The first reality I’m going to lay upon you, and it doesn’t count as one of the five... is that the Carolina Panthers are a bad team this year, and that this season has fallen well short of expectations. Thank you Erik “stater of things obvious” Sommers. Great analysis. You’d think that fact would resonate with everyone, but it doesn’t always do so. There’s always a fresh excuse; a missed opportunity, a bad call, a pulled field goal... you name it. It is the nature of fandom. I respect a fan that never says die even when they literally have no rational reason to continue to hold out hope. Every team needs those kind of folks, especially a young team like the Carolina Panthers.

I simply am not that guy. I’ve been a rational realist my entire life, sometimes to a fault. Though despite that, I can continue to enjoy something once I realize the futility in it (like this current season). I’ll continue to watch and enjoy the 2016 Carolina Panthers, even though I will spend the whole time explaining why I shouldn’t. This article is for people like me to agree with, for optimists to shun, and for pessimists to say I’m minimizing things. Don’t worry, there are two more articles coming that will cater more toward the latter... but I felt it necessary to start with reality at the critical point in the season where reality should hit home for everyone.

Reality #1: This Season is Over.

Not mathematically speaking, yes... but I think most people would agree that the worst thing that could happen for this team is to somehow limp into the playoffs and screw ourselves yet again out of the draft’s top talent. Hell, at this point, 7-9 and a narrow playoff miss is pretty detrimental too. Do you really want to experience a one and done playoff berth after the season we lived last year? I know I don’t. I believe it is time to take this one on the chin, address the realities that got us here, and put the wheels in motion to fix them... the sooner the better.

Reality #2: A better 2016 offseason could not have fixed all that ills this team.

That statement should not absolve David Gettleman of any wrong-doing, but it should be noted that there are plenty of things that have gone down that he really could not have foreseen. For example, it was plain to see that better offensive line depth was needed. Entering the season with Mike Remmers as your starting right tackle was never a real recipe for success, but having him as your primary backup at left tackle is just a completely disastrous idea. An injury to your left tackle, which of course is exactly what happened, effectively takes two starters off the line.

But even the things it did look like he addressed, like getting a seemingly reliable backup center in Gino Gradkowski, failed him. No amount of OL depth can account for the injuries we have seen this season. No team could have withstood it entirely. However, we could have stemmed the tide a bit by drafting mid-round offensive linemen the moment Gettleman took office. Developmental talent in the pipeline. Something this offensive line has not had in our current decade, perhaps not even really our current century.

But speaking of the things he didn’t see coming...

Reality #3: Kony Ealy has been a disastrous disappointment

Ron Rivera and David Gettleman both clearly put a lot of stock in Kony Ealy. I cannot really fault them for that. Ealy had an amazing stretch run in his second season, and it looked like all the pieces were falling into place. With that in mind, Gettleman was somewhat content to just take a chance on Charles Johnson, and then have some situational guys like Mario Addison rotate in as needed.

In the end, none of those gambles paid off. Ealy has been having a terrible season. Charles Johnson is showing his age more than really expected, and the situational guys... Mario Addison is currently injured (though did well prior to that) and Ryan Delaire never elevated his game beyond flashes in the pan. The big failure here though, is a lack of a young hungry draft pick to round out that lineup, or at least help push Kony Ealy. Like offensive linemen, in the current NFL landscape, you can never have too many young pass rushers.

Reality #4: CAMvp is still alive, but his game can’t evolve at the moment

Statistically, it is a down year for Cam Newton. However, anyone but the steamiest of hot takes All-Stars, and Brosefiest of Box Score Bros, would acknowledge that the situation around him has way more to do with the decline than anything he has done specifically. Cam never really had a chance to get this season off the ground after losing Michael Oher in week 2, and the injuries just continued to mount ever since. His protection got worse, the running game got worse, and therefore, he got worse. That isn’t something unique to him, it is going to negatively affect pretty much any QB.

But it also looks like the timing on this really couldn’t get worse. Cam is at that point in his career, that while he is still young, he is not as young as he used to be. The hits have started to add up. There have been nagging injuries. His game needs to evolve into a run\pass split that definitely favors more pass and a heck of a lot less designed runs. The playcalling this year has reflected that. But right now, the protection is collapsing on so many sides, he really can’t even scramble. Michael Oher meant so much to this team, but probably his greatest asset was his reliable positioning. How many times did we see Cam escape with that little spin move to Oher’s side to break the pocket and get off to the races? That chemistry and reliability just isn’t there right now, and that has ripped the safety cloak right off of SuperCam’s back.

Reality #5: Despite all of that, this team can turn things around quickly.

This season may be all but in the books, but next season can begin as soon as we let it. The Panthers are going to be more than $50 million under the cap entering the offseason. There are going to be a number of young talented OTs hitting free agency that while they have not worked out on their current squads, may just need that change of scenery to really unlock their abilities. One man’s bust can be another man’s treasure in the NFL. Sometimes you’re not a scheme fit, sometimes there is a locker room cancer, or any number of reasons.

The Panthers should try to get their hands on some of these talented projects in free agency, and then supplement those pickups with shrewd moves in the draft. Lately, the front office has not been reinforcing their staunch BPA approach with appropriate insurance policies in the free agent market. This year, they definitely have the funds to be aggressive, and can use them to just build up some youth and promise at some positions that haven’t had heavy attention in awhile.

Doing that is going to take some real-talk amongst themselves, however. Failures have to be acknowledged, and changes will need to be made. People might need to lose their jobs. Stagnation in the NFL isn’t going to get you anywhere. No one knows that like Carolina Panthers fans. “IT IS WHAT IT IS” IS NOT A VALID POSITION. We took a long time getting rid of that once... Panthers fans won’t wait forever for it to leave again.