The roster in 2001 was pretty bad. We lost the last 15 games of the season. Steve Smith was a rookie as was Dan Morgan and Kris Jenkins. So the future did have glimmers of hope.

It would be George Seifert’s last year. The next year would be an improvement to 7-9 in John Fox’s first year.

I think what makes this year more difficult than any of us could’ve imagined are the following:

-Reich may not be the guy. I like him personally but I’ve seen nothing that tells me he’s capable of making this team a winner. -It’s impossible to evaluate Bryce Young. People will jump to say we should’ve taken Stroud, but I don’t know that he would be as good here. The system, playmakers, and HC are simply better in Houston. -We have ZERO playmakers. Miles Sanders has been a bust. Chuba is decent, but not an RB1. Take away Thielen and I’m not sure Bryce gets much over 100 yards a game. -The O-line is suspect to say the least. -Defensive injuries are killing us. Horn. Shaq. Chinn. You name it. I’m pleasantly surprised how well the D has been otherwise thus far. But man…:stay healthy.

No first round pick next year is soul-crushing. It would be awesome to pair Bryce with a top-notch WR. But knowing the team that beat us last night owns our top pick is infuriating, especially since it’s pretty clear we are the worst team in the league.

Not sure what silver linings to point to. We can’t trust Fitterer or Tepper. Reich doesn’t seem to be the guy.

So yeah. This might be the worst Panthers team ever.