Think you’re surprised the defending NFC champs are 1-5?
Imagine being Thomas Davis.
“No way. No way. No way I would have believed that,” Carolina’s longest-tenured player said Tuesday before the Panthers headed into their bye week. “I would have bet everything that I have that we wouldn’t be that. But here we are.”
Beginning about as soon as they got back from San Francisco, the specter of a Super Bowl hangover hung over the Panthers. But that storyline mostly centered on the 23-year drought since a Super Bowl loser’s returned to the game the following season. Few could have predicted that nearly two months into 2016, the Panthers are closer to a top-5 pick than a playoff spot.
Since 1990, 92 teams have started 1-5. Only one rallied to make the postseason. Fortunately for Ron Rivera, who’s unusually talented at salvaging sinking ships, his latest source of motivation isn’t buried deep in NFL history.
“We’ve got an opportunity to do something that was done last year. A team started 1-5 and came back and put themselves in position,” Rivera said, referencing the 2015 Chiefs. “That’s what we’re working toward is to put ourselves in position and we’ll see what happens.”
Like this year’s Panthers, last year’s Chiefs began the season giving up chunks of yards and piles of points. But in Week 7, a 23-13 victory over the Steelers snapped a five-game skid and started a 10-game win streak.
Most of the Panthers’ problems won’t magically disappear in the next few days, but the back end of the bye should provide reinforcements. Cornerbacks James Bradberry (turf toe), Robert McClain (hamstring) and Leonard Johnson (Achilles) could help a struggling secondary and first-round defensive tackle Vernon Butler (high-ankle sprain) may add some oomph to the missing pass rush.
Returning to the Super Bowl may be a pipe dream now, but as last year’s Chiefs showed, it’s not impossible to follow a surprisingly slow six-game start with a playoff push.
“Whether it has been done or not, we believe in each other and this team. We feel like we can do it,” Davis said.
“We are 1-5 and it’s all about what are we going to do moving forward to dig ourselves out of this hole that we’ve dug.’’
Believe it!!! (Naruto voice)
Oh, I believe…
…I believe this team will battle just enough to get to 7-9 which will ensure a draft pick that will be of no use. Keep pounding???
First round picks are usually pretty valuable regardless of where you pick in the draft
Sure they are. But, when go 7-9 as opposed to 1-15, you pick in the middle of the pack. So, your choices of position are limited. Whereas, choosing in the top five allows you to use your first round pick on your position of greatest need. Imagine back in 2011 if Carolina had gone 7-9 the year before: who would be our QB now? Not Cam Newton, possibly Gabbert (yikes), or worse. It matters. It may be academic at this point as I find it unlikely this team can win another game this season.
I get where you are coming from but I do not think this team is anywhere as bad as the team in 2011. We still have all the major pieces from our 15-1 season minus Norman. Yes this season has been terrible and our defense has looked horrid but we could easily be sitting at 3-3 if we did not shoot ourselves in the foot as many times in the last 2 games. I think saying it’s unlikely we won’t win another game is jumping the gun a little . The bye week will be a big help for us to get healthy and put our best foot forward. I’m trying to be optimistic as you can see lol
Well…your point is well taken: we should at least be 3-3 if we had a kicker…
…but, I’ve been a fan since ’95…I’ve seen this script play out before. What happened to the Panthers after their storied run to the 2003 Super Bowl run fell ignominiously short? Exactly.
Yes but that season was cursed from the beginning when Steve smith broke his leg among all the other injuries. I really feel most of our shortcomings this year have been self inflicted. If we can come off the bye week and beat the Cardinals at home I think there is a chance to rally