Panthers #7 in power rankings...

[CRA]

I 100% agree with you that no one is going to give us those few rare games that Pep was able to deliver.

However, I think the guys we have at DE (Johnson, Brown, Hardy, Brayton, and Norwood on passing downs) will be able to give us solid DE play.

I can agree that those guys can give us some solid play also. I think they need good DT play to assist them and I'm not sure we have that. Brown more so than Johnson maybe.

That said, overall I see the DL being more consistant than last season but last season overall being stronger.

[Dpantherman]

seriously man, the "4th ranked pass D" was greatly inflated b/c teams ran with such ease against us at times last season. We were never great against the run but there were stretches where we were horrible.

Our secondary last year had Godfrey, Harris, and Marshall. None of those have displayed at this point (including last year) that they are that good yet in coverage. So Gamble (who imo is an on and off as Pep sometimes) and that group was the driving force in all our sacks last season?

I think you logic on this one is a little off.

hmm... sounds familiar.

[bleys]

I can't speak for anyone else, but when I look to this upcoming season I see a lot of potential that could result in one of the more exciting seasons we've had in a while.

We are embarking new territory. A new face for a team we haven't yet experienced. Is Matt Moore as good as we've seen in the past? As much as I hope not, will Clausen make that leap? Our O-line now has 4 out of 5 starters in-tact for 2 years straight, the longest in how long? Our defense has 2 young safeties that could bomb, but did show a glimpse of solid play- will it continue? The same applies to the open LB spot. Connor and Anderson made statements to solidify us releasing Diggs... (I know, he was worth keeping. But he's gone, still something to watch this year). Our Dline is a big question mark... We'll have to wait and see what we have... I look forward to it.

And I can't wait to see TC and Armanti Edwards... Perhaps I'm setting myself up for disappointment but damn- how good he can be from the news of how tough he is, catching everything in mini camp, and his speed... We need Lafell to step up, perhaps more wishful thinking, but more likely he won't.. At least right away.

Obviously there is only one way our season will go... But I'm not sold on it being as big of a disappointment as some believe. Perhaps we suck it up, but at this point- I can't wait to watch some Panther football.

[OneBadassCat]

seriously man, the "4th ranked pass D" was greatly inflated b/c teams ran with such ease against us at times last season. We were never great against the run but there were stretches where we were horrible.

Our secondary last year had Godfrey, Harris, and Marshall. None of those have displayed at this point (including last year) that they are that good yet in coverage. So Gamble (who imo is an on and off as Pep sometimes) and that group was the driving force in all our sacks last season?

I think you logic on this one is a little off.

I disagree about our pass defense being inflated. Many games our run defense was fine in the first half but the lack of depth took over and teams were able to run on us late.

[Dpantherman]

Im going to quit arguing because its pointless. my whole point is, we were 8-8. not 1-15 or 15-1. we neither had a horrible, or fantastic team. so the freakout about the changes and loss of vets, is annoying. We haven't seen these guys play. People are Assuming that they will be horrible because they haven't been their before. Its wide open either way. our D-line underachieved so now some news guys are in there to pick up the slack. whether they will do a good job or not is unknown, but there certainty isn't a cause for panic.

[Razzy]

8 is a little low, but I pretty much agree with what he said. If not for delhomme last year we would have been 11-5 at least. Once again King proves that he does his research, unlike 90% of sports journalists.

[Happy Panther]

6-10

This is a rebuilding year

[MadHatter]

6-10

This is a rebuilding year

Care to place a wager on that?

I will bet you that we go at least 10-6 this year.

[panthers55]

how does this change anything I said?? did I say we didn't get sacks? I said most of our sacks were coverage sacks, because I watch the games like everyone else. there were games where the pass rush just didn't get there but the coverage was awesome (4th ranked pass D). coverage sack, no pass rush. so what are you talking about??

If you understand zone then you know that you don't get very many coverage sacks at all. The reality is that you have 2 or 3 seconds to get to the quarterback before players run through a zone and are wide open between the seams. The coverage was actually pretty poor at the beginning of the season with most players out of position. We were 4th because teams ran so freely on us that they didn't need to pass on us that much. Look at the passing attempts and completions rates against us before the bye.

Philly-17-29 for 102 yards- 2TDs, 1INT

ATl- 21 of 27 for 3TDs and 1Int

Dallas- 22 of 33 for 0TD and 0INT

So teams in week 1 through 3 for example completed 67% of their passes, scored 5 TDs and 2 Ints.

You think that was good. As for sacks we generated 2 against the Eagles by Peppers and Louis and 2 against Dallas- Beason and Davis.

