WEEK 1 -- LET'S TALK ABOUT IT....

Well, I don't know about all of you folks, and I don't really know what I expected to see --- But, THAT wasn't it.!!  

The game started off on a good note which was pleasing. Most especially because we have been starting so slowly the past 2-3 years.  But it quickly became a brutish affair where I expected the Panthers to assume control. Little did I know that the Bears had other intentions.!! This game featured an NFL record for points scored in a game in week 1 of ANY NFL season. So naturally, you'd expect the Panthers to be involved. And just as reasonably, you'd probably expect the Panthers to come out on the losing end of any such game. So, at least we shouldn't be surprised by the outcome, considering the way the game shaped up.....

There were, however, some good points about this game as well.  Which I'm sure we'll get to eventually.....

For the moment however, I am going to pass this on to the next Panther soldier who wishes to comment, praise, scornfully hate, or foam like a rabid dog. Meanwhile, I have a little work to do, a little research to keep this in perspective (if possible..)........

The Good:  Our Offense Scored 37 points against a pretty darned good Defense.

The Bad:  Our Defense gave up 59 points against a really good Offense.

If we had been playing anyone else today and had scored 37 points, chances are very good that we would have won the game.

We scored MORE POINTS IN ONE GAME (37) than all three of the last three season openers combined (30 points)

Panthers vs Bears set an NFL all-time record for most points scored in a season opener. 

It's hard to feel good about a loss, but I'm not down on the team for this one.  

Defense has to get better.  

Rookies played well for rookies on both sides of the ball.

XL is my boy, but danged man, he is starting to look like he couldn't catch a cold in a winter snowstorm buck naked.

T-Mac was pretty much shut down today.

Can I get a HELL YEAH for Jalen Coker?????  OMG, he is, as of now, the best WR on the team. 

Bobby Brown III didn't look like he was going to make it thru the first game, not to mention making it thru a second game next week. 

Bryce Young made some really good decisions today and showed great vision and accuracy. 

Jonathan Brooks still looks a little gun-shy when he runs thru tackles.  He looked better receiving than rushing.

Chubba showed a little ring rust, or was it just the Bears' Defense was that good?

It was showing 127° on the field at the start of the game.  That's crazy insane.

Just a few thoughts off the top of my head.

Good one lp

Well, I was wrong. I said I was worried about Bryce and he oline.  Both played pretty well today. There are areas that needed improvement of course , especially considering that they needed to score 60 to win this game.

I thought it was a good start for Idzik calling plays. The offense seemed to have better tempo.  I would expect that he will learn and become even better as the season progresses.

As for the other thing....there are no words.

Thanks for the comment Josh.

Oh and, Brees was not too bad. He is no Greg or Luke, but not obnoxious like I expected.

Can you believe that Luke was back from Australia, Thurs night game, 15 hour time difference, doing the radio broadcast???????  The guy is Superman!

Well it Bryce can’t score 60 points a game,, he certainly isn’t a franchise Quarterback !!
Lol

Bears tried to give us this game in the first half and we didn't take it. Then the Bears capitalized on every one of our mistakes. Good teams do that!

Bears made adjustments at half time and we didn't or we made the wrong ones. Bryce had his best half in the first half yesterday, then didn't do very well in the second half.

Phillips clearly not what we paid him, Princely is no prince. Dan has failed us, looked at the draft results and the players signed, Canales proved again he is no head coach and Evero, well I have not words. We don't have the personnel for a 3-4 or a 4-3. But other than that I think we are well positioned to win our division and make a Super Bowl run... Tepper and I sorta see things alike.

Or let me sum up my thoughts in one word McDermott.

So Canales and Tepper reportedly had a "great" conversation after the game! Wonder if it was Dave or Nicole?

On a side note the $40 million dollar man was ranked the 44th best edge rusher week one via PFF!

So Canales and Tepper reportedly  had a "great" conversation after the game! Wonder if it was Dave or Nicole?

On a side note the $40 million dollar man was ranked the 44th best edge rusher week one via PFF!

To that note, I'd say he had a better week one than Myles Garrett.

with that said, I am about as convinced Ejiro Evero is the best option for DC as I am about having my foot sawed off with no pain meds.

After giving it a couple of days, and some thinking, I'm ALMOST convinced that this game was not as bad as the score indicated. Of course, there are those who would say "We lost..!! Nothing else matters." And they'd be right - up to a point. But I'll play the part of the 'devil's advocate' here and point out a few things that give me pause, and seem to indicate (at least to me..) that all is NOT lost, and we could actually be in decent shape for the season -- IF nothing else goes drastically wrong and a few corrections are made in a few places.

So, here are a few thoughts and some reasoning... Just a small dose of reality.

** Our BIGGEST emphasis pre-season was to start faster and not fall behind early in the game. THIS we accomplished.!! The start was solid and we held our own for most of the first half at least, with the exception of a couple of things which I will get to...

** Our run game was not terrible, although it seemed a little "uninspired" ... maybe..??

** Our passing game was surprisingly good, considering we have a "smurf" QB with a so-so arm and no real "run" threat.

** Our ST play was solid (with a notable exception..). I honestly was shocked a just how good our coverage team played and the gunners/tacklers made multiple solid, teeth-rattling, almost instantaneous stops. Our kicker was mostly perfect with one blocked PAT (which was NOT his fault).

** The O-line held up very well, especially considering we were all worried about Freeling et.al.. But it was seriously decent overall.

** We scored 37 points on offense, which is enough to win against almost ANY opponent in ANY game -- Just not this one.!!

** Our 'star' RB prospect, Jonathon Brooks, looks very tentative in the trenches. However, he DID show up in the passing game.  The BY to JB connection was a thing of beauty, although I seriously expected him to rumble into the end zone. Nope. Not happening. Permit me to say -- IF that had been Miles Davis, that would have been a TD. Davis is seriously "quick" on his feet and is NOT scared of anything. Brooks caught the ball and made some headway but failed at point of contact. Maybe he will progress and get better..???

** Jalen Coker showed up. He def outplayed T.Mac (in THIS game). He looks like a genuine threat out there.

** NOTE THIS: I believe we have a genuine OC out there. Brad Idzik called a good game; had the play calls lined up and ready on time; seemed to be inspired about the job.

** Our TE play was VERY solid overall. They just were NOT targeted much in the pass game.

SO ... Given all of that ^^, What happened..??

Indeed ... That is the question.