The #Panthers 2026 record, will be?

Team has stepped up and put help all around Bryce Young.

Only problem is, he is still Bryce Young. 

5-12 possibly 6-11. No winning season since 2017 and that will not be changing this year. Tepper has never had a winning season. 

On the positive front though…Sean McDermott just purchased a $5 million home in Charlotte. Real estate business is still decent.

WEEK

1) BEARS - Home W  
2) FALCONS - Away W
3) BROWNS - Away W
4) LIONS - Home (Sunday Night Football) L

5)  BYE WEEK

6) EAGLES - Away L
7) BUCS - Home H
8) PACKERS - Away (Thursday Night Football) L
9) BRONCOS - Home L
10) SAINTS - Away W
11) RAVENS - Home W
12) BUCS - Away (Monday Night Football) W
13) VIKINGS - Home W
14) SAINTS - Home W
15) BENGALS - Home  L
16) STEELERS - Away W
17) SEAHAWKS - Home L
18) FALCONS - Home W

11-6  or maybe 10-7.
Homer version.  

Not sure.... Haven't studied enough.... Haven't made up my mind yet. I like to wait till the pre-season games to forecast how bad we're going to do. Also, the crystal ball is still in Ben McAdoo's other pants.... so there's that.

I'll get on this before too long though...


I LIKE the way you think, LP.!!

Team has stepped up and put help all around Bryce Young.

Only problem is, he is still Bryce Young. 

5-12 possibly 6-11. No winning season since 2017 and that will not be changing this year. Tepper has never had a winning season. 

On the positive front though…Sean McDermott just purchased a $5 million home in Charlotte. Real estate business is still decent.

Well here's my thoughts on the subject.  As much as Bryce has improved, he still has a couple of good quarterbacks behind him that are waiting in the wings for his spot. To wit:

Kenny Pickett

Will Grier

Haynes King

Any of these guys could be groomed to be a decent quarterback, and I believe that Kenny Pickett is already there.   

Haynes King might be a step up from Will Grier, but Will Grier was not a bad quarterback at all, he was a victim of attrition.

I think we will win twelve games this season. Just saying.

I think we will win twelve games this season.  Just saying.

Well, I guess I'll take a swing at this right now ---- although I reserve the right to change my mind during the pre-season.!!!

First things first. I think LP has a decent chance to be closer to right than most of us think. My "heart" agrees with her 11-6 (10-7) "homer' forecast, but .... **sigh**  I THINK it may end up a little differently. Because we ended up in the playoffs last year, even though we shouldn't be proud of HOW that happened, our schedule THIS year reflects the Division win. It's a MUCH tougher schedule. Yes, we don't travel as far as other teams, but we travel just as often, so I am not considering that as much of a difference maker.

As a side issue and a potential indicator of how we do overall, I'm giving due diligence to the NFC South. These games are always tough and I usually consider them to be a "toss-up". THIS year however, the team that is most concerning to me is (gasp) The NO Saints. I mentioned Tyler Shough last year as a potential problem and Nawlins proved that out, beating us twice. We hung 60 pts on the Falcons against 27, so we won two there, and we split with TB, losing late in the season when it counted. So we ended up 3-3 although in a non-standard way. This year N.O. is going to be our toughest Division test again. I could see us splitting with the Bucs and the Falcons - OR - we could sweep both of them. So, as GOOD as 5-1 in the Division or as BAD as 2-4. (I don't think there is any way we beat the Saints twice..).

Crystal Ball Gazing -- 
1) BEARS - Home L - Bears traded away DJ Moore and their Defensive backfield took a beating - But they added Dillon Thieneman 
2) FALCONS - Away W
3) BROWNS - Away W - QB questions abound. Who knows.??
4) LIONS - Home  L (Primetime) - Defensive questions, but a terrific Offense. Cade Mays and Penei Sewell anchor the O-line.

The first Quarter of the season should not be a reliable indicator of how well the Panthers fare this year. The biggest 'unknown' is how well Brad Idzik will run the Offense. I suspect he will get better (and more reliable) as the season advances. Either the Bears or the Lions HOME games could be Wins..... And we could lose to the Browns. So best potential is 4-0, and the worst is 1-3.

