5 realistic objectives the Carolina Panthers must achieve in 2024
By Dean Jones
The Carolina Panthers are taking another journey into the unknown under a new regime. This has been a common occurrence throughout David Tepper's woeful ownership. It's been a carousel of head coaches and cataclysmic decisions since he bought the franchise from Jerry Richardson. Stability is critical during the first year under new head coach Dave Canales.
There is an aligned vision and a long-term plan in place at long last. Tepper also seems to be staying in the shadows for now. Hopefully, this is a trend that continues long into the future as the Panthers look to remove the troubling stigma associated with the organization.
This is a time for hope and optimism. Fans are eager to see an improved football product. They are also wary of how offseason expectations have amounted to nothing but misery in recent years. Therefore, the goals for the upcoming campaign should be tempered until further notice.
With this in mind, here are five realistic objectives the Panthers must achieve in 2024.
Realistic objectives the Carolina Panthers must achieve in 2024
Carolina Panthers must decrease penalties
Mental errors were frustratingly frequent for the Carolina Panthers last season. Things were bad enough with their lack of cohesion and talent deficiency when injuries began taking their toll, but so many penalties throughout the campaign were another big factor in their eventual demise.
The Panthers gave up a whopping 6.1 penalties per game last season. This placed them at No. 26 across the NFL and spoke to the lack of discipline installed into the roster by Frank Reich and his supposed all-star coaching staff.
There's more self-awareness across the board with Dave Canales leading the charge. He's preached the importance of being fundamentally sound to his players and they're responding accordingly. Things get tougher in the line of fire during a regular-season setting. That said, the need to avoid costly mistakes in key moments is crucial if the Panthers want to emerge from rock bottom and back to respectability.
Easier said than done, but Canales will be expecting nothing less.