It was a lovely afternoon for a slaughter.
I should've known something was up during the pre-game "festivities". The team trotted out two guys dressed up as mascot Sirr Purr, the gimmick being they were a new boy band "Purrfection". Nice.
Anyhow, as they were dancing around, one of the mascots had his pants fall around his ankles. Even the
jokes wouldn't go right. It was going to be that kind of day for the home team.
The sun was shining, there was a hint of crisp fall air, and the Panthers stunk on ice. I mean they really stunk, from the word go. There's not one player I can say anything good about, Wait a minute, Shane Burton blocked a field goal. Good thing that happened! 44-0, now that would have been
embarrassing!
How in the world a professional (professional referring to pay, not quality) team could be so pitiful is beyond me. Were there distractions this week? Yes. Could we have used the players we cut or suspended?
Possibly. But this was inexcusable.
The Carolina Panthers, the team we as fans have invested so much time, interest, devotion, and yes, MONEY in came out flatter than Kate Moss on a fast. Think about this: The best thing the team did all day was win a coin toss.
From coaching to the lowliest of players, everybody was sorry. Here's the type of play calling we had, for those of you lucky enough to miss the debacle: On the first drive we call the now predictable draw on 3rd and 8.
Yet later in the game, we have a pass play on 3rd and 1. I understand trying to fool your opponent, but what gives? Of course, even when it looked like we called the right type of play, the players didn’t execute anyway. The last time I saw the Panthers flat quit like this was late last season in the middle of George Seifert's long death march. Frankly, I'm disgusted.
The players and coaches owe us and themselves more than this. Why in the world would you go through the heat and misery of training camp (I was there. It roasted me and I wasn't even playing.) if you’re just going to lie down like this? Get the heck off the field and let better men step up!
I had hoped the Panthers could beat Cincinnati and round off the season with four wins, but I can't see it happening. Here's to a top five draft pick.