The Panthers have had seven consecutive losing seasons, so it might seem like there’s not a lot of reason for confidence coming out of Carolina. But head coach Dave Canales doesn’t see it that way.
Canales said he thinks his team is building something in his second season as head coach, and that the Panthers believe they’re going to be a tough team to beat this season.
“The sky’s the limit for this group,’’ Canales said, via ESPN. “This is going to be a very competitive team. I don’t think people are going to want to play us by the style of football that we play. I’m expecting that. My expectations are really high for this group.’’
After an ugly 1-7 start last season, the Panthers played respectable football over the second half of the year, going 4-5 over the last nine games of the year and playing well in some of their losses, including taking both of last year’s Super Bowl teams, the Chiefs and Eagles, down to the wire before ultimately losing. So it’s not hard to see why Canales thinks his team deserves to have high expectations.
The betting odds still say the Panthers are unlikely to make the playoffs this season, with their odds of making the postseason around +225. But Canales believes his team is heading in the right direction.
