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September 25, 2009
#Panthers' Gross: 'We've got to win'
Offensive tackle Jordan Gross doesn't dance around how strongly he believes the Panthers cannot afford to start the season 0-3 -- which would happen if they lose Monday night to the Dallas Cowboys.
"We've got to win this game," Gross said Friday after practice.
"It's a huge game for us. If we lose and are 0-3, it's a huge hole that's tough to get back from. Everybody understands that, but I don't think we're putting any extra pressure on ourselves."
Gross said he's not even thinking about making the playoffs now. Since 1990, when the NFL expanded the playoff field to 12, only three teams that started 0-3 made the playoffs.
"Our focus is getting a win, not the playoffs," he said. "But last year we (got in) with a bye and home game and you know how that turned out.
"But going 0-3, that would just be a monumental hill to climb." -- David Scott
Posted by Observer Sports on September 25, 2009 at 02:28 PM | Permalink
Comments
Good luck. What he really thinks is "Gee, I wish the Big Cat would fire all of our coaches and give us a real chance to compete."
Posted by: Fire-Fox! | Sep 25, 2009 3:43:50 PM
Wow! We have a mind reader on the message board!
Posted by: DBIGCAT | Sep 25, 2009 5:10:34 PM
To put it simply, this is a must win game. If we lose this game, chances are our playoff dreams are over.
Posted by: Revshawn | Sep 25, 2009 5:29:18 PM
Yeah forget the playoffs. The Panthers need to win. The only thing really lurking in the back of everyone's mind is the fact that John Fox leveraged our future for Everette Brown who, for any of us that've seen him play, is a beast. But in terms of this year, its only a good trade IF the Panthers finish in the upper echelon of teams.
Posted by: Robert | Sep 25, 2009 5:38:57 PM
Much improvement from two years ago from one of the highest paid, if not the highest paid, linemen in the NFL. I still think he needs to do his part by not having false starts regularly. Watch those holds too!
Posted by: SYRPIS | Sep 25, 2009 7:13:37 PM
I agree SYRPIS. Definitely much improved. I believe that last game against ATL is the first time I've seen us play ATL that Abraham didn't dominate the left side of our line. Gross shut him down. But if we're going to win at all this year, our defense better figure something out. That includes the Tampa Bay games. Sad but true. Hell, we may even be an underdog come time to play Buffalo and Miami!
Posted by: EricH | Sep 26, 2009 1:32:43 PM
As I have watched this cluster f--- of a season so far, a few glaring questions have come to mind.
1. We play a 4-3 def, why do we trade our 1st rd. pick next year for a Tweener of a d-end?
2. Why did we hire Ron Meeks when Indy's defense hasn't exactly striked terror in the eyes of too many opps over the last few years?
3. More concerning then Meeks, Why in the world did we hire that idiot davidson as offensive cord. a couple years ago? The Browns haven't had a respectable offense since the Kosar years!
Posted by: jason wilmington | Sep 26, 2009 3:00:03 PM
You are right EricH. Despite the knocks on him, he is extremely athletic and has not allowed people to reach around him to strip the ball out of Jake's hands in almost two years. That used to be a regular problem for years on both sides (left and right). I guess Otah has panned out and is doing his part over on the other side too. Still those penalties are real drive killers with this offense.
Posted by: SYRPIS | Sep 27, 2009 12:46:28 AM
it usually takes a good year or so to learn the tampa 2,plus i dont know if we have the safeties to execute it.im not sold on meeks. i thought we were going to be flying to the ball but i dont see that. i need to see some intensity from the defense.
the panthers were 4th in the league last year in avg points so i cant blame davidson.i see foxes hand in the ultraconservative schemes and the vanilla defense.who is fox going to fire this year as his scapegoat,the waterboy?fire fox!
Posted by: ray | Sep 28, 2009 11:00:59 AM
The problem is not John Fox, people. The problem IS every single one of YOU called for Mike Trgovac's head on a platter after the playoff loss to 'Zona last year. And now we're seeing why it's usually a bad idea to bring in a coach that is unfamiliar with the system and the personnel you already have in place. If we fire Fox, who do we replace him with? Schottenheimer? Cowher? Two guys who have been out of the league for the past couple of years? Think before you speak, people. Can't blame our current position on ONE SINGLE PERSON. It takes a TEAM effort to win, and a TEAM failure to lose.
Posted by: KackalackKid | Sep 28, 2009 3:23:18 PM
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