What’s next for the Panthers in 2022

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Is the “Ask The Old Guy” column shut down? Missed it! I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I haven’t heard anything about the “merch.” If it’s not going to happen, that’s OK. I’m not dying or anything (at least I hope not). If you need to cancel it, I’m OK with it. — Howard, Star, NC

I took a couple of weeks off from the bag, and it felt strange; like walking around your house with no pants on. But I needed to take a breath, because a football season is a long time, every day from the middle of July to the middle of January. We probably won’t go weekly through the offseason, but it’s not going anywhere. It’s too much fun. Usually. I’m guessing every other week, until things pick up.

Most of the first 20 or so of our Friends Of The Mailbag have their merch, but we do need to restock. The same supply chain that keeps Howard from having enough Vienna sausage before the blizzard hits impacts us as well. But trust me Howard, you’ll get yours. We value you too much to ignore.

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How could the Panthers become playoff contenders? — Hank, Alpharetta, GA

I admire brevity. I wish I had more of it.

With seven spots, 43.75 percent of each conference is going now. So it’s possible to get to the postseason in the NFL without actually being good. The Eagles and Steelers, the owners of those coveted seven seeds last season, didn’t put up much of a fight in their wild card games.

Getting to the great middle of the NFL isn’t an impossible feat, since the league is designed to push everyone to the center.

For the Panthers, it would require fixing the offensive line and getting stable quarterback play, and playing defense the way they did most of the year. That’s all.

And for getting right to the point and keeping things moving, I’m declaring Hank the first offseason Friend Of The Mailbag, and putting him on the list for the second wave of merch, as soon as that gets in, and we get Howard taken care of.