Fire and Iced

Moral victories suck.  That’s right.  They just plain suck.  Atlanta only had a minute and nine seconds remaining, 99 yards to go, no timeouts, and still the Panthers lost.   A veteran team would have gotten it done.  It doesn’t matter that they were minutes from defeating the 3-0 Falcons and evening their record at 2-2.  Carolina got “iced” by Matt Ryan and are in need of some emotional fire.

Looking at the last four games is like the proverbial roller coaster.  Moments of stellar play have us smiling and then they just hit the downward slope causing us to pull our hair out in frustration.  The Panthers are playing decent football, but just can’t seem to play consistently for all four quarters.   Take away the Giants game where they were simply outclassed, and Ron Rivera’s team is one possession away from a win in each of the games.  Still, they are exactly what the record shows at 1-3.  A young team looking for some confidence from their leaders.

The upcoming game against the Seahawks is the perfect chance and will tell you how the season will go.  Against a rookie QB and a passing offense ranked 32nd, the Panthers need to man up and get a win.  I believe Cam Newton and Ron Rivera need to start acting like the talented men they are.  After the sad puppy attitude he showed after the Giants loss and the apologetic attitude this week, Cam needs to start taking each loss with more anger and less sadness.  Take off your Clark Kent glasses and show us SUPERMAN!  Coach Ron Rivera needs to start taking some chances and get this team some confidence.  Next time you have fourth and one in a close game, trust your #1 draft pick and go for it.

Is there a chance they can right the ship?  Are playoff’s a possibility?  Yes, but it will take the collective action of every player and coach rising up to crawl out of the deep hole they are in.  They just need to do it one game at a time.  A win at home next week before the bye week will be critical.  As Chris Berman would say, “TIME TO CIRCLE THE WAGONS!”

A good sign is that Cam Newton is completing 68% of his passes, they are ranked 11th in rushing, and the defense has shown glimpses of greatness.   They just need to play the entire 60 minutes at the level they are capable of.  If they do, we will see them at 2-3 and the fans can start to smile again.