A Few Questions to Consider…

It is tough being a Panther Fan this year. And what a passionate bunch we are. We love the players and even the owner, but it just seems that the Coaching staff is the bad guy this year. Not the rivals, not a greedy player, and not even the injury bug. This year, we are ready to get on the Fire John Fox bandwagon. I have to be honest (again), I think I am too.

For me this year this seems like a Devil/Angel on your shoulder conflict something along the lines of..

Devil: Fire him. Fire Him. We are 0-4 and shouldn’t be.

Angel: We are just starting to pick up momentum. We are a young and very talented team.

For me last week the peak of “WTF?” came with this line.

"“We are what we are and that is what I’m trying to change so we’re not that.” –Head Coach, John Fox"

What does this even mean?

All things considered, All I can draw from this is….Yeah….We are that right at the moment.

The only real question I want to raise right now… Exactly what is that? And is it really what it is? And will it give us the best chance to win? Who really knows?

But I think we should just go ahead and throw some real questions out there on the floor and see if the dog runs away (whatever that is supposed to mean.)

Mind you, I am simply trying to provoke some thought and get opinions here.
1. Do we just write off the season now? Is there any reason to expect any significant success?

2. Consider this. Offensively, we do have a great deal of talent. When you think about it, don’t we have more than most teams? That said, is it reasonable to say that the talent is not being used to it’s potential. This is something that I have kind of thought over since the Cincy game but then I saw this article from carolinapanthercoalition.com. No doubt one of the best pieces on the topic I have yet to see.

My thought on the matter is this: Is the potential of this Offense beyond the abilities or desires of this coaching staff?

3. Is Mike Goodson our version of New Orleans’ “Reggie Bush” (except Goodson is really able to be a truer running back)? Refer to question two.

4. Reality has reared it’s ugly head and reminded us once again of what we could be looking at in the coming off-season. Although the “DeAngelo Williams trade to Green Bay” rumor was short-lived, it does bring the topic of his existence here next year back up. Don’t get me wrong because I love what Jonathan Stewart brings us, and I do enjoy both of them and the way they approach this game as a “team within a team,” but…
…did you see Stewart kind of stumble as he ran in Clausen’s first NFL TD pass? That is not the first time. I am just not comfortable with Stewart as a lone starter and I do not think the tandem of Stewart and Goodson will have the same impact.
In the end Question 4 becomes..Will we be as good at the run game next year as we have been and will we ever be at that level again.

These are some trying times boys and girls. PantherNation is arife with a lot of head scratching right now. Do we fire Fox? Will we ever win a game? When will Jeff Otah and Thomas Davis hit the field? Who does Fox’s hair? If The Carolina Panthers were a movie, who would play who? (Light goes on).

Seriously, if you think about it, as we stand the future looks very good, my worry is that this season may undo some of the work that I credit Marty Hurney within “building.” Personally I think he has done a terrific job in this. This is of course presuming he is given the free hand to do so. My fear is that if there is no real success, for example a win, a number of good players will be inclined to leave. Just wanting to pose something to consider.