I knew Teddy Bridgewater was pretty good.
What I didn't know _ and what I bet a lot of Carolina Panthers fans didn't know _ was that he was this good.
As the surprising 3-2 Panthers prepare to take on Chicago at home Sunday, it's worth noting and appreciating the sea change that has occurred over the past several weeks within Carolina's organization. Even if the Panthers lose this home game against the 4-1 Bears, it won't change the fact that their new quarterback has stabilized a franchise that badly needed to find solid ground.
For a 10-month period from November 2019 through September 2020, the Panthers felt like they were huddled in the middle of a perpetual earthquake. Cam Newton, Ron Rivera, Greg Olsen and Luke Kuechly walked _ or in the first three cases were pushed _ out the door. A global pandemic caused uncertainty and death worldwide, and in the Panthers' small corner of the world the accompanying COVID-19 restrictions meant the new players didn't even know their teammates' names all summer.
By the time the season began, the Panthers hadn't won a game for 315 days.
In the middle of that drought, Carolina fired Newton and signed Bridgewater, who resurrected his career last season in New Orleans by going 5-0 as a starter in place of an injured Drew Brees.
Rarely has a nickname been more apropos than Bridgewater's "Steady Teddy" moniker. Only 27 years old but having already recovered from a career-threatening left knee injury while in Minnesota, Bridgewater has the expertise and the gravitas to lead a team that was in desperate need of a leader.
"I just try to live with conviction and be myself," Bridgewater said, "and eventually people gravitate toward my personality."
