Every die hard Carolina Panthers fan knows that this position haunted the Carolina Panthers last season because of Jake Delhomme's season ending injury but he was on pace for 30+ TD season and 4,000 yd+ season, however Delhomme is attempting to be the first starting QB to every come back from “Tommy John” surgery, however Jake has been showing in training camp that his arm is better which is a blessing for the Carolina Panthers. Matt Moore is a very promising backup and don’t be fooled by his crappy QB rating, the Panthers put him in bad situations. Moore has pretty good accuracy but he doesn’t exactly a big arm. He also could be next QB after when Jake Delhomme retires. The Panthers have so much confidence in Moore that they didn’t even bother re-signing the underachieving David Carr who signed with the New York Giants who hasn’t showed us why the Houston Texans used the 2002 No. 1 Draft Pick to select him. The 3rd String QB is currently up for grabs between Brett Basanez, Lester Ricard, and Taylor Tharp. Basanez is the favorite because he has been with the team longer and is more familiar with the Jeff Davidson’s offense. Ricard and Tharp are roster long shots.

Currently the starting running back position as of right now is a toss up between DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart who both have very different running styles, Williams is more of a elusive back while Stewart is a power back. The biggest knocks on the running backs are that Williams can’t show consistency in blocking and Stewart is coming off of toe surgery, however they both could be very productive together as a two headed monster backfield. Brad Hoover is the old reliable Fullback for the Panthers he is good at blocking and catching the football. Carolina brought in Troy Fleming from the Tennessee Titans for insurance for Brad Hoover but he doesn‘t block that well for a Fullback. Fleming could also be used as the short yardage back for the Panthers because of his bruising running style. However, Fleming has competition from Nick Goings and free agent pickup LaBrandon Toefield. Goings is probably the favorite but with the Panthers issues with Kick Return game Goings could be used as a KR. LaBrandon Toefield who didn’t get many carries at Jacksonville because of RBs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, is a power back from LSU is currently 9th on their all time rush list and could be worth something.

When people are talking about the best receivers in the entire NFL, one of the first people that comes to mind is Steve Smith who has been extremely productive for the Carolina Panthers. Smith was slowed down by injuries and by inconstancy at the QB position (Carolina started four different QBs last season) and as a result had 87 catches, 1,002 yards receiving, and 7 Touchdowns which was a good year considering the circumstances, but still a down year (for him). Smith will likely have a much better supporting cast since the Panthers released underachieving receivers Keary Colbert and Drew Carter who signed with the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders respectively and replaced them with free agents Muhsin Muhammad and D.J. Hackett. Muhammad will contribute with his chemistry with Steve Smith and Jake Delhomme who have desperately needed a good number 2 receiver since he departed in 2005 off-season to the Chicago Bears. In addition, Muhammad is a an excellent blocker and should help contribute in the running game and he will provide leadership in the locker room for a team that desperately needs leaders with a positive attitude. However, don’t expect Muhammad to be as productive as he was in previous years with Carolina and started to show signs of aging last season and shouldn’t be to much of a deep threat for opposing teams. D.J. Hackett was the “secret” weapon of the Seattle Seahawks who caught 32 passes, 384 yards receiving, and 3 Touchdowns. However, Hackett only started 6 games due to injuries but was on pace to for 85 passes and 1,024 yards receiving. Staying healthy for a full season is Hackett’s biggest question but when he’s on the field he’s very productive and was Matt Hasslebeck’s security blanket last season, so he can’t be ignored by the defense. Travis Taylor could be a good slot receiver because of his speed but he needs to work on his hands and to stay out of legal trouble. Dwayne Jarret who had a very disappointing rookie campaign needs to have a productive season to prove why Carolina used a 2nd Round pick to select him. He needs to stay out of trouble with the law and just pleaded guilty to his DUI and could possibly be suspended by the league which could lead to Carolina releasing him. However, he has been impressing his coaches and fellow teammates at training camp. Hopeful he’ll produce this season. Ryne Robinson at certain points in the season looked dazed and confused but was successful at Punt Returns but he needs to work on his Kick Returning skills. He reminds some NFL scouts as Steve Smith.

