It’s a changing of the guard in Carolina as a lot of the veteran players for this franchise have been shipped out and replaced by younger bodies. Coming off a season in which the Panthers finished 8-8, the management decided that the rebuild needed to begin immediately.
The biggest change will be at quarterback where Matt Moore takes over as the full-time starter in place of the veteran Jake Delhomme. We had become so used to the Delhomme-Steve Smith combination, but Delhomme’s best days were clearly behind him and the franchise needed a fresh arm that was capable of keeping Smith not only productive, but happy at the same time.
The obvious question is: Can Moore turn this offense multi-dimensional? We know that the Panthers are set at the running back spot with possibly the best tandem in football with Deangelo Williams and Johnathan Stewart, but being one-dimensional is equal to death in the NFL. The stats don’t lie. The Panthers were near the bottom in passing yards and Top 3 in rushing yards. The passing yards have to come up a little more to create balance.
The offensive line for this team has some great talent at the end and centre positions. Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah might represent the best tandem of tackles in the NFL and Ryan Kalil is a big-time centre in this league. The problems could arise with the guards and their relative inexperience.
Defensively, this team put up solid numbers from a year ago, but with a lot of personnel changes and the subtraction of All-Pro defensive end Julius Peppers, can this defence put up the same type of performance that they did last season? On paper, it looks like they'll be hard-pressed to equal their 2009 season.
With the loss of Peppers due to free agency, the Panthers were left with a big hole to fill at the end spot. Unfortunately, they didn’t fill it with someone close to the same talent level as Peppers. They'll have a tough time getting pressure on the quarterback this season unless someone emerges from the group.
The linebackers group looks to be a bit shaky as well. After Jon Beason, the Panthers really don’t have a lot of offer against opposing offences. The secondary is in the same boat as Chris Gamble represents the one true threat at the cornerback spot, but everyone else is going to have to pick up their game if they want to equal their fourth place finish for passing yards allowed.
Two players to watch for in camp are Dwayne Jarrett and Jimmy Clausen. We talked about the need for a pass attack and Jarrett might be the guy to give them a second threat from the wide receiver spot. The USC grad has to start showing off some of that potential though or else the Panthers will be stuck relying solely on the run game again. Clausen is trying to get the backup job at quarterback away from Hunter Cantwell. Odds are that he will do so since he’s the future of the franchise. How well he shows in camp will go a long way into telling us how quickly he can ascend into being the starter for the Panthers.
2010 Prediction: 5-11