Ah ****, here we go again!
Just another opening weekend for the Carolina Panthers.
Just twice have the Panthers won in Week 1 over the past 10 years since the Super Bowl season. In 2018, against Dallas, before losing in Week 2; and a 3-0 start in 2021, losing to the Cowboys in Week 4 and only winning two more games for the remainder of the season.
Dave Canales is entering his second season in the league with Bryce Young starting his third. Young has lost each of the three season openers of his career.
The Jacksonville Jaguars had a 4-13 record last season – one worse than the Panthers’ 5-12 record – and have reshuffled the pack with a new general manager and head coach combo.
The Panthers were in the same situation last year with the hirings of Dan Morgan and Dave Canales, respectively.
Like the Panthers, both appointments are first-time hires in their respective roles. General Manager James Gladstone is 35 years old and Head Coach Liam Coen is 39.
With older, more experienced people fronting the organisation, a year ahead in their development and some encouraging performances to finish 2024, Carolina came into this game confident of overturning a team in a similar position to them last year.
Panthers out-coached
Carolina was completely out-coached in this game. Liam Coen, Dave Canales’ successor as Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator last year, looked like the more experienced and prepared coach to lead a successful team in the NFL.
Carolina played their starters for the first two drives in the opening preseason game against Cleveland, resulting in a Bryce Young touchdown pass to Jalen Coker. Fine.
They took the first two drives in the second game against Houston resulting in two three-and-outs. Not great.
They did not play at all in the final game against Pittsburgh. Worrying.
On top of that, Canales and Defensive Coordinator Ejero Evero handed playcalling duties to other coaches in the first two games to build their experience.
Hold up. Canales himself is 44 years old with only two prior seasons as a playcaller. And those final games of 2024 were not exactly outstanding. Business must be dealt with first.
You could tell in this game there was a lack of experience and understanding within the team. They were not as organised or prepared for Jacksonville with a first-year coach.
A bad start
Panthers center Austin Corbett made life difficult immediately on offense with a series of bad snaps. He and Young did not have timing or chemistry.
Without his usual safety blanket Adam Thielen, Young looked to have a lack of trust in his receivers. Rookie Tetairoa McMillan played well on his debut and has the makings of a superstar.
Xavier Legette is proving last season’s doubters right after a couple drops and by forgetting to get two feet in bounds on a well-placed throw by Young. Toe drag swag, X. Toe drag swag. Learn it!
Jalen Coker is clearly the second-best receiver on this team. His absence being on injured reserve will be evident in these opening weeks.
Investments have been made on defense due to being one of the worse in NFL history last year, but where was it? Spilling over from the final six games of last season, teams are now on a seven-game run of rushing for 200+ yards against Carolina’s defense. It is quite remarkable that Evero still has a job.
Not many teams would keep the coordinator whose defense allowed a record number of points and one of the worst run defending numbers.
Immediate takes
It was great to see Derrick Brown back and Jaycee Horn snag a one-handed interception. Tre’von Moehrig looked good.
Nick Scott needs removed from this starting line-up, maybe even the roster. Second year undrafted safety Demani Richardson or rookie Lathan Ransom need to enter the line-up. Either one at this point.
Tershawn Wharton made a good stop early in the game but left due to a hamstring injury. While I felt the starting linebackers – Christian Rozeboom and Trevin Wallce – did not necessarily play badly, they just did not play well as a unit and looked lost on the first touchdown.
Trevor Lawrence faced the least amount of pressure out of any quarterback in Week 1 with 13%. None of the newly acquired pass rushers made an impact.
Not the start we desired or expected. A long way from it. A lot of clearing up needs to be done in the coming weeks to get this team playing like they did at the end of last season.
Maybe the lack of action and preparation during preseason is a factor and the team are only just gelling now. Penalties and errors on both sides of the ball need to be ironed out. Young needs to be better with his decision making and his receivers need to step up to fill Thielen’s void.
It is only one defeat. There are 16 more games to go. Time to get it right. But how quickly will that be?
