild card.  So now, my goal is the playoffs every year.  It really always has been.  If we can do that, we are competitive and always have a chance to make a run.  That doesn’t seem as far away as the Super Bowl… so in this case, where we were playing with house money in a position may felt we shouldn’t have even been in in the first place, we showed up and competed.  Now we just need to build off of this and I’m happy because if it was just making the playoffs this year, getting better means winning in the playoffs next year.  That’s the goal.  So, while I’m not taking it for granted, I’m believing that will be the case.

[SCMunnerlyn1]

Yeah I came into this game honestly just happy to be here like a virgin on prom night. 

Now its about consistency. I can sleep well disappointed but also hopeful.