Panthers #7 in power rankings...

[eViL jEsTeR]

he's also got the bengals 23rd. they will finish 2nd in division ahead of the steelers.

for a more realistic ranking, we're at 18(3rd in our divison and ranked ahead of steelers who are also 3rd in their division.) at espn. i don't like his high ranking of the vikings. even if favre returns, he has a career season last year and that's diffiult for anyone to reproduce. i'd drop them below the chargers and greenbay and would drop the saints from the top spot.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings?year=2010&week=0

[unicar15]

Best running game in the NFL, Best OL in the NFL, Best secondary in the NFL (arguably), a top 3 or 4 LB corp in the NFL. If our young guys can step it up on the DL and we get solid QB play then I am going out on a limb and saying we win the division. We were the hottest team in the NFL last year over the last 4 games. Nobody would have wanted to play us had we made the playoffs.

[panthers55]

I find it interesting that we supposedly have all this talent particularly on the defensive end. All the players we lost outside of Peppers were supposedly average by many folks opinions around here. Now they are being replaced by the backups to all those positions after we dumped the veterans So we have backups to supposed average players who were not good enough to start last year, and now all of a sudden they are starting and we have great talent on the team. I can understand some of the hype about the running backs and offensive line, even Moore although he is not proven. And of course Smitty is still a great player. But outside of those guys and someone like Beason on defense, where is all the great talent??

Seriously??? We have lots of young guys with plenty of potential and we have guys like Johnson who have waited for years for their turn. But at this point to say we have great talent is hyperbole. What we have is a pretty good offense if we can get production at wide receiver and tight end and a very young green defense which will have to gel together pretty quickly and pressure the opposing offense or we will have the same dynamics as NO in 2008. Scored a lot of points but couldn't shut teams downs when they had to in order to win.

[ClawOn]

It's pretty simple really. Anyone paying attention knew Delhomme didn't have it anymore. You can't win with that way. There was therefore no hope at the start of last year. There is now. The nucleus was and is strong. We belong somewhere in the top 10.

[panthers55]

Best running game in the NFL, Best OL in the NFL, Best secondary in the NFL (arguably), a top 3 or 4 LB corp in the NFL. If our young guys can step it up on the DL and we get solid QB play then I am going out on a limb and saying we win the division. We were the hottest team in the NFL last year over the last 4 games. Nobody would have wanted to play us had we made the playoffs.

Even if we had all the same guys, teams just don't pick up where they left off. Each year is different and chemistry has to build all over again. But this team is surely not the same one that finished so well last year particularly on the defense.

Or running game is good but not the best (Chris Johnson alone accomplished as much as both Williams and Stewart last year), our Oline is top 10 but not the best, the secondary is not even top 10, the linebacker corp outside of Beason is suspect with Anderson/Connor having no real experience and Davis is coming off of serious surgery. The D line is a joke right now, with several supposed starters coming off injury and the rest outside of Brayton totally inexperienced. Win the division??? Good luck with that. At this point I will be happy if we aren't in the basement. It is nice to know that Tampa is still worse than us at this point.

[MadHatter]

he's also got the bengals 23rd. they will finish 2nd in division ahead of the steelers.

for a more realistic ranking, we're at 18(3rd in our divison and ranked ahead of steelers who are also 3rd in their division.) at espn. i don't like his high ranking of the vikings. even if favre returns, he has a career season last year and that's diffiult for anyone to reproduce. i'd drop them below the chargers and greenbay and would drop the saints from the top spot.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings?year=2010&week=0

18 is a bit low in my book. Also, I would still rank us ahead of the Falcons. Our OL, RB, Defense are all better. Our WR are still a ? until we see the young guns play. I would put Moore even with Ryan at this point.

[CRA]

18 is a bit low in my book. Also, I would still rank us ahead of the Falcons. Our OL, RB, Defense are all better. Our WR are still a ? until we see the young guns play. I would put Moore even with Ryan at this point.

how is our defense better? a bad DL can make every single person behind them signifcantly worse (and that is amplified in a Fox/Meeks D). The DL on paper has potenital to make this defense one of the worst in the NFL.

