32 in 31: Carolina Panthers

Another year of 32 in 31. Sports News on Tap takes the month of August to preview the National Football League. We spend every day of the month looking at a new team and how they will fare in 2013

Carolina Panthers are getting close. After being 2-14 in 2010, the Panthers are slowly creeping up to be a playoff threat in the NFC.  They have not been to the playoffs since 2008 and you wonder if owner Jerry Richardson will get restless with Ron Rivera if they do not make it his year.  Personally, I feel Rivera should keep his job if he is anywhere close to 8-8, but if he only wins five games, he is probably looking for employment next year. There is a lot of promise in Carolina, and too bad they play a brutal schedule this year.

OFFENSE
People forget the Panthers won five of their last six games last year, and a majority of the good play started with Cam Newton. He came on strong to finish the year, and he looks to build on it next season. Newton is the ripe age of 24 years old, and still has plenty of time to grow as a quarterback. He had the highest yard-per completion in the NFL last year at 13.8, which tells me he needs to pass the ball more.  Sometimes there is a lack of trust with the coordinator and Newton himself would rather run the football versus passing it down field. Newton ended up being the leading rusher as well last season. In his first two seasons, he rushed for around 500 yards. He had multiple games of going over 100 yards, and can definitely break one if he gets into open space. People including me fawn over Newton because he has an unbelievable combination of size and speed.

The offensive line of Carolina needs to protect Newton better though. Even though Cam can run the football,  he has been sacked 35+ times in the first two years of playing football.  This adds to the reasoning why Newton uses his feet more often because he does not feel comfortable in the pocket with the offensive line. They did draft a guard, but he is a FCS player so I have no idea if he will make impact in the first year.

While Newton does a great deal of running, the actual running backs of Carolina has been sort of a clustered disaster.  DeAngelo Williams had back-to-back 1,000 yard years in 2008 and 2009 but he has not been able to capture that again. He rushed for a measly 4.3 yards per carry last season, and Williams is not getting any younger. Jonathan Stewart is on the PUP list, and it should surprise no one he is banged up already. They did draft Kenjon Barber who could honestly be lethal with Newton running the zone read, but the Panthers offense must get creative with them.  

DEFENSE
The Carolina front seven is going to be tough this season. They are led by Luke Kuechly, the Defensive Rookie of the Year who will breakout even more this season. He looked great in preseason, and Kuechly just has a nose for the football. Kuechly will be known as one of the best linebackers in the NFL by the end of theyear.  Not to mention, having guys like Jon Beason and Thomas Davis flanked on the outside helps things out in a major day.  Both of those men have to stay healthy as Beason has only played five games in the last two years. He will be at outside linebacker for the first time, but I could see Big Beas being successful there.

Their defensive line was good last season, and they upgraded in the 2013 NFL Draft by getting Star Lotuleiei with the 14th pick, a player who should have gone in the first three picks but he had a health condition. Star looks like a stud thus far and he will only make the linebackers better. Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy, their defensive ends, had a combined 23.5 sacks last season.  Oh by the way, they also drafted Kawann Short from Purdue as another defensive tackle.  Their front seven will be absolutely mean this year.

The secondary on the other hand might be softer than Charmin. Yes, they have Charles Godfrey and he is a good player at safety.  But other than that, there is nothing to be excited about in their defensive backfield. They did pick up D.J. Moore and Drayton Florence, but neither of them seem to be good enough to take the reigns of the cornerback position.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Adding Ted Ginn will only help their return unit.  They get a dynamic player to return kicks and probably punts for the Panthers this season. He still has the speed to break away from defenders, and Ginn had a great preseason.

KEY ADDITIONS
LB Chase Blackburn, CB Drayton Florence, WR/KR Ted Ginn, WR Domenik Hixon, CB D.J. Moore DT Colin Cole - I like Blackburn addition in case Beason or Davis goes down. I will not talk about Kuechly going down.

KEY SUBTRACTIONS
CB Chris Gamble, LB James Anderson, DT Ron Edwards, WR Louis Murphy,

PANTHERS DRAFT PICKS
DT Star Lotueiei, DT Kawann Short, OG Edmund Kugbilla, LB A.J. Klein, RB Kenjon Barber - Did you know Klein is from Kimberly, Wisconsin?  I had no idea until last week.

GAME TO WATCH
Sunday December 8th at New Orleans 12 pm - The Panthers have to play the Saints twice in three weeks which is never easy and then add to the fact it's in December, that will be difficult.

WIN TOTAL 
7-8 - Yes, their schedule is really tough, but I still think they can get to eight wins if everyone clicks. I could see Rivera still losing his job, but I think it would be unjust.

Charlie.