Monday Morning Optimist
A collection of the optimistic way to look at things. Week in, week out
The Optimist: The needs are clear
The Panthers are all but eliminated from playoff contention as the same issues drag them down week after week.
Monday Morning Optimist: Rhule changed the whole script of 2020
The Panthers went from new to frustrating ahead of schedule. What else can they put ahead of schedule in their rebuild?
Monday Morning Optimist: We are so close to being so close
Bear with us, guys. The Panthers couldn’t buy a win in 2020, but it shouldn’t take much more talent for this team to take off.
Monday Morning Optimist: Accepting Teddy as our perfect quarterback
The 2020 Panthers don’t need a good quarterback, they need a guy who is going to teach them about who they have while not endangering who they can get.
Monday Morning Optimist: Shanks for nothing, I guess
Year One of the Matt Rhule era is a fairly known quantity at this point. Let’s talk about why that is still a foundation for optimism.
Monday Morning Optimist: The Panthers have a few lessons to learn
They spent nine weeks flirting with disaster. Nobody gets to say "wow!" now that it has struck.
Monday Morning Optimist: It's not about the destination, it's about the journeyman
If games are won on the margins then Rhule is the first Panthers coach to actively make those slimmer during a game.
Monday Morning Optimist (Friday edition): Welp, that happened
The season isn’t over, but it also never really began for the 2020 Carolina Panthers.
Monday Morning Optimist: Honestly, that should have been more than a field goal’s difference
D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel are threatening to give the Panthers an offense? 2020 is weird!
Monday Morning Optimist: I don’t think the Panthers are bad?
Are the Bears good? I have no idea.
Monday Morning Optimist: You’re welcome, Atlanta fans
The Carolina Panthers proved to be the fifth and final nail in the coffin of former head coach Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons
Monday Morning Optimist: Goodbye Trevor Lawrence; hello 2020
Playoffs, here we come! What. . . too early?
Monday Morning Optimist: Winning in spite of yourself is still winning
Sacks, turnovers, and field goals led the way to Matt Rhule’s first win in the NFL.
Monday Morning Optimist: This is miles better than being a Falcons fan
Youthful mistakes are much more entertaining than missed opportunities
Monday Morning Optimist: A close loss never felt so good
These aren’t your old Panthers and that couldn’t be more exciting for fans in the Carolinas.
Monday Morning Optimist: That loss didn’t matter at all
It’s only consequence was determining where in the top ten the Panthers drafted
Monday Morning Optimist: Good teams have the talent to recover from bad mistakes
The Panthers have that talent, which leaves them just a few steps shy of being a good team
Monday Morning Optimist: Ian Thomas is reason enough to keep watching
The Panthers should start Will Grier, but I’ll keep an eye on Thomas no matter what.
Monday Morning Optimist: Next year isn’t more than a year away
A lot of bad teams are a year away for the better part of a decade. The Panthers don’t have to be one of those teams
Monday Morning Optimist: Bless their hearts
They really did try and that was very sweet of them.
Monday Morning Optimist: It’s not Kyle Allen’s fault
The Panthers struggles are far deeper—and more superficial—than their over matched backup quarterback
Monday Morning Optimist: D.J. Moore’s emergence is one of the brightest lights in a heavy loss
Moore outshone the dull performance by the Panthers defense
Monday Morning Optimist: Kyle Allen showed some life as a passer
The Panthers are starting to get a handle on what their life needs to look like without Cam Newton.
Monday Morning Optimist: This doesn’t have to be the 2018 Steelers game
It’ll be up to Ron Rivera to hold his team together.
Monday Morning Optimist: The Panthers continue to win in all shapes and sizes
The Carolina Panthers have faced a great deal of adversity during the early parts of the 2019 season, but that hasn’t stopped them from looking like the team we’ve loved to see during times of success during the Ron Rivera era.
Monday Morning Optimist: Burns and McCaffrey align to give the Panthers an identity in Newton’s absence
The Panthers proved they are good enough to win in spite of mistakes. That's new.
Monday Morning Optimist: Brian Burns is the young defensive star the Panthers have been missing
Speed, youth, and swagger are fueling the Panthers defense as they keep the lights on until Cam Newton return.
Monday Morning Optimist: The Panthers aren’t dead yet
The Carolina Panthers won their first football game of the 2019 season, without Cam Newton. And they aren’t done yet.
Monday Morning Optimist, Friday edition: It is too early to bury Cam Newton
He’s not dead yet!
Monday Morning Optimist: The Panthers didn’t beat the Rams, but they might have looked like the better team
Cam Newton proved he was healthy enough to shoulder the Panthers load while the rest of the team proved he won’t have to.
Monday Morning Optimist: Thus ends another season
The Panthers were left waiting for other teams to finish again. Will 2019 be more of the same?
Monday Morning Optimist: The Panthers are who we thought they were
A talented team with fatal, and obvious, flaws was only going to do so well this season. They took the last game to remind us why there is reason to hope for the future.
Monday Morning Optimist: The Panthers can be good again, but strategic investment is needed
The Panthers lost to the Falcons in a game where their shortcomings were in the spotlight. The offseason is where they can address them.
Monday Morning Optimist (Tuesday edition): The excellence of heart cannot overcome execution
The Carolina Panthers put forth a valiant effort to keep their playoff hopes alive, but sadly they shot themselves in the foot too many times to keep the dream alive.
Monday Morning Optimist: Let’s all just feel good for the Browns
Change is coming, let’s enjoy what is good now while we can.