CHARLOTTE — There are a couple of things you can do at a time like this.
One is to be thankful for what you have. For instance, I have an incredible wife whom I love, kids I'm proud of, and the good fortune to have a job I enjoy and live in a city that's delightful in many measurable ways. The other thing you can do is put your head down and work. Fortunately, the daily grind of 30 years doing this in exchange for money has reliably informed me there will be ups and downs.
You don't need me to tell you which one this week is.
If there's good news, Dave Canales is the kind of guy who runs on a daily drip of gratitude and isn't afraid to work. I think it gets lost sometimes when people talk about the head coach and his positivity, but based on eight months of observation, he genuinely appears to enjoy the work, the minutiae of the job, coaching guys up, getting on the board to create plans. Some guys like to talk about those things, but Canales' team meetings are usually very short, and then he gets guys out and back to work. By Monday, he was already onto the value of that Saints tape as a teaching tool.
Because once you fall into the mudhole of that one, there's no point wallowing in it. Ahead is the only way to look. This week feels long already because of what happened Sunday and Monday, and there's no sugarcoating it. So the good news is it's Tuesday. Take the wins where you get them and proceed.
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Skip the sweet tea; what went wrong? This season's opener was so far from what I was hoping for my team. I'm at a loss for words. — Wanda, Deep Run, NC
Simply put, the Panthers got outplayed in all three phases Sunday, and it happened in a hurry. Jordan Matthews, who has a kind of veteran mentor air about him around here already, said Monday it's sometimes easier to move forward when it all goes so badly at once on offense, defense, and special teams. Keeps anybody from thinking they're immune to the need for improvement.
The expectations are a lot of the reason you feel that way, Wanda. As we discussed here last week, it's a short step from all that new the Panthers brought in last year to hope. And when the coach, GM, and 23 of the 53 people on the active roster are different, there's a lot of new.
And you weren't the only one struggling to describe it. Robert Hunt was brought here this offseason to set a tone, and he was among the many veterans in that locker room who stood up and owned it for what it was.
"That's what, the truth be told. We just got whooped in every phase, and we've got to do something, man," he said Sunday. "Hopefully, we can change that. This is a bad feeling, you know what I mean? So we've got to come to work tomorrow, man, and change it, man. We can't be OK with this."
That's the theme now. The working to fix it. They were already there in the aftermath of that game.
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I cannot imagine the stuff that you have to rifle through for this Mailbag, so just know you've been in my thoughts over the past 24 hours, Darin. With that, I just wanted to know your take on what I feel was an astute observation. Canales noted that the locker room was "somber" following the game, and his two pressers since the shellacking have taken on a noticeably quieter and less optimistic tone.
Don't get me wrong; I know it's hard to be an optimist bully after losing by 37 in your first game as a head coach. But, it's been noted that they want "dawgs" or whatever you want to spell it, and dogs bark and get mad when backed in a corner. I feel a bit of a disconnect in the approach just based on what I am seeing and hearing, and I fear that may leak into further weeks (where our schedule is really not looking that tough in the seven weeks leading to the Saints rematch). Is it really as low as it looks, or are guys mad and determined? — John, Matthews, NC
Oh man, it's way too early for the Cam Newton Sideline Body Language Police to be saddling up and riding again.
"Somber" is probably the appropriate immediate reaction to one like that. Some days, you just have to eat it and move on. And it doesn't taste good. But as the great Larry Merchant titled his classic sports book, "Every Day You Take Another Bite."
And I get it; people are upset. Emotions have been invested in this team, and those are more valuable than money. So fans are hurt, too. But throwing the furniture around to release the anger of the moment doesn't really fix anything; it just gives you more to clean up. Obviously, the results matter most, but the approach by those in the locker room after that one seemed appropriate to me. There's no complacency in there. They're well aware.
