The Patriots are guilty of many things. Many, many things. About twice as many things as they are willing to admit, and nearly half the things they are accused of. But panicking in the preseason is not one of them.
The Patriots looked bad in their preseason dress rehearsal against the Panthers, worse than their 17-16 victory or even their 7-6 halftime lead would indicate. Tom Brady threw two interceptions (one was a nifty strip by Charles "Peanut" Tillman, but the other was embarrassing), took a sack, threw only one truly Brady-like pass down the seam and, worst of all, scrambled twice.