4 keys to victory for the Carolina Panthers vs. NY Jets in Week 1

Carolina Panthers must bounce back from mistakes

Rookies will have lapses, it happens.

The NFL has an extremely steep learning curve, one that a lot of players don’t get the chance to work through. Nevertheless, keeping those mistakes to a minimum is of the utmost importance for a team as young as the Carolina Panthers are, especially on defense.

Almost no position is more dependant on that consistency than cornerback, a place this team is very young and starting a rookie sensation in Jaycee Horn.

When looking at young corners, especially of the highly aggressive variety like Donte Jackson and Horn, they tend to overcommit to try and make the big play or let their presence be known with a hit that makes a highlight reel.

The problem with that is if you fully commit to the wrong thing then a big play happens and these hits don’t necessarily equal tackles at the NFL level when everyone is just as big as you.

So young players like Horn and even the rising star of Jeremy Chinn need to dilute that aggressiveness with just a bit of patience so that they don’t end up burning themselves and their team in the process.

You don’t have to be a first-year player to suffer from a rookie mistake either. The same can be said for players that are still learning exactly what it means to be a starter.

Players like Juston Burris and Jermaine Carter.

This team is very young and with youth comes energy but also inconsistency. They will make mistakes, but it’s not the mistake that’s important. It’s how you come back from it, how you pick yourself up after a tough play, tough loss, tough day, or even tough life.

That is how we will measure this team in 2021 and beyond. Can they get back up again or have they been knocked down one too many times.