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Hey Darin! Thanks for the awesome T-shirt! I will rep the Mailbag with loyal support for many years to come. Well, Game 1 is in the books. I have set my expectations low for this season; even with a low bar, Week 1 was somehow still a letdown. Losing Derrick Brown for the season is about as heartbreaking of a blow to this defense as it gets. I am still hopeful about the new coaching staff and their long-term plan. You know the old adage, "You learn more in defeat than in your wins," so I will continue to hold onto every ounce of hope that this coaching staff is building something special again here.
After such a tough start to the season, is there anything positive you were able to take away from the game? Maybe Bryce Young finding the end zone as a runner for the first time in his career!? That's about all I can come up with :( — Chase, Greensboro, NC
Former general manager Marty Hurney was a newspaper writer before he was a football executive, and once, when confronted with a confluence of terrible luck like this weekend's (it may have been when Steve Smith broke his ankle in Week 1 of 2004 when they were trying to follow up a Super Bowl run), shook his head and said, "That was a real grenade down the pants." He could paint a word picture, that one. And there are some guys you just can't replace.
The Derrick news was a real grenade down the pants, to be sure. As Canales said Monday, it's not just that he's your best player; he's also one of your hardest workers and the most accountable people in the building. That's hard to overcome at the big-picture level, and guys were gutted to find out the news. You just don't replace talent like that. You can sign guys, but there isn't another Derrick Brown available. You have to turn it into a collective thing to be able to survive.
The only real positive to take from that game is that it was one of 17. There were individual elements that you could squint and declare a silver lining (such as Mike Jackson playing pretty well at corner and showing why length is important at that position, or the offensive line generally grading out well). But it's probably not helpful to get too deep into those conversations. It was bad. Everybody knows it.
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Hi Darin! Even though X is blocked here in Brazil, fortunately, the NFL is not, so we could get a live real game here and also see our favorite teams on TV/internet. About that last part, I can imagine the reaction - let me reinforce, totally fair reaction - after yesterday's loss. My main guess would be that the coaching staff and the players, after all the work that they put in during offseason and preseason, wouldn't ever have thought they would suffer such a terrible loss on all three phases of the game. But they did and the fans, again rightfully so for now, after all that happened the last few years, are mad/sad/even more disappointed. So, the little renewed energy and positive vibes everyone outside had are probably gone now. I have two questions:
- Do you also think this group (players and coaches) has the qualities to solve most issues and progress to turn this team into a competitive one soon? Not telling them to win or stream roll anyone soon, but to be competitive, even with the awful news about Brown - they won't be the first nor the last to lose one of its best players. No one cares about it. National media was already almost laughing, saying, "See? They thought they'd be any good". I think, and hope, they have that in them to get better soon.
- This final one can't be about anything other than Bryce. Every credible source that saw the offseason and training camp (including the Jets practice) told us that Bryce looked different. Even we saw that on that drive against Buffalo. And then the last game happened. The OL seemed OK (PPF grades also good), and there were pass catchers open (data on separation also told that), but we saw inconsistency in reading the field and inaccuracy on a great number of passes. I also believe that none of you would guess that this kind of game would show up again after what you saw until the game. Were you all lying to us (I highly doubt, but I have to ask)? If not, what's the issue? Bryce seems a hard worker with a good frame of mind to feel sorry for himself about last season. So maybe he can't transform the training into the games? (Again, it seems that at Alabama he could under real game pressure).
Anyway, the main point must be, especially for Bryce, that it's time to put together everything they trained and with consistency on the field without any fear of failure - as Canales says, it's about them, about the opportunity that they have to show what they'll become. Because if they don't, we certainly won't be talking about them on this Mailbag because most will be moved on. We certainly hope not! But it's time to do it - the opportunity is there next Sunday. Thanks! — Fernando, São Paulo, Brazil
As I daydream about a world without Twitter (it hasn't been one of those things that bring joy to my life for a minute), I also appreciate Fernando being a proxy for the dozens of questions about Bryce and Bryce's future this week.
