Carolina Panthers: 2-14 to 14-2 in Two Years

A turnaround of mega proportions is in the midst and although these Panthers haven’t created a turn around as large as the ’07 to ’08 dolphins did in one season from 1-15 to 11-5, the Carolina Panthers are looking to become a mega contender inthe NFC for the next few years. Upon the arrival of Ron Rivera, his coaching staff, and Cam Newton, the Panthers are going to be looking to pounce on every opponent in their path in the upcoming season.

I was so excited for the 2011 draft at the end of the season because the Carolina Panthers had the number one pick in the draft and Andrew Luck was going to be a Carolina Panther in my mind. I was already an Andrew Luck and Jim Harbough fan and wanted that combination of talent to arrive at the Panther’s facilities so badly. Then, in a one-week time span both my wishes were crushed as Jim Harbaugh signed on with the San Francisco 49ers and Andrew Luck decided to stay a Stanford tree (Stanford should really come up with a cool mascot). Mel Kiper and Todd McShay were then predicting that the Panthers were looking at the Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton as they still were going to take a quarterback with their number one pick. I had my questions about choosing Cam Newton with this pick as many teams have gone backwards for a decade by choosing the wrong player in this position such as a Ryan Leaf. Man, was a wrong, Cam’s attitude and talent have shown me as well as the rest of the NFL world that he is not someone to be messed with. This man is 6-6, 250 lbs. and runs a 4.59 forty-yard dash as a quarterback in the National Football League. His hatred for losing combined with the fact that he is a physical phenom makes him something to be reckoned with.

John Fox was a very good coach and he proved it in the 2011 season by coaching Tim Tebow and the Broncos to the playoffs after such a poor start but it was time for a change in Carolina. Ron Rivera seems like a conservative pick at first but his defensive knowledge from playing the game along with his ties to the San Diego Chargers helped to create an astonishingly productive staff to coach up these Carolina Panthers. If Jerry Richardson can make sure he hangs on to Rob Chudzinski for this upcoming season then the Panthers are going to be a force to reckoned with. Chud has taken advantage of Cam’s skill sets while also incorporating the run game into his offensive game plan. If we stick with Chud as the OC then there is no question that big things are in the future for the Carolina Panthers.

One major factor into the Panthers having a 6-10 season is the injuries that occurred defensively for the Carolina Panthers. Jon Beason and Thomas Davis, two leaders and pro bowl caliber players, went down early in the season that caused others to step up in their place. The Carolina Panthers were 28^th in overall defense and a big reason for this was that 18 players were placed on injury reserve this season which is a franchise record. Most of these players played on the defensive side of the football.

The Carolina Panthers have two backs with the nickname “Double-Trouble” in Jonathon Stewart and Deangelo Williams who were the first set of players in the NFL to reach 1,100 yards while playing on the same team in the 2009 season. With the acquisition of Cam Newton into the same backfield as these two extraordinary backs creates a problem for every defensive coordinator in the National Football League. If the offense improves from it’s ranking of seventh in the NFL last season and the defense even becomes average then maybe another 2003 like run to the Super Bowl is underway.

The Panthers 6-10 season does come away with its positives as the Panthers receive a top ten pick. This pick can be used to sure up the defensive line with the acquisition of a large defensive tackle or maybe even, if their lucky, Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon will still be on the board. I don’t see the Panthers looking Blackmon over as his college statistics at receiving are ridiculous but if he isn’t on the board then they can take care of their run stopping problem with a talented Defensive tackle.

All in all, The pieces are in set for the Carolina Panthers to vastly improve from their woes two seasons ago and take their talents to the post-season, possibly even with a first round bye. The Panthers are on their way to winning not only their division but in the next few years, the Super Bowl. This is a fair warning to the Bucs, Saints, and Falcons; The kid with a smile on his face and number one on his jersey is about to lead his team to becoming the number one team in the NFL.