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The Panthers are set to get back to the grind this week after a much-needed bye week after six straight losses. The team is looking to build some momentum with rookie quarterback Bryce Young under the direction of new play-caller Thomas Brown and hoping for drastic improvement defensively after both Detroit and Miami gashed them.
While the team may be 0-6 and firmly entrenched in trade conversations with the deadline approaching, the state of the division has left the team just 3 1/2 games out of first place. The Atlanta Falcons sit atop the division at 4-3 after an ugly win in Tampa yesterday over the Buccaneers, while the beat up Saints have developed some major problems and have lost four of their last five to fall to 3-4.
The NFC South being as bad as everyone expected it to be in the preseason is why Jim Szoke, one of the team’s longtime voices still believes that the Panthers have something to play for. “There is a long way to go,” Szoke said this morning in his weekly hit with the Mac & Bone Show. You’re not that far out at eleven games if you can put a couple together and the schedule does get more favorable. I think there are going to be some real good opportunities because they should get better and they should get healthier as you move forward.”
It sounds crazy, but he’s not wrong. The Panthers have nothing to lose by trying to fight to get back in the race with their first round pick going to Chicago this year and if they can find a way to string together some wins over the next couple of weeks, you never really know.
