I am seriously impressed that Carolina was able to overcome a small ocean of distractions and various personnel misfits to an 11, possibly 12 win season in a very demanding NFC. 10 wins is a good season. 11 wins is outstanding.
12 wins would not only be a 6-game improvement from the previous year, it would be affirmation of yet another elite regular season for Rivera and Newton. I'd define that as ranking in the top 15% of the league in today's most underappreciated metric: WINS.
For the "FIRE RON, FIRE SHULA, FUCK LIFE" crowd (the huddle, basically), take note; your shit-ass Panthers have now averaged 10.2 REGULAR SEASON WINS per year since September 2013. Factor in playoff wins, that average jumps to 10.8 WINS per calendar year. I mean, I'm not a huge Shula fan at times and Ron is not infallible, but good luck finding that type of sustained success rate elsewhere in the NFC. It's been us, and Seattle, both around 65-67% win rate over the last half-decade. Fuck anyone who can't find satisfaction in this. Fucking cunts.
This coaching staff has done remarkable things, at times historically so. Remember that time we got to see 18 straight regular season wins, you ungrateful fucks? Remember playing for an undefeated season the week before Christmas? Yea. That happens in the league about once every 10-15 years. Ever stop and appreciate Rivera's success rate after Thanksgiving? The Ice Bull?
I'm grateful that I have put my whole fan-heart into each of this team's 23 seasons. I think that's where so many who wear the face paint and hats on Sunday miss the boat. They never sat through Jeff Lewis. Or Noberto Davids-Gariddo. Or Fred Lane, or Shayne Graham's shank at Green Bay. Or David Carr. Or that goddamn fucking loss at Pittsburgh in 99. Or, oh yea, that time our franchise hall-of-fame linebacker first-degree assaulted his position coach. I've seen all the shit, and I'm glad.
l do feel if we get New Orleans in the first round, and we somehow hammer out a win, the NFC is ours.
This is a fun time, men. Enjoy that shit.