Patty Y. PANTHER PREVIEW

[PantherBrew]

Excellent write up from Pat. Y.

As promised, we’re rolling out our predictions for the 2011 NFL season today.

We’ll go in reverse order in the NFC South. Here’s the link to the preview page for the Carolina Panthers.

Here’s what I wrote about the Panthers, followed by my prediction on where they’ll finish in the division. By the way, up until a day or two ago, I had Carolina third in the division, but a series of injuries on the offensive line scared me off that stand.

Five things you need to know about the Panthers:

1. This is not the same predictable team you're used to: John Fox is gone and so is his belief that you have to win with ball-control offense and strong defense. New coach Ron Rivera also is a big believer in defense and his background is on that side of the ball. But Rivera realizes this has become a quarterback-driven league and his plan is to open up the passing game. That's why he hired Rob Chudzinski as the offensive coordinator. Chudzinski was previously tight ends coach in San Diego and the offense is going to be pretty similar to what the Chargers run. The Panthers still have DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, so they're not going to abandon the running game, but they're not going exclusively with it. You'll see things you never saw with Fox, like passes to the tight ends and deep passes.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/24379/previewing-and-predicting-the-panthers

[4Corners]

patty y ftw!

[UNCrules2187]

*sigh* why do people keep saying LaFell was a second round pick? A little research shows we took Clausen with that second rounder (duh) and LaFell was a third rounder. I'd expect Pat to know this since he's supposedly just responsible for our division.

[Future of the Funchise]

I totally agree with everything he said(except about LaFell being a second rounder)... Mostly because that's what I've been telling people all offseason.

[o_O]

My evaluation of Pat's write-ups are that he believes Cam will become a superstar. He speaks very highly of Cam, Rivera, JR, & the entire team. I guess he's jumping on the bandwagon ahead of time.

[panthers55]

If we go 8-8 things will have aligned for us to do so. The D fense would have to be worlds better than it is right now, the O line will have to stay healthy, the injury bug will have to stay away, and the offense will have to generate 17-20 points a game minimum.

I think 5-11 or 6-10 is more likely only because the first half of the season is going to be brutal.

[PhillyB]

i'm still mad that gettis is out for the season.

[SuperMan]

*sigh* why do people keep saying LaFell was a second round pick? A little research shows we took Clausen with that second rounder (duh) and LaFell was a third rounder. I'd expect Pat to know this since he's supposedly just responsible for our division.

While he was not a second rounder he was our second pick of the draft.

[eViL jEsTeR]

4-12

[Jackofalltrades]

5--11

[rayzor]

we can pull off 6 wins.

if newton can get the team down the field and avoiding throwing much in the way of INTs we could be a .500 team.

once these guys start to gel and get in a rhythm, wins are going to follow.

i'm not expecting it until late in the season, but it can happen at any time.

that said, we'll still likely wind up in 4th. it just won't be as ugly as last year as or bad as it could be.

[PntherPryd]

16-0!!!!

oh crap, it's September.....

never mind.

[TylerVagyler]

6-10

[Clicheking]

5 -11