[Dpantherman]

how is our defense better? a bad DL can make every single person behind them signifcantly worse (and that is amplified in a Fox/Meeks D). The DL on paper has potenital to make this defense one of the worst in the NFL.

yea because our D line was SO dominate before. is your memory bad? they would send every guy and not touch the QB, but the coverage was so good in the secondary they had no where to throw. coverage sack was the result. even if our D-line sucks, it wouldn't be a big drop off.

[caddieman]

A little bit of reality in a thread never hurts

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2010/05/32-tampa-bay-gerald-mccoy-is-an-upgrade-of-the-defensive-line-but-folks-in-tampa-will-soon-see-hes-not-in-warren-sapps-lea.html

22. Carolina: One does not get better by losing Julius Peppers, having a coach enter a season as a lame duck, having no first round draft pick, and using the second-round pick on a player (Jimmy Clausen) who probably will not play as he learns the NFL game. As horrible offseasons go, Carolina is right up there. Their best move might have been picking Brandon LaFell in the third round because at least he might start in 2010.

[PantherBob]

yea because our D line was SO dominate before. is your memory bad? they would send every guy and not touch the QB, but the coverage was so good in the secondary they had no where to throw. coverage sack was the result. even if our D-line sucks, it wouldn't be a big drop off.

Peppers, Lewis, Thomas > Brown, Johnson, Tyler

[Dpantherman]

A little bit of reality in a thread never hurts

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2010/05/32-tampa-bay-gerald-mccoy-is-an-upgrade-of-the-defensive-line-but-folks-in-tampa-will-soon-see-hes-not-in-warren-sapps-lea.html

22. Carolina: One does not get better by losing Julius Peppers, having a coach enter a season as a lame duck, having no first round draft pick, and using the second-round pick on a player (Jimmy Clausen) who probably will not play as he learns the NFL game. As horrible offseasons go, Carolina is right up there. Their best move might have been picking Brandon LaFell in the third round because at least he might start in 2010.

only 1 problem, who says this is reality?? some of you act like Peppers is the only guy on the field that can do anything. Is is possible that Peppers got help from the guys around him? all these predicitions (positive and negative) mean nothing, because we don't know what our guys can do, but to assume that its doom and gloom because peppers is gone is nonsense. its also nonsense to ASSUME that John Fox will ass around because hes in the last year of his contract. and with as mean 1st round busts that are out there, not having a first round pick means nothing. you can just as easily have a first round pick and blow it, than not have one and hit big time. There im done, silence broken.

[Dpantherman]

Peppers, Lewis, Thomas > Brown, Johnson, Tyler

yes because Lewis and Thomas are irreplaceable perrenial pro-bowlers. first ballot hall of famers. they were so dominate, we had the top rushing defense in the NFL and sack the QB almost every time. the opposing QBs had very little time to throw. tell me another

[PantherBob]

yes because Lewis and Thomas are irreplaceable perrenial pro-bowlers. first ballot hall of famers. they were so dominate, we had the top rushing defense in the NFL and sack the QB almost every time. the opposing QBs had very little time to throw. tell me another

Um, Our rushing defense improved dramatically after we signed Hollis Thomas and Damione Lewis has always been a solid pass rusher. Tell me what exactly Ed Johnson and Tank Tyler has done to make you think they're an upgrade? Just because Thomas and Lewis werent hall of famers doesnt mean you can just replace them anyone. Try again kid. :lol:

[PantherBob]

only 1 problem, who says this is reality?? some of you act like Peppers is the only guy on the field that can do anything. Is is possible that Peppers got help from the guys around him? all these predicitions (positive and negative) mean nothing, because we don't know what our guys can do, but to assume that its doom and gloom because peppers is gone is nonsense. its also nonsense to ASSUME that John Fox will ass around because hes in the last year of his contract. and with as mean 1st round busts that are out there, not having a first round pick means nothing. you can just as easily have a first round pick and blow it, than not have one and hit big time. There im done, silence broken.

Well according to you all the other defensive linemen were useless nobodies that can be replaced by anyone. Now you're saying they were the main reason for Peppers success? Make up your mind boy! Peppers is one of the top 2 DEs in the NFL. He cant be replaced by just anyone