The preseason begins early for the Carolina Panthers this season. They are taking on the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday Night at 8:00 PM ET on NBC. This will be our first chance to see Kenny Pickett, I guess, in a Panthers uniform.
In an offseason that has been marred by injuries, it’s going to be nice to watch the team’s depth come together to play something that actually resembles football. Previous preseasons under Dave Canales have left a lot to be desired and have been followed
by slow starts for the Panthers. Canales’ Panthers are 1-8 in the preseason and 2-10 in the first four weeks in the three seasons he has been head coach.
Fans are looking for any sign of life tomorrow to suggest that the team has sorted out how to play football before October. One complaint they have had is that Canales is notoriously shy when it comes to playing starters in the preseason. The general idea is that keeping veteran starters and quarterback Bryce Young out of “meaningless” games protects them from injury. That is an idea that has merit on a team with as little depth as the Panthers have and with as many injuries as the Panthers already add up. The simple counterargument is that the team starts flat and guarantees losses in meaningful regular season games without the preseason experience to knock the rust off.
I’m not expecting major changes this season, but perhaps there is a chance with the extra game provided by the Hall of Fame Game on the schedule.
This week we are simply asking if you are confident in the current direction of the Carolina Panthers. As always, this is not asking if you think they are going to win this week’s game so much as your general feeling about the overall momentum of the franchise. Think of it more as a referendum on the current leadership than as a poll about the current match up.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Panthers fans and fans across the country.
