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.

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Keys to a Successful Fantasy Football Draft

As part of our continued increase in fantasy sports coverage here at SnoTap, this week we will look into some good strategies to take with you into your draft. If you missed last week’s article on how to improve your league here it is: Enhancing your Fantasy Football League

The draft is perhaps the most important day in your fantasy football league for multiple reasons. First off, if you’re able to do the draft in person, it’s the day that is the most fun, as you will gather together with the whole league. Second, it’s when you fill out your roster with the guys you will be working with through the rest of the year, whether it’s starting them, trading them, or cutting them when they don’t work out. Bryan Reynolds and I have put together some strategies we use for each draft. Feel free to use and of your favorites for your league this season.

Adam: Know your opponent:

Perhaps the most important aspect of fantasy football is to know your competition. What kind of player are they, what level of knowledge do they have about the sport, who are their favorite teams, who do they hate? This can be important because you can tell what they are going to do. For example, if you have someone who is an avid Packer fan, and not very experienced in fantasy sports, they’re likely to take Aaron Rodgers with their first pick, no matter where that falls in the draft. If you’re targeting Aaron as your stud QB, it’s important to pick him before that player. Knowing your enemy can tell you a lot about who they are going to draft, and help form your strategy.

Bryan: Know which position you can wait for:

Find which positions you are comfortable waiting for the 10^th-12^thbest player. An example of this is in the 2013 season, which will definitely be noticeable while looking at the QB and TE position. Rodgers leads the group of top tier QB’s, but he is one of few. The second tier is so large that there is likely a minimal difference between taking the fourth rated QB and the 10^th. Same goes for TE, where Jimmy Graham is running away with the top rank, but the difference is minimal after that.

Adam: Don’t Panic:

Every draft I have been featured a panic rush on players. In most seasons, there will be one position that is a little bit weaker than others, for instance this year it is running backs. What happens in these leagues is owners will reach for players above their value, and the players at that position will drop like flies. Next thing you know, you’re taking DeMarco Murray and Reggie Bush in the second round. My advice here is go against the trend. Instead of panicking, and taking a lesser value running back, take someone who will dominate their position. If you have top five players at QB, WR, and TE, you can patch together running backs from the waiver wire later in the season once injuries start happening. The key to this strategy is to look for sleepers later in the draft, once everyone else thinks they're set, and then finding quality contributors off of the waiver wire once the season has started.

Bryan: Analyze Defenses and Divisions:

It is important to analyze DEF season schedules and division matchups before the draft. I like to start the draft with three or four defenses in my head I am targeting for my team. A team like San Diego had a solid defense last year, but we have to remember they will face Denver twice throughout the season. Also, a team that can consistently stop opponents is better, as there is no method to calculate how many turnovers you can count on each week.

Adam: Know your scoring:

When looking at expert’s rankings, it is important to understand which scoring format they are considering. For example, most rankings assume four points-passing touchdown, no PPR, one point-ten yards rushing/receiving. Know where your scoring differentiates between the general leagues. If your league has six points per passing touchdown, some of the more pure passing quarterbacks will move up in the ranks, and not everyone may realize it. A lot of experts have Peyton Manning and Cam Newton on the same tier for quarterbacks. In a league where passing touchdowns are only four points, Cam might take the edge because of his rushing ability. However, if you’re looking at six points for a passing touchdown, Manning all of a sudden takes the lead, as he will rack up the points in that category. The same goes for teammates Julio Jones and Roddy White. Jones usually leads in touchdowns, but White gets more targets meaning more receptions.

Bryan: Visualize your Team:

Print off the list of rankings we will produce here on SnoTap (coming next 2 weeks) or use another site’s, such as ESPN. Once printed, go through each position and highlight your ideal candidate for each position. Obviously, it will be impossible for you to get all these players, so go through the categories again and highlight a few players outside of your top 5 that will sufficiently fit the role. You may find it helpful to highlight a lot of players in the WR and RB categories, as they will comprise a majority of your bench positions.

Adam: Look for Opportunity:

The key to all fantasy sports is playing time and opportunities to showcase skills. The players who provide the most points won’t always be the leaders in the talent department. For the last few years, Michael Turner has been a leader at the running back position, despite not being overwhelming in the talent department. What set him apart however was having no clear challenge to playing time, staying healthy, and having a team that wanted to utilize him. It allowed him to consistently deliver, while other, more talented running backs where stuck on the bench or the injured reserve.

Did we miss any strategies? What do you use for your league? Make sure to test out a few different strategies on various fantasy sites’ mock drafts. Next week, we will have rankings for the QB and TE positions. If you have any fantasy sports questions, send them to Snotap12@gmail.com, and we will make sure to get them answered in the following week’s column.

Adam

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