One Year and 2 Weeks Later - The Panthers Win at Home!!
| 5
|
by FatMan
I don't put much stock in preseason NFL guides. Half of them are printed in June before free agency has finished and most of the hacks writing the articles get facts wrong with regularity. But one constant the past few years is that the Panthers are going to contend for the Super Bowl.
Now, not being a Panther fan might allow me to take a step back and review that without emotion. Afterall, as a Giants fan, I went apeshit when this past offseason the pundits had them finishing last in the division DESPITE returning most of their starters and coming off two playoff seasons in a row, but that's besides the point. The point is that in the offseason, the Panthers were praised for picking up David Carr. They were praised for having veteran leadership on defense, and a lot of people assumed Jake Delhomme would lead them to the promised land. This is of course coming off a year where Jake regressed, the D looked older, and they missed the playoffs. doesn't seem like the perfect formula to make them favorites for the division before the season started, but that's what happened.
In the meantime, we fast forward to December 2, 2007. The Panthers walk off the field at home after pummeling the hapless Niners. They are 5-7, but players have arms raised in victory and fans are going nuts, at least those who stayed until the end (let's say a few dozen). But why?? Because the Panthers just won their first home game in over a year!! That's right, a year!! Look at it this way, when the Panthers last won a home game, Robert Goulet was alive, Kevin Garnett was a Timberwolf, people were gushing over the heroic Saints and the burden they had to carry after Katrina, and Randy Johnson was a Yankee. More than a billion new people came into this world since the last Panthers home win!!
Now call me pessimistic, but that is a mark the Dolphins might not even eclipse! And this is what the preseason NFC South team is doing. Out of the 5 major preseason publications 3 had them winning the division and the other 2 had them as Wild Cards. Next September I'm going to buy some of the mags and grab some fresh Salmon, Grouper and Snapper at the same time. I'll need something to wrap them in for the freezer.......
The FatMan is the beat writer for the Panthers on armchairgm.com. Also check out his blog at fatmanstake.blogspot.com
