Going 15-1, running roughshod through the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals in the playoffs, and landing in Super Bowl 50 looks like a lifetime ago for the Carolina Panthers.
Now the defending NFC champions find themselves at 1-4, with a list of key injuries, and enough issues to make you close your eyes and weep.
Some want to point the finger at quarterback Cam Newton and his play this season. Others make note of below-average play from their offensive line. A number of individuals make light of the departure of former starting cornerback Josh Norman in free agency this past offseason. In actuality, it is a combination of all those potholes and more.
A loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football was difficult to look at. What transpired during that game were mistakes that occurred that I haven’t even highlighted at this point.
Turnovers by backup quarterback Derek Anderson proved to be costly, special teams players bumping into each other in an undisciplined manner, plus the interior of their defensive line allowing plays in the run game to Bucs third string running back Jacquizz Rodgers.
On top of not having Newton due to concussion protocol, the Buccaneers contest was a clear indication that the team has a plate full of problems.
A lot of the Panthers issues were evident last season but going 15-1 masked so much. The offensive line is the same offensive line that allowed six sacks to the Denver Broncos and for Broncos pass rusher Von Miller to earn Super Bowl MVP.
Suddenly, this once feared defense is now 22nd in the NFL in scoring, allowing 27 points per game. This the same defense that deploys the best linebacker in football, Luke Kuechly, and a very solid tag-team partner in Thomas Davis along with one of the most underrated linemen in the game in Kawann Short.
Granted, the services of Norman has been subtracted but you can make a case that even after going 15-1 with a postseason, the team treaded water this offseason. Little improvements were made to patch up the actual issues and now it has come back to bite the team. Hard.
Sure, you can point out that the team drafted three cornerbacks in this year’s draft and the team doesn’t truly need a clear-cut shutdown corner in this particular defensive scheme. But to draft three corners with no intentions on providing experience at the position isn’t a bulletproof plan.
What has been evident in the first five weeks of the season is that the Panthers are a team that has gotten punched in the mouth from the sport of football and the amount of animosity has piled on them. To the point that they are a team who do not know how to respond.
Getting Newton back healthy is the biggest task at the moment. Even at 1-4, a healthy Cam Newton provides hope. Making the playoffs at this juncture is bleak and head coach Ron Rivera has his work cut out for him. So many holes to plug but not enough tools to fix it all for the Carolina Panthers.
The ultimate summary is that minus Josh Norman, this is the same exact team that everyone fell in love with in 2015, from top to bottom. There has been little subtraction and not a ton of addition, outside of having #1 receiver Kelvin Benjamin return from a torn ACL last season.
Everything was all good just eight months ago.