Before the season begins, I wanted to highlight some of the activities the Carolina Panther players and organization participate in to give back and make a difference in the community.  I feel like we do not get to hear enough about the good things that they do.

Charities

The Panthers participate in several charities:

• Carolina Panthers Scholarship fund:  They award 2 scholarships a year to one male and one female student athlete for graduate school.  The scholarships are awarded based on “leadership, citizenship, and academic merit” per Panthers.com.
• Community Grants: The panthers give funding to non-profit organizations that meet the needs of communities throughout both North and South Carolina.
• Carolina Panthers Sam Mills Memorial Scholarship: This scholarship is for outstanding high school students who need assistance for college.

There are several other charities that the organization participates in conjunction with the NFL.  Information on these charities can be found on Panthers .com.

Foundations

Quite a few Panther players have created foundations for their favorite causes:

• Cam Newton Foundation:  According to the foundation website at camnewtonfoundation.org the mission of the foundation is to enhance “the lives of youth by addressing their social, emotional, educational, and physical needs.”  The organization accomplishes this by hosting programs like a 7 on 7 football tournament and Personal appearances by Cam.  To see the faces of the kids he meets and speaks too, makes this a worthwhile organization.
• Jon Beason MLB Foundation:  This is another foundation geared toward making the lives of youth better.  They also host several programs like the Back to School Blitz, Hit the Books, and College Bound.
• Thomas Davis Defending Dreams Foundation: The mission of this foundation is to give at risk youth a chance at building character and leadership skills to be successful in society.
• Greg Olsen Receptions for Research: Provides funding to hospitals and for research to help those afflicted by hobbling diseases.

The Panthers enter Sunday’s matchup with the Chargers needing a win, and to win the last three to improve on last season’s 6-10 record. Would 7-9 be good enough to keep Rivera around for one more season? If Hurney was still around I would say yes because we all know he was a big believer in the three year plan for players and coaches. Are we better than the 2-14 team pre-Cam and pre-Rivera? Definitely. But have we as a team reached our potential? Not yet.

Dec 9, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly (59) yells out during the third quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Falcons 30-20. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

This season has actually had several similarities to last year’s team: strong signs of life at the end of the season, and better production from Cam. During the last couple weeks he really has taken care of the ball and helped secure a signature win against the Falcons. But next year he has to figure things out before we’re completely out of playoff contention. We’ve also been dealing with several injuries this year just as we did last year, and our makeshift defense has shown signs of life like they did during the Falcons game. There’s the reemergence of Thomas Davis, the first player to successfully come back from three ACL surgeries to the same knee. Then you have the tackling machine Luke Kuechly earning NFL Defensive POTW honors following his 16-tackle performance against the Falcons.

Has the season gone exactly as we wanted? Of course not, but with a new GM we can expect new changes and hopefully we will continue to trend upward. I look forward to a strong draft with someone new calling the shots and hopefully working on upgrading positions and not just taking the best available players. I also hope we can look to make some moves in free agency, so that we can work on our offensive line and also add some depth to our defense. This season may not get us to the playoffs, but there’s still plenty to play for and prove.

This game was highlighted by an uncharacteristic first half of solid defense from the Panthers who out-gained the Falcons 356-86 yards through the first two and a half quarters. Much of the inspiration came from the perseverance of Thomas Davis, who talked to the players before and after the game. His comeback from three ACL injuries to the same knee has shown players, especially younger players that you should never give up. His interception in the fourth quarter helped seal the win and was also his first interception since 2009. For this, Coach Rivera gave him one of the game balls, and was nearly in tears when talking about Davis’s effort.

The Panthers had a 16-0 halftime lead which they stretched to 23-0 before the Falcons finally got on the board. Cam Newton seemed nearly unstoppable yet again, as he continues to build on solid performances the last few weeks. The biggest stat of all is that he’s had zero turnovers over the past four weeks. The play of the game was definitely his 72 yard run and score, which was party of his total 116 yards rushing, a new career high. That coupled with his 2 touchdowns and 287 yards passing was just too much for a Falcons team that was looking to work on getting home field advantage in the playoffs. Now they have to go back to the drawing board, and look to prevent another late season and playoff collapse like they are so prone to doing.