Rather than saying the same thing 15 times to other versions of the question that were a lot more angry, suffice it to say, he knows it too. You know how I know?
"That's definitely on me. I have to do a better job of that," he said Sunday when asked about his first interception. "Hurts the team, our situation, hurts our defense. Not great complimentary football. So I've got to be better there."
A lot of fans are jumping to conclusions about the future, and it's the NFL; no one gets unlimited chances. But I think it's reasonable to conclude that the answer to the question of how many games Young gets is "more than one."
In many ways, Canales and Young are still getting to know each other, honing in on the other's likes and dislikes as player and play-caller. So it's fair to think it wasn't always going to be smooth, even if no one expected that.
And no, it wasn't a massive media conspiracy. Bryce looked so much more comfortable this spring and summer — source: my two eyes. Many agreed. But that's not what any of us saw on Sunday.
As to Fernando's first point, I've had people in about three different departments in this building say in the last 48 hours that Canales has the temperament to handle this situation. Again, it's more than positivity; it's the commitment to the work. That's all that's going to get them out of this.
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I've been among Bryce's staunchest supporters and am old enough to remember when he was easily the consensus No. 1 QB/player in the draft. But, ... Also what happened to stubbornness running the ball and 2.7 seconds? None of that was adhered to. — Tyler, Charlotte
There were a lot of letters that started like this in the past couple of days, and then had that, ... but. But Tyler's point is a salient one.
They do want to run. Dave's not lying when he says it. But when you're down 17-0 in the first quarter, it's hard to run stubbornly. That's what happens when a game gets away from you, and why it's important to steer out of that skid this week.
They finished with just 20 rushing attempts. That's not enough, especially when four of them are Young scrambling. They need to run because A) they ought to be pretty good at it considering the linemen they brought in, and B) because it opens up the play-action stuff and movement that Young is so good at. It's a chicken-egg relationship; one works better with the other.
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It's Brit from Alaska again. I'm trying to be a bright spot because I feel like there's going to be a lot of gloom and calls for benchings, firings, and finger-pointing in this week's Mailbag. And I get it. That first game wasn't want I wanted to see, and definitely worse than I expected it to be. But the team's motto is Keep Pounding for a reason, and I hope that in the midst of all the angry fans, our guys see the positive in themselves and Keep Pounding forward. It's one bad game, granted there's been a lot of them for a long while, and maybe I'm just trauma bonded to this team, but there's a lot of football to still be played. Tell the fellas I said to Keep Pounding, and despite the poor play this week, I'll still put on Panthers gear next week and cross all my fingers and toes for things to get better. I mean, this has to be rock bottom, right? — Brit, Anchorage, AK
Behold, our own aurora borealis, bringing brightness to the dreariest times. And as a way to say thanks, I'm making Brit this week's Friend Of The Mailbag, and getting the appropriate honorarium on the on the way there before it has to be delivered by dogsled.
But don't ever ask that last question. It can always get worse.
Following Brit's example, however, I'd rather light a candle rather than curse your darkness. Sunday was the fourth-largest margin of defeat in franchise history. To get in the top seven, you have to lose by at least 34 points. In the six games following those that you'd rather forget, the Panthers are 4-2, including the 2019 win over the Titans that followed the 51-13 loss to the 49ers (which was, empirically speaking, worse than what we saw Sunday). If they can beat the Chargers Sunday, this can become a historical footnote. But it's going to take some work to make that happen.
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I'm sure some diehard Panthers fans remember that Jim Harbaugh once donned a Panthers jersey back in the day. With his return to Charlotte this week with the Chargers, do you have any good Old Guy stories about Harbaugh's time here? — Will, Cornelius, NC
Yes, in fact, Harbaugh did (sort of) play here. This was his last stop as a quarterback, suiting up for eight games for the 2001 Panthers but never playing in a game. He was the inactive third quarterback seven times and was active but did not play once.
