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    Three Things the Carolina Panthers Must Do During the Bye Week: Fan's Opinion

    By | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Tue, Oct 9, 2012 2:04 AM EDT

    The Carolina Panthers enter their bye week with plenty of things on their minds. They have by all accounts been a disappointment thus far on the young season and some have written them off completely. As a huge Carolina Panthers fan, I have to admit I am frustrated myself. I still think the Panthers have plenty of time to right the ship, but it will not come easy. Here are three things I think they need to work on while they are on their bye week:

    They need to get healthy again

    While it is not the only reason they lost to the Seattle Seahawks, it certainly did not help that they were down some key players. Jon Beason, Chris Gamble and others were on the sidelines and that was a tough thing. Gamble was missed more than anyone as the Panthers secondary is already considered a weakness. Captain Munnerlyn had a decent game, but the team still missed Gamble. Beason is always missed if only because of his ability to disrupt the offense. The Panthers need to get healthy once again.

    Rivera needs to get his team back

    To listen to the Panthers, they are all saying the right things. To watch the Panthers, it is clear that they are not doing all the right things. It is one thing when a team loses because they are over-matched. When you are better than the team you are playing and you lose anyway, then you have a coaching problem. I like Ron Rivera and I feel it is far too early to start talking about getting rid of him, but he clearly has lost this team on some level. He needs to bring them back into the fold and get it together. Rivera is a good coach but he needs some discipline to be doled out to his team.

    The Panthers need to work on situation football

    At least once or twice every single game I see the Panthers fail to execute in the little ways that are necessary to win on a regular basis. Those little moments add up and eventually cost the Panthers the game. This is particularly true in time management and in play calling around the goal line. It appears that we are getting a bit to cute with our plays and straying from what was already working. I would suggest that they work on those things plenty during the bye week.

    Although they have a limited amount of time, a bye week can go a long ways towards fixing things. They have to believe in themselves and each other, as well as be willing to work on the weaknesses that are clearly evident. If they do this, then they might just get back on the right track.

    Source--Yahoo Sports Stats Page

    *Southern is a huge Carolina Panthers fan that is convinced that he will see a Super Bowl Trophy in Charlotte within five years.

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