The Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals are supposed to be contenders. To this point, they both look like dumpster fires.
We are only through the first quarter of the 2016 NFL season, but there is a real reason to be concerned about both the Cardinals and Panthers. Arizona and Carolina are 1-3, after losing to the Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons, respectively, on Sunday.
At some point, there has to be genuine concern about Carolina’s pass defense. When you allow 300 yards to a single receiver (Julio Jones, but still), it is a huge problem. It also speaks to the complete lack of coaching. At some point, don’t you make Atlanta go somewhere else with the football? Then again, with the corners that the Panthers are starting, you have no chance.
Arizona is also dealing with all kinds of issues. Save for their lone win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Cardinals have struggled to move the football. Considering this is a team with David Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Michael Floyd, there should be no problem scoring some points.
There are 12 games left on the regular-season docket for each team, but the issues are both stark and multiple. The Cardinals might be in more trouble, considering they are in a division with the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle has the ability to run and hide, while the Panthers are in a much weaker group of teams. That said, Atlanta is trying to show it is the real deal.
Both coaches need to figure out what the problems are. With the Cardinals playing on Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers (potentially having to start Drew Stanton), Bruce Arians has little time to make a ton of adjustments. Carolina is playing Monday night, giving Ron Rivera a little more room to make changes.
Regardless, the panic meter is starting to go in the red for both sides.