Rhule Disappointed, Not Discouraged in Panthers First Outing

Despite the loss, there were a lot of positives that came from the Panthers' season opener

Sunday officially kicked off the Matt Rhule era in Carolina and although the game didn't result in a win, there was a lot to like. The offense was efficient for the most part, took care of the football, and the effort and toughness were both there from the moment the ball kicked off until the clock hit triple zeroes. 

Even when trailing by double digits in the third quarter and the momentum seemingly in the favor of Las Vegas, the Panthers kept fighting and eventually took the lead back late in the fourth quarter. For a young, inexperienced team that hasn't played a lot of football together, this is exactly what you want to see. 

"I told them they should be disappointed, but they certainly shouldn’t be discouraged. To lose one of our best defenders early on and have Rasul Douglas who has only been here for four days, go out there and play, to battle back from some early big plays, to fight, scratch and claw to take the lead back at the end of the game, I was proud of the guys. We were just a play away. We said as a team we would get to the fourth quarter and we thought we would have a chance to win in the fourth quarter and we did. I told them we are all disappointed. We are all hurting right now but we need to play some games and find out more about our team and find out how we can improve. So, we will improve, and we will continue to get better. We will be a good team here pretty soon."

It's really hard to disagree with Rhule. I mean, we all know the defense is far away from where it needs to be, but that was expected. It's a very thin unit that has very limited experience. Even though they gave up 34 points, the defense did string together a few stops in the second half, which allowed the offense time to regain their footing and battle back to take the lead. 

For a team that had a first-year head coach, offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator and almost 30 new players on the roster and to still have a chance to win the game on the final drive is a major positive sign. There will be times this season where the youth of this team will really shine through but as Rhule stated, it was a disappointing outcome, but by no means discouraging. 

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