5)  BYE WEEK

6) EAGLES - Away L - Great Defense but the rest is 'up and down'. This one could be closer than we imagine.
7) BUCS - Home W 
8) PACKERS - Away (Primetime) W -.Good Offense but there are potential problem areas. Weather.?? Parsons is "unknown", O-line is ???
9) BRONCOS - Home L - Terrific Defense. Solid O-line. Bo Nix ankle = unknown. 

So at the halfway point, I have us at 4-4. Could be as good as 6-2 or as bad as 2-6. The Packers Primetime game could easily be a loss. That would make us 3-5 - a very real possibility.

10) SAINTS - Away L - This one we probably lose...
11) RAVENS - Home W - We can beat the Ravens. No Harbaugh. Home crowd. No Linderbaum. No Isaiah Likely... But if we're not ready....SMH
12) BUCS - Away (Primetime) L - I hate to forecast a sweep, so I won't... But we should win this one.
13) VIKINGS - Home W - Questions. No GM. Kyler Murray - Really.?? Control Justin Jefferson, Jauan Jennings. Tough but winnable.

So, three quarters of the way, I have us at 6-6. It's NOT easy, and it could be a lot worse. We should win the Bucs game and we could easily lose to either or both of the Ravens and Vikings. Could be 7-5 or 4-8.

14) SAINTS - Home W
15) BENGALS - Home  W - Lost Trey Hendrickson. Control Ja'Marr Chase. Definitely winnable.
16) STEELERS - Away L - We're terrible against the Steelers. Plus it's in Pittsburgh. Still, their QB situation is ???
17) SEAHAWKS - Home L - Just like last year. Another disappointment.
18) FALCONS - Home W

So overall, this puts us at 9-8. Could be 11-6 or could be 6-11. Nothing is definite here, but several of these games are almost definite. We lose to the Eagles and the Steelers and the Broncos. We win against the Browns, the Ravens, and the Bengals (and most of the NFC South).

The ONLY THING sure about this is the lack of surety of it all..!! 

The thing to remember is that every single team is starting over every year. That's why they have this thing called "The Super Bowl Hangover". I get it when they say it, and it's really true for every team. So many changes each year in the offseason that nobody can ever expect to duplicate their previous year. That having been said, I'm not naive and I certainly understand that some teams are just plain "built better" than other teams, but I believe that we can play as good as any other team if we put for the effort.

The thing to remember is that every single team is starting over every year.  That's why they have this thing called "The Super Bowl Hangover".  I get it when they say it, and it's really true for every team.  So many changes each year in the offseason that nobody can ever expect to duplicate their previous year.  That having been said, I'm not naive and I certainly understand that some teams are just plain "built better" than other teams, but I believe that we can play as good as any other team if we put for the effort.

YES... I think so too.

The problem as i see it, is motivation. We have the skill position players (arguably with the exception of QB). However, for some reason, the TEAM is not ready to win. They're just not motivated enough to put forth the required effort -- every game. The team has to be ready to play and truly WANT to be out there winning. Some games we just seem to not care enough to overcome.....

The thing to remember is that every single team is starting over every year.  That's why they have this thing called "The Super Bowl Hangover".  I get it when they say it, and it's really true for every team.  So many changes each year in the offseason that nobody can ever expect to duplicate their previous year.  That having been said, I'm not naive and I certainly understand that some teams are just plain "built better" than other teams, but I believe that we can play as good as any other team if we put for the effort.

YES... I think so too.

The problem as i see it, is motivation. We have the skill position players (arguably with the exception of QB). However, for some reason, the TEAM is not ready to win. They're just not motivated enough to put forth the required effort -- every game. The team has to be ready to play and truly WANT to be out there winning. Some games we just seem to not care enough to overcome.....

The times when this team had the most success was times when players fed off each other, like Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis, for example.  And then we had the "Hog Mollies" back in the day.  We need that back again and I think we're heading in that direction.