Carolina Panthers are probably one of the weakest teams in the NFL at the tightend position and haven’t had a threat at the position since Wesley Walls was on the team in 2002 but Carolina makes up in that area in potential. Jeff King caught 46 passes and averaged 8.8 per catch, but only caught 2 Touchdowns and at certain times during the season he failed to deliver on 3rd down. Dante Rosario showed big play capability by averaging 18 yards per catch and 2 Touchdowns but he saw limited action last season and only had 6 catches. Rosario is versatile enough to switch to Fullback in case Brad Hoover goes down. The Panthers drafted a monster tightend Gary Barnidge who’s 6`6 and was super productive for Brian Brohm at Louisville last year and could possibly leap frog Rosario and King on the depth chart but it could be too early to tell since he is just a rookie but in the future could cause defenses coverage nightmares due to his huge size.

Probably the largest question mark of the Carolina Panthers is the offensive line which had two starters released Justin Hartwig and Mike Whale. Whale was released in order to make cap room but Carolina could end up regretting releasing him, but Travelle Wharton was moved from LT to LG to ease the loss of Whale. Wharton will be able to contribute more to the team now and won’t have to worry about going up against the top DE on an opposing team now, plus Wharton is a solid run blocker. Ryan Kalil will now replace the inconsistent Justin Hartwig at C. Kalil started two games at RG and one at C and only gave one sack in his three starts. Kalil is probably more suited for Jeff Davidson’s zone blocking scheme than Hartwig. Currently RG is up for grabs between Evan Mathis, Toniu Fonoti, Jeremy Bridges, Milford Brown, and Keydrick Vincent. Ironically, all of these offensive lineman have starting experience. Evan Mathis knows the zone blocking scheme well enough to be a starter but he needs to work on his strength to make more of impact in the running/passing game. Toniu Fonoti could be a monster like he was with the San Diego Chargers, due to him being an “immoveable” object (similar to his former teammate DT Jamal Williams), but he’s been plagued by weight issues (at one point last season he weighed a whopping 400 lbs, but currently weighs 350 lbs) and injuries. He’s probably the favorite to start at RG. Jeremy Bridges started 10 games at RG last season but will probably be moved to tackle because of his versatility and could be the opening day started at RT if Jeff Otah isn’t ready to start by then. Keydrick Vincent can engulf smaller defensive lineman and linebackers but isn’t always reliably in pass protection which led to his release from the Baltimore Ravens (he was later picked up by the Arizona Cardinals last season). Milford Brown who was a starter for the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals will battle for a starting spot. Brown like Vincent can engulf defenders but Brown could have a hard time with the zone blocking system due to his limited speed. Jeff Otah one of the Carolina Panthers 1st Round picks is a huge lineman (6`6 and 340 lbs) could be a dominant force in the Panthers O-Line for years to come but the Panthers will likely start him at RT (even though he played LT in college) because Carolina doesn’t want to entrust a rookie to protect Delhomme’s blind side which is why they moved Jordan Gross to LT. Jordan Gross is probably Carolina’s best offensive lineman who’s just as effective at pass blocking as he his at run blocking, however Gross seems to play better at RT (his normal starting spot).

The Panthers defensive line was probably the black sheep of the entire Carolina defense. Julius Peppers had a terrible year with 2.5 sacks, however Peppers got very little help from the his supporting cast from the D-Line, he seemed to be better against the run last season. Peppers was moved from LE to RE where he’ll get more opportunities to get to the QB but Peppers will probably rebound like he has in the past when he’s had a down year. LE is a battle between Charles Johnson and Tyler Brayton. Tyler Brayton is the favorite because Johnson didn’t play too much last season, but Johnson has good potential to be a good run stopper. Tyler Brayton was considered to be a bust in Oakland because of his inability to get to the QB, but then again Oakland could never figure out to whether to play Brayton at LB or DE which probably contributed to his struggles. Stanley McClover at times seemed to get pushed around at the beginning of the season, but later showed his pressure and good run support for the defense. Carolina signed Darwin Walker and Ian Scott to help add depth to DT due to Kris Jenkins being traded to the New York Jets. Walker and Scott both have starting experience. Walker could help with the pass rush like had he done in previous years with the Philadelphia Eagles but was slowed with injuries last year with the Chicago Bears. Ian Scott was a very productive run stopper for the Chicago Bears but he saw limited action with the Philadelphia Eagles and was primarily used on special teams. Maake Kemoeatu is an excellent run stopper but isn’t a threat in the passing game. Damione Lewis who has been very effective in the D-Line rotation will get chance to start with Kris Jenkins departure to the New York Jets. Gary Gibson and Nick Hayden could see time in rotation.

