Head coach, gone. All-pro running back, gone. Starting wide receiver, gone. Starting quarterback, gone. There hasn’t been a team in the NFL that has faced more change than the Carolina Panthers. There also hasn’t been a team that has responded more favorably to the obstacles they’ve faced than the Panthers.
How has a squad presented with so much change and adversity seemingly gotten better with each new challenge? According to Coach Wilks, his message is simple:
“Don’t let “it” get in the way. Whatever “it” may be.” Wilks said when I asked him how his squad has been able to gracefully handle the adversities of the season. “We have to understand as professionals that this league is not going to stop and each week is another challenge. We know what we signed up for as players and coaches, and this is part of the business. We just have to continue to go out and respond.”
And respond they have…. The Panthers responded to losing All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey and starting wide receiver Robbie Anderson in the same week with a 21-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Panthers responded to losing their head coach after starting the season 1-5, by winning the same amount of home games in the past six weeks as they have in the previous 21 weeks.
Some run from obstacles and others allow it to fuel them. So far, the Panthers have been a prime example of the latter.
“You’re in a room full of Alphas,” team captain Shaq Thompson told us. “We all lead our packs. We all lead at home. When you bring a pack of wolves together, we’re all going to hunt together. We’re never going to give up, until we all eat.”
Carolina’s next opportunity to eat – and keep their playoff hopes alive – will be Sunday versus the Seattle Seahawks.
“We know that we’re still in it,” Thompson continued. “The NFC South is still wide open. We just have to go and take care of Seattle and keep going on from there. Everybody knows in December, you’ve got to win.”
