WEEK 1 RECAP:

Week 1 has come and gone for the Carolina Panthers as they begin the 2022 campaign with a deflating defeat by the Cleveland Browns. As we entered week 1 there was plenty to be said about the “controversy” at the quarterback position, and no I’m talking about DeShawn Watson. In the week prior to the week1 matchup, the media was all over the quote that wasn’t a quote from Baker Mayfield. This followed by a line of T-shirts from the Mayfield camp only served as fuel to the fire. A lot has been said about the energy that Mayfield brings to the team which is a refreshing change of pace to the melancholy emotion expressed by head coach Matt Rhule. The hype entering the game against the Browns centered on the rematch of the former Browns quarterback and his old team. We saw Sunday that it was the latter of the two that won this matchup, not just on the scoreboard, but physically as well. The Panthers’ offense which all pre-season the team totted as a unit that would focus on power running more. The Panthers were unable to record a first down in their first two offensive drives of the game as well as were unable to put positive yardage on either drive. A three-play drive to open the season for a whopping –1 yard only to outdo themselves in their second drive with –4 yards of offense. The first sign of any success for this offense came in their third drive, managing to pick of a first down and positive yardage. That first down came by way of a roughing the passer penalty, and the Panthers could only drudge up 3 yards of positive offense. To switch things up and after giving us three straight punts by the offense Baker Mayfield delivered an interception at midfield. The errant pass exemplified the dysfunction that we have come to expect out of the Carolina Panthers offense under Matt Rhule as head coach. To recap the Panthers’ first five drives of the game, 3-and-out, 3-and-out, five plays three yards, interception, 3-and-out, and over these five drives, the Panthers managed to rack up thirteen yards of offense. An NFL team could only move the ball thirteen yards over five possessions. This is truly absurd to see in today’s age of football. In the opening quarter of the Carolina Panthers’ season, we saw this team fail to put up positive yards. It was not until the sixth drive of the game by this offense that any cohesion was presented by this unit. After a fifty-yard strike from Mayfield to tight end Ian Thomas the Panthers punched the ball into the endzone with a leaping Christian McCaffrey. The late touchdown in the first half came in response to Cleveland putting up back-to-back touchdown drives. The reigns to the momentum of the game would not be held long as the Panthers allowed Cleveland to score a late field goal before the first half ended. This drive was extended by a personal foul penalty on newly acquired safety Xavier Woods. With just over two minutes left in the third quarter, the offense showed for the first time this season that these were actually NFL players. The team was able to string together an eleven-play seventy-five-yard drive that resulted in a 7-yard scramble up the middle by Mayfield. On the very next drive, Panthers’ fans would see something that has become a rarity, a big play, Robbie Anderson streaking up the middle found himself behind the defense and Mayfield wasted no time in airing out a deep bomb that would go seventy-five yards for the score. Over a span of five minutes of possession, the Panthers accomplished putting up more points than they had done in the prior fifteen minutes of possession. Down by two points, the Panthers’ defense stepped up in a big way, getting a stop that put the ball back in the offense with the two-minute warning on their side, and the team’s final timeout. This would not be a Carolina Panthers game if at some point in the game coach Matt Rhule didn’t show that he still has not figured out how to coach in the NFL. With an offense that was finally clicking and moving the ball downfield and a timeout still in his pocket, the glorified college coach decided to play for a field goal rather than take a strike at the endzone to seal the game. This would prove costly as yet again the defense would show they were unable to stop the Brown’s offense. With that same timeout in his pocket, Rhule and the Panthers would watch as the Browns kicked the game-winning field goal, and that timeout is still in Rhule collects timeouts as a hobby because the coach doesn’t use them that’s for sure. In Baker’s debut against his former team, when he wasn’t fumbling the snap, five in total, he relied on two big plays to gather up 125-yards of the 235-passing yards on the day, and a 7-yard TD run to momentarily spark a drop of hope that this game could be won. That is until Matt Rhule decided that it was more important to bolster his hobby collection.

Who Are the Panthers?

This team is in desperate need of an identity, both offensively and on defense. Ben McAdoo, the offensive coordinator, proclaimed that we would see more of a power run game and dedication to the run game. As of week 1 this narrative was false. The Panthers showed little interest or ability to move the ball through the run game as star running back CMC only saw ten carries in the contest. This would be less concerning if you needed more than one hand to count the rest of the carries for the running backs unit. We saw CMC rotate in and out to the frequency of about every other play. Whether this was a failed attempt to outsmart the Cleveland Browns in some or fear of overusing CMC the result was the same. An offense that seemed incapable of moving the ball downfield for a large majority of the game. For a team with an offensive line better suited for the run game than pass protection offensive coordinator, Ben McAdoo called twice as many pass plays as run plays. This is in line with a number of bonehead decisions that have become the norm with past Panther coaching staffs. How the Panthers handled CMC’s playing time Sunday reminded me of a college coach cycling in quarterbacks. If Matt Rhule hasn’t figured it out yet he should know this is the NFL. A star running back like CMC should be on the field for most of the game, and that is possible without the offense being run directly through McCaffrey.

Mediocrity was Better

When David Tepper purchased the Carolina Panthers, he sent out a clear message that the organization would not tolerate mediocrity. At the time the Panthers were synonymous with the term as the franchise had not recorded back-to-back winning seasons in its existence as a franchise. The bold proclamation would be that Tepper has not been able to deliver on in his time as owner of the team. The Panthers are coming off a pair of five-win seasons in a rebuilding process that many could say started three years prior. After a disappointing home opener to the season, it leaves many people wondering, including this writer, when will we get back to mediocrity? This organization has operated with a level of dysfunction that has fans longing for the days when the team was mediocre. This past offseason it was noted that Tepper had increased the value of the Panthers franchise by fifty percent in his time as the owner. It is highly unlikely that this rise is due to ticket or merchandise sales, or any of the more common statistics that come to mind. Tepper has shown on multiple fronts that his focus has been more so on the dollars than on the Panthers as an organization. It was announced during the off-season that the Panthers would unveil an alternate helmet design for their Thursday night game against Atlanta. It is no coincidence that this coincides with the only nationally televised game on the Panthers’ schedule. The main driving point behind changing the grass field to a field turf was the ability to host outside venues such as concerts and to host an MLS club. During a weather delay in the Buffalo preseason game, Tepper made comments that left many fans slighted by the owner. Tepper could be quoted as referring to team fans on Twitter as “Basement People”. This is not the first instance that there has been a clash between Tepper and fans of the Panthers. This comes after rumors presented last year that Tepper was considering tweaking and changing the “Keep Pounding” moniker of the Panthers. The 2022 Hall of Fame class included Sam Mills, the first-ever Panthers player to grace the halls of Canton, Ohio. “Keep Pounding” meets the gold jacket standard, but did not seem to meet Tepper’s satisfaction. In my opinion, this fits in line with someone focused more on the revenue coming in than the team he owns being a contender in any fashion. Tepper hired the then Baylor head coach Matt Rhule after flying to Texas for an in-person meeting with the “Program Builder”. Ironically, the general manager at the time Marty Hurney, no longer with the team, was the only Panther’s staff member involved in the meeting among the team and Rhule about him becoming the Panthers’ head coach. David Tepper operates with the arrogance of a billionaire playing with his new toy when it comes to being the owner of the Panthers. The man is a wizard in the financial markets and no one would argue differently. However, there has yet to be a decision by Tepper with this team that has benefitted the Panthers on the field or the fans.