LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SCHEDULE -- FIRST FOUR GAMES

The very first thing I want to say is..... I believe that our three pre-season games this year are going to be VERY important.  At least to us. They may not mean as much to our opponents, but they definitely should to us.  Think about it like this. We have an all-new coaching staff; an all-new playbook; all-new QBs; a new defensive alignment; and a BUNCH of new (to the Panthers..) players.

We are going to need to hit the ground running. No wasted time. No fiddle-farting around. Full-bore, balls to the wall, game oriented playing. Win or lose doesn't really matter. Just hit 'em fast and hit 'em hard. Develop a winning attitude early and take no prisoners.....  If we take those first three pre-season games seriously, we will be in position to make REAL game-time decisions come opening day in Atlanta.

• #1 NY Jets and Aaron Rodgers (Home--BofA) --- Only one thing to say here -- Aaron Rodgers. Backing up Rodgers will be Zach Wilson. The Jets have a good receiving corps. AND they've gone all-in this year for Aaron Rodgers. Don't be surprised to see the Jets at the top of the AFC East this year.  Rodgers will test the Panthers DBs at all depths of the field. I like our secondary if everyone is healthy, If not. it could be a long day. 
  
• #2 NY Giants and Daniel Jones (@ NY) --- This will be interesting for several reasons. First, Daniel Jones is an accurate passer. Last year (2022) he had a 67% completion percentage and over 3200 yds. That's NOT a lot of yardage, you say.?? You're correct, but consider that Jones also carried the ball 120 times for over 700 yards.  Combine that with Saquon Barkley who had over 1300 yards rushing and 340 yards receiving...  Can you see the potential here.??  The Panthers defense better be ready. This could get ugly early.
  
• #3 Detroit Lions and Jared Goff - Hendon Hooker (Home--BofA) --- Jared Goff will lead this team. Last year he had a 65% completion percentage and over 4400 yards. He had 3-4 capable receivers, but lost one of them to US.!! DJ Chark is now a Panther so less proven capability at WR. One highlight rusher in Jamaal Williams with about 1060 yards last year, but they also have D'Andre Swift with about 550 yards last year. It will be interesting to see how much Hendon Hooker plays. The one important thing about this game is.... The Panthers could gain some useful game information. We play Detroit again in the regular season in Week 5 -- at Detroit.
  

Of course, everything here is predicated on teams playing hard and trying to win. Who knows about that.??  I DO think it would behoove the Panthers to play these games with INTENT. We are going to need to build competitive fire, and a dominating sense of purpose. Too much "new" here to play it any other way.  OH, one other thing.  This is all just IMHO...