It's hard to believe that it's already July, nearly mid-July...crazy. As the abysmal loss to the Arizona Cardinals in January continues to haunt, the Panthers are gearing up for another playoff run. As training camp approaches, I myself am approaching the upcoming season with a kind of guarded optimism. On the one hand, the Panthers are returning nearly every key cog of the 2008 team that went 12-4 and won the NFC South last year. The bad news, though, is that the Panthers have never had back to back playoff years.
In 2003, after that miracle run to the Super Bowl, the team started off 1-7, then made a courageous effort at a playoff run before falling to 7-9 in 2004. In 2005, the Panthers go 11-5, and get stomped by Seattle in the NFC Championship. 2006 and 2007 saw the Panthers go 8-8 and 7-9. Then, after last season, the Panthers win the NFC South for the 2nd time and get stomped by Arizona. To say that the Panthers are up and down is an understatement. In truth, though, their finishes over the past several years is a reflection of the NFL as a whole, with it's ridiculous parity.
I have a few other fears going into 2009. I fear the defense, with it's nearly complete overhaul in coaching staff. Let's face it, the defense was the weak link to this team down the stretch. Even though the Panthers went on a tear late in the year, it could have been even better if the defense kept it's end of the bargain. Think about it, with the way the Panthers moved the ball so easily (Carolina actually finished as the #4 ranked offense last year) if the defense could've gotten stops, the Panthers might well have won the Super Bowl this past year. With new coordinator Ron Meeks, hopefully that will bring some life to a defense that has the talent to be a top unit in the NFL. One guy to watch out for is Richard Marshall, finally getting the start over departed Ken Lucas. Marshall as all the tools, and his athletic abilities are top notch (remember that fake FG play last year in the pre-season?). Also, I just hope that Peppers earns his freaking 17 million this year...
Another fear of mine is Jake Delhomme. No, I'm not one of those dumb fans that think the Panthers should start McCown or Matt Moore this year (remember when fans said the same thing about Weinke and Carr, how'd that work out for you?). I just fear that after his embarrassing performance last year in the Playoffs is still in his head. I mean, he looked pitiful in the second half. I just hope that he can bounce back, just as he did after Tommy John Surgery, and continue to feed the ball to Steve Smith and lead the team in those late game comebacks he's so good at.
My final fear heading into the season is that difficult schedule. I mean Philadelphia, Washington, Dallas, both NY's, New England, Miami, Arizona, Minnesota and the always competitive NFC South schedule...man, that's harsh. Only Buffalo, with it's 7-9 record, is the only opponent to finish with a losing record in 08. Granted, that doesn't mean a whole lot given the parity of the league, that's still a very tough schedule on paper.
Finally, I liked the draft picks (Everett Brown has me excited),though I really feel like the Panthers should have gotten some WR help. Sorry if I'm still skeptical over Dwayne Jarrett, but the guy has been nothing better than a bust so far. I just hope Muhammad has enough in the tank for another 900 yards to take the pressure off of Smitty.
With nearly everyone back, the Panthers look poised for another run at the Super Bowl. I'm very excited to see D-Will and J-Stew once again running wild on NFL Defenses...and the Delhomme to Smith connections once teams start loading up the box. If all goes well, Carolina will be back making noise in 09.
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