Some may say that this Sunday’s matchup between the 0-3 Carolina Panthers and the 0-3 Minnesota Vikings is a “Desperation Bowl” of sorts. But head coach Frank Reich doesn’t see it that way at all.
Before heading out for Wednesday’s practice, Reich spoke a bit on his team’s disappointing start—the franchise’s worst since the 2010 season. When asked about balancing the sense of urgency with the organization’s patience during their transition process, he stated the following:
“It is a balance. But there’s no mistake about it and we’ve said this before like, ‘Hey, this urgency we’re talkin’ at 0-3—this isn’t a new theme.’ We’ve been talking about urgency since training camp. And a little bit of that is just, as a coaching staff, knowing it always comes down . . . not 0-3. You’re not thinkin’ you’re gonna start out 0-3.
“But that’s what we need to feel. When you have that 0-0, 1-0 mentality—you need to feel urgency every day, every week and don’t fall into the trap of the routine and the long season. We have to have the urgency. And then all of a sudden, you’re 0-3. That’s like throwing gas on the fire. This is what I hope it is. We already feel urgency, but now there’s a little gas on the fire. So, we have to respond accordingly.”
The Panthers dropped their third straight game to begin the campaign on Sunday, in a 37-27 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks. Headlining the loss were the eight false-start penalties charged to the Carolina offense, which Reich called “inexcusable” and “pathetic” during his postgame presser.
So, how can his players remain both disciplined and urgent?
“We talk about being urgent and intentional,” Reich later added. “So that’s kinda methodical. It’s one play at a time. It’s hit the reset button. We’re urgent, we’re not desperate. You don’t wanna get into desperate mode.
“When you’re 0-3, people start talkin’ about must-win. Every game is a must-win game. It’s not a desperation because we know our process, we know our players, we know we’re givin’ everything to the moment and we know the team is continuing to grow and build.”
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