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Panthers8192 take-it-what-its-worth NFC South Prediction

SOJA

By SOJA,
in Carolina Panthers

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SOJA Veteran

SOJA

Posted
Posted

To all the mods this is Panthers related. Second, I am so excited for Sunday I had to do something to occupy my time. So move this if you must but I hope to get other huddlers' predictions.

Predicting the NFL season is kind of ludicrous. Injuries can happen to anyone and can dismantle an entire team see Pats-Brady, Colts-Manning, Saints-Brees..etc. Furthermore there is always a couple of break out stars and busts that no one saw coming. For example, say Ndamicanspellhisname Suh has an awful season...but but he was guaranteed to be good. Or it turns out Revis Island needs help from, wait, who is the Jets safety now? The only guarantees I would say are players who have consistently proven themselves to be hard workers and talented, but once again injuries can happen to anyone.

Which is why I am being an absolute hypocrite and am predicting the NFC South and why the Panthers will make the playoffs this year.

SaintsTwo words: Superbowl Hangover. . Drew Brees and the Aints tank this season. They were very lucky last year and they are one injury-riddle sack away from being absolutely awful. I'm calling that it happens...sorry SaintJ it's just karma. Their defense was good, but relied heavily on Sharper's playmaking ability. All indications are that he is not fully recovered from surgery. People so easily forget how bad the Saints were a year before the magical run. The NFC south loves to go in cycles, plus lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice, right? 3rd in division

Falcons Assuming Turner can stay healthy, I am actually more worried about them than a fully heathly Saints team. Turner was destroying us last year before he went down with an injury. I'm still not sold on our run defense considering we never really got a good look at a number one back besides Chris Johnson for just a couple of possessions in the preseason (which you know he doesn't give a toot about). I think Turner is healthy this year and Ryan gets over the sophomore slump. Defense improved over the off-season through the draft and by adding a decent number one corner. Tony Gonzalez is their most consistent receiving option, but Rodney White isn't terrible either. Falcons come back from a rather lack-luster season and finish 1st in the division.

Bucs Can't argue with the young talent this roster has. They drafted two great recievers this year, and got a solid DT. They are young and explosive. Pretty solid defensive players in Ruud, Talib, Barber, and Jackson. Young hungry coach with a pretty promising quaterback...and a solid backup in Josh Johnson, and you've definitely got a team on the rise. Unfortunately for the Bucs the rest of the divsion is just a couple of steps ahead of them and while they will fare better than 09 they will come in 4th in the division. Look out for them in the coming years though.

PanthersI don't need to preach to you all about the Panthers weaknesses and strengths. But I'll just highlight a couple of things going for us that aren't said around here too much.

One: Hungry D-will. He wants a big contract and he knows it might not be with us. He also knows this is his chance to get his one big one contract in his career. I expect D-will to have a monster year.

Two: Easy Schedule. Most of you probably have studied our schedule like it was a final for organic chemistry so I'll just leave it at that.

Three: Matt Moore. Whether he likes it or not, whether I like it or not, whether Zod or any mod likes it or not, Moore has to be feeling the pressure. Just weeks after being assured you were the Panthers guy, guess who comes to town: the Golden Boy. Moore must know that this is his make or break year. He has won the starting job fair and square and even if he isn't resigned by the Panthers, he will play out of his mind to earn a good contract with someone in 2011.

Four: Looming Lockout. But wait the Panthers and Richardson are tanking this season because we have this elaborate plan and yadda yadda yadda. The way I see it. Were in the thick of it come week 12. Of our final games are the Browns, Cardinals, Seahawks, and Steelers. All of them for a variety of reasons might be mathematically elimnated from the playoffs by then. (Steelers could start off terribly and Cincy and Baltimore are pretty good) So we have a chance of making the playoffs while these teams don't. A looming year off might motivate our guys even more than usual while having the adverse affect on the other teams.

Five: Steve Smith. Getting old and he knows it. He has said it many times and I believe he is utterly confused by it. His quotes are all jumbled and sometimes contradictory. I think Smitty will realize pretty soon that this might be his last year as a really elite receiver. Couple that with a very motivated and pretty talented quarterback (possibly better than Delhomme in his prime) and a very good run game and presto you might be seeing Steve Smith destroying ESPN highlights again.

Six: Jon Beason. He is Patrick Willis' arch enemy. Willis just got a huge contract and gets all the attention. Look for Beason to really earn his extension the Panthers had better give him.

Seven: Other players in contract years. We have a lot. Players tend to play better in these. So while I'm not saying this season is going perfect. I can easily see us making the wildcard game for these seven reasons among many more.

Predicted Finish: 2nd. This is not a bad thing. In recent years it usually takes the Panthers a couple of games to get the ball rolling. I expect our players to be firing on all cylinders come January.

P.S. I forgot "for" in the title.

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