Behind the Phrase the Panthers Have Lived by Since the Rhule Era Began

Prior to the start of the 2020 regular season, the Carolina Panthers were widely viewed as a rebuilding team. A new head coach, new starting quarterback, new coordinators, and a complete roster overhaul makes for a team that isn't ready to contend right away.

After an 0-2 start and Christian McCaffrey being ruled out multiple weeks with a high ankle sprain, it felt like the Panthers were barreling toward a downhill slide. Just when things looked like they were about to get bad, Carolina strung together a three-game winning streak including an impressive win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Panthers have since lost three straight but they have been a bit banged up and had some guys go on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Needless to say, this team is already surpassing expectations albeit at 3-5 at the midway point of the season.

If you look at Matt Rhule's history of rebuilding programs, there is a theme with it. The first year is always extremely rough but strides are being made throughout the season. Year two he kicks it into the next gear and year three is when it starts getting good, and I mean really good. It's not everyday that someone can turn two college programs like Temple and Baylor into 10-win teams after being in the spot those two respective programs were in. It takes a certain coach with a set plan. Rhule has that blueprint and is working it in with the Panthers.

One of the main reasons Rhule has been successful everywhere he has been is because he knows how to get players to buy-in and improve day in and day out. From the outside looking in? Sure, things don't seem to be going to swell right now for Carolina. They're 3-5 and the two teams projected to make the Super Bowl (Kansas City & Tampa Bay) are up next on the schedule. But it's not all about what happens on Sundays, it's about the improvement that is being made throughout the week leading up to the game.

Since the onset of training camp the one phrase that we have heard from Rhule and several of the other players and members of the coaching staff is "get one-percent better". These guys understand that a championship caliber team isn't just going to happen overnight. It takes time and dedication. Even if slight improvement is being made everyday, you're heading in the right direction.

Last week, I asked Rhule about where he first heard the phrase and how important that phrase has meant to him and his team.

"I think it was the book Legacy which is a story of the All Blacks (New Zealand national rugby union team) and I think that's where I first heard it. That was their mindset. You know, everyone always has an opinion on what the team should do when you're on the team (coaches, players, etc.) and my mindset is always the best way to improve the team is to improve yourself. If you can go out and get one percent better everyday and you wake up and in a week you're seven percent better, the math probably doesn't necessarily work that way but it's a way of life. Control the things that you can control and not just control them, but excel at the things you can control and part of that is very deliberate practices. Guys having a plan. In training camp we would ask guys 'Hey, what are you working on today?' Sometimes guys can just go through the motions, so they're practicing but they're not getting better. So what we want is for guys to say hey I need to work on this, I need to work on that. The ability to be self-critical is one of the greatest traits in a football player and when guys are confident, they're not defensive. It's just a way of life and it's the same thing with the coaches. I want the coaches to be really critical, really self-evaluate when we win and when we lose. No football team is the same from September to October to November to December. Teams get better and better and better or they don't and so we want to be a team that every year gets better and better."

Panthers starting safety Tre Boston also talked about how the phrase has helped this young team grow throughout what has been a very trying season.

"It's very important. It's something that many of us have lived by growing up just getting one-percent better. I think in our terms of being a new team and not having an offseason and all that stuff that one-percent does kick in. Each week we're getting one-percent better. Whether that's learning lessons in those losses and what we can do each and every week to stay focused on the objective. So to get one-percent better we know that it doesn't need to be a huge improvement but little details will drive us to being the team that we want to be."

I know everyone wants to see immediate results, but we have to also look at the real picture and where this team is compared to the others in the league. It's a young, inexperienced team that doesn't have a lot of depth thanks to tight salary cap situation. The goal for this team is to be better than it was in October, better than it was in September, and sure as hell be a lot better than they were at the end of last season, which I think has already happened. Once this team gets back to full strength, you'll be able to see the full potential that awaits in the coming years. The 2020 season may be a long one for Panthers fans, but it won't be a reoccurring theme.

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