That was a wild year, with a lot of comings and goings (and also Nick Goings, who arrived as an undrafted rookie and went onto play eight seasons) . Harbaugh was signed following the season-ending injury to former Scottish Claymores star and World League record-holder Dameyune Craig (who once threw for 611 yards in a single game and also said haggis "tasted like pepperoni, ... a big pepperoni").
And I distinctly recall Harbaugh walking into the locker room on his first day with that same kind of frighteningly focused look he has as he was trying to figure out where to go in his new home.
He was enthusiastically greeted by linebacker Darren Hambrick (claimed off waivers from Dallas in midseason), who rolled up for a bro hug, yelled, "Jimbo, ... D-Ham," and then just as quickly walked away.
Harbaugh, looking a bit confused (it was, after all, the 2001 Panthers, who would end up 1-15), kind of nodded, said, "Cool," and walked away shaking his head.
In hindsight, Harbaugh did not appear to have been completely familiar with D-Ham's work or with anyone calling him Jimbo.
Anyway, here's a picture of Harbaugh in a Panthers uniform, complete with a Patrick Jeffers photobomb.
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And on that note, let's go lightning round, brought to you by the patron saint of the lightning round Jeff from Fuquay-Varina, to close it out this week.
Have the Panthers published their 2024 media guide yet? Thanks. #keeppounding — Kerrell, Macon, GA
Indeed, we have, and you can find the full document right here on our news page for all your historical research and perspective.
Hi, Darin: Just a comment on another Old Guy's ponderings. A couple of weeks ago, Fernando was discussing various Panther's social content. With Jake and Jordan being part of the conversation I thought that you may have missed an opportunity to offer another route to some insight to the goings on behind the scenes in an NFL franchise.
Jordan Gross, Ryan Kalil, and Geoff Hangartner wrote a book that was informative as well as entertaining. The Rookie Handbook: How to Survive the First Season in the NFL has not only their thoughts and advice for incoming NFL prospects but also funny stories and pranks that show a little color in addition to the usual black-and-white facts. The fact that these three former Panthers are notorious for engaging in locker-room shenanigans makes it all the better. — Randall, Branchville, SC
Those three are comic geniuses — and I think Hangartner was the actual kind of genius, scored a 47 out of 50 on the Wonderlic back when that was still a thing. That book is a treasure. I encourage everyone to buy a copy from your local independent bookseller or from a large internet retailer if you must.
Good morning, Darin. Rome wasn't built in a day, it seems to me that the offensive line did well, which equates to a nice foundation. One game doesn't make the season. Can you please explain to me the new rule for the offense line that seems to be getting called around the league this year? Second, where did you eat in New Orleans? I am personally fond of Daisy Duke's Cafe (fabulous burgers). Love the food in Nola. Keep pounding! — David, Farmington, MO
Basically, linemen have to be on the line of scrimmage. The tackle's head has to be in line with the center's waist. Too many dudes were trying to get a head start on pass protection, so the refs started cracking down. They called it a lot early to prove a point (the Ravens were called five times in the Thursday opener).
Had an incredible meal at Cochon Saturday night. I got one look at rabbit and dumplings on the menu, and my decision was made. Can't go wrong eating good food there and taking a second to appreciate it.
Well sir, I feel it, ... that gut punch that knocks the wind out of your lungs. All of the hopium and positive vibes for the season knocked out of you in one game resulting in a gasp of painful realization, ... AAHHHRRRGGGHHH....God please...not again. We shall see... Fight hard, fellas, because every team is gonna think you are a win for them. Step up with a determination to play better...please. — Westray, Kershaw, SC
Westray had the vibes last week. This is why you don't get too high or too low. Eye on the ball. Focus on the next thing next. There's always a next thing. Also, breathe. Like Julius Peppers told us, the sun came up. Be thankful where you can.
