Smith Back, But Panthers Still Down

Yesterday’s matchup against the Vikings resulted in a heartbreaking 10-20 loss for Carolina, yet the united Panthers have something to be faithful for. The Carolina offense we’re used to seeing just wasn’t there yesterday in the game, but any drastic change gets worse before it gets better. So is the case for the Panthers, who have just gotten the ball rolling again with their Steve Smith-revived team. Getting the pieces back in place may take a game or two, but the Panthers are traveling down the right road.

“I draw my strength from the guy next to me. Can I count on you?” So reads the inscription scrawled across black, gray and blue t-shirts worn by every Panther, distributed the week before the season opener as a gift from none other than Smith, though team members didn’t know their grateful sender at the time. It’s little things like this that the Panthers must trust in before tackling other milestones. Now that their sense of team unity is established and all starters are in place, look for the Panthers to make up yesterday’s loss in games to come, most notably next Sunday when Carolina hosts Atlanta at home.

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