Of those 4 none were coverage sacks as linebackers were blitzing, and both of the sacks against Phillly were due to the pass rush.

None of what you said is remotely accurate.

[SOJA]

Like the optimism and the logic behind the ranking. I don't think we will start out a top ten team but we will finish in the top ten. It usually takes our defense and run game a couple games to get the ball rolling.

My concern is injuries. I feel like we have lost a lot of depth at multiple positions, but I do think the Panthers have a great shot at making the playoffs considering we almost did last year with a really tough schedule and an interception-throwing/ game killing machine playing qb. I'm also a little worried about the run defense and pass rush(no not just because Pep is gone, but because our line hasn't been dominate since the Superbowl). I know a lot of us like Everette Brown and Charles Johnson, but for us to make a push in the playoffs they will have to live up to all the expectations. Run defense I am really worried about. I think Leonard and Tank could be good but if one of them gets injured....call Hollis Thomas and draft either Marvin Austin or Robert Quinn next year.

Which reminds me..... I'm pretty excited we have a first rounder next year. I think the talent will be top heavy in next years draft.

[Dpantherman]

If you understand zone then you know that you don't get very many coverage sacks at all. The reality is that you have 2 or 3 seconds to get to the quarterback before players run through a zone and are wide open between the seams. The coverage was actually pretty poor at the beginning of the season with most players out of position. We were 4th because teams ran so freely on us that they didn't need to pass on us that much. Look at the passing attempts and completions rates against us before the bye.

Philly-17-29 for 102 yards- 2TDs, 1INT

ATl- 21 of 27 for 3TDs and 1Int

Dallas- 22 of 33 for 0TD and 0INT

So teams in week 1 through 3 for example completed 67% of their passes, scored 5 TDs and 2 Ints.

You think that was good. As for sacks we generated 2 against the Eagles by Peppers and Louis and 2 against Dallas- Beason and Davis.

Of those 4 none were coverage sacks as linebackers were blitzing, and both of the sacks against Phillly were due to the pass rush.

None of what you said is remotely accurate.

look Im good with the stats. I've seen them. If you watched the games ( i know you did) opposing QBs had ALL DAY to throw. Do you not remember playing Josh Johnson at Tampa having all day to throw but nowhere to go. This happened several times last season. you don't get that from the stats. You get that from watching the game. I have a really good memory, i watch every game like all of us do.

[CRA]

look Im good with the stats. I've seen them. If you watched the games ( i know you did) opposing QBs had ALL DAY to throw. Do you not remember playing Josh Johnson at Tampa having all day to throw but nowhere to go. This happened several times last season. you don't get that from the stats. You get that from watching the game. I have a really good memory, i watch every game like all of us do.

well if you good at stats look at the first 3 games.....

The Panthers D gave up an average of 155 passing yards a game. That looks fantastic just looking at that number......

However, teams were averaging 5.5 yards per carry on the ground during that span. Carolina was allowing a mindblowing 182 yards a game on the ground. Carolina was 0-3 also.

So was the pass defense good? Not at all. Teams were abusing us on the ground and saw little reason to pass. And when they did pass, they completed a high percentage of passes as 55 pointed out.

It is worth noting that Johnson's best completion percentage was achieved against Carolina last year. I'm just saying...

[Dpantherman]

well if you good at stats look at the first 3 games.....

The Panthers D gave up an average of 155 passing yards a game. That looks fantastic just looking at that number......

However, teams were averaging 5.5 yards per carry on the ground during that span. Carolina was allowing a mindblowing 182 yards a game on the ground. Carolina was 0-3 also.

So was the pass defense good? Not at all. Teams were abusing us on the ground and saw little reason to pass. And when they did pass, they completed a high percentage of passes as 55 pointed out.

It is worth noting that Johnson's best completion percentage was achieved against Carolina last year. I'm just saying...

and this relates to the pass rush how?

[panthers55]

look Im good with the stats. I've seen them. If you watched the games ( i know you did) opposing QBs had ALL DAY to throw. Do you not remember playing Josh Johnson at Tampa having all day to throw but nowhere to go. This happened several times last season. you don't get that from the stats. You get that from watching the game. I have a really good memory, i watch every game like all of us do.

I won't argue that we didn't get as much pressure as we needed to last year and frankly this year we will get much less. That is my concern about the defense.

As for Johnson he was pretty awful which is why he was replaced by Josh Freeman halfway through the year. I do remember Freeman lighting us up for 300 yards- it is were not for the 5 Ints, we would have lost that game.

But no I don't remember a bunch of coverage sacks or any kind of great coverage for long periods of time at all. In fact I think you must have been drinking more than I was by a lot.