This is definitely the strength of the Carolina Panthers and they probably have the best amount of depth at this position than any other team the entire league (that runs a 4-3 defense). Jon Beason proved why the Panthers traded down in last years draft to get him. Beason was third in the NFL in tackles with 137, which probably led to the release of fan favorite Dan Morgan who recently just retired. Thomas Davis is a big hitter who is blessed with sideline-to-sideline speed, but he needs to show progress because he could easily be unseated as the starter due to Carolina’s depth at linebacker. The Panthers picked up former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Landon Johnson. Johnson is expected to be the starter over incumbent Na’il Diggs who had 49 tackles, 4 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. Diggs is a good linebacker due to his 9 years of NFL experience and his knack for getting to the QB, but Diggs’ speed is not what it used to be for the Green Bay Packers. He should be more effective in the backup role, never the less, he could still start and possibly beat out Landon Johnson. Adam Seward and Tim Shaw are strictly special teams players but they are consistent at that area. James Anderson didn’t get too much game time last season and will have to prove that he can still be with the team due to Carolina’s depth linebacker and will have to battle it out in pre-season. Dan Connor (one of the Panthers’ 3rd round picks) was a tackling machine at Penn State, however he ran a 4.6 at the NFL Combine (similar to what Jon Beason ran in last year’s draft) which could possibly hinder him through his career, but he was a very productive player at Linebacker U (a.k.a Penn State) which is why the Panthers grabbed him in the 3rd round (on some draft boards he was predicted to go in the late 1st round).

This area played much better than most people expected out of this unit (most people expected this area to tumble to earth due to the retirement of Mike Minter) because of the last second trade that Carolina made with Chicago to get Chris Harris. Harris proved that he was a steal because Carolina only gave a 5th round pick. Harris seemed to struggle with coverage but improved as the season went on but he needs to improve on his zone coverage. However, Harris makes up in that area by being a ferocious hitter. He led the league in forced fumbles with 8. Ken Lucas had somewhat of down year with just 2 INTs and he seemed to get picked on by a lot of teams last year. Lucas needs to have a season with similar results of the 2005 season (he had 6 picks that year) or the Panthers will release him or he’ll become the nickel back. Chris Gamble struggled as well last year because he was playing with a cast on his arm but when healthy he is a turnover machine. Richard Marshall was probably Carolina’s best corner last year due to his aggressive play. Marshall can challenge Lucas and Gamble as the starter (he actually had more picks than Lucas and Gamble) but he’s best suited for being the nickel back. Dante Wesley is strictly a special teams player. Nate Salley could be the starter at FS but all of his two seasons have been plagued with injuries and could be unseated by Terrance Holt or Charles Godfrey. Terrance Holt was picked up from the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards signed him last season to help out Adrian Wilson in coverage. Holt didn’t grab any picks last year which led to his release, but if returns to his from when he was with the Detroit Lions he should be fine. However, Carolina has been impressed with Charles Godfrey and has high hope for him. Last season the Iowa Hawkeyes played him at corner last season but he has the size to play FS (6`1 208 lbs) but he may just be backup this season since this is just his first year in the NFL.

In past years Carolina’s special teams have been two stories. This year they’ve made some upgrades. One of those upgrades was signing Rhys Lloyd in the final week of last season to handle the kickoff duties. Lloyd matched Carolina’s touchbacks for that year with two, however Lloyd is strictly a kickoff specialist. John Kasay can’t do kickoffs like he used to, but Kasay had an excellent year kicking Field Goals by hitting 24 out 28 attempts last year. Jason Baker had a solid year by averaging 44 yards per punt and only having 5 touchbacks. Ryne Robinson helped solve the punt return game woes last year but he needs to improve on the kickoffs. Some of the candidates to return kickoffs with Robinson are Nick Goings, Chris Gamble, Steve Smith (to a much lesser extent) and Jonathan Stewart who was excellent at that department and could possibly beat the Nick Goings for that job.

Overall the Carolina Panthers have a ton of question marks coming into the 2008 season but they are just one lucky break from getting into the playoffs. The Panthers made much better moves this off-season than they did last year. The Panthers have more firepower on offense than they’ve had in years, but the offense will ride on Jake Delhomme. If Jake Delhomme plays like he did last year this team will be better than the 2005 squad, but if he has the linger effects of Tommy John surgery that haunted quarterbacks like Rob Johnson and Craig Erickson then the Panthers are history and will be in rebuilding mode for next 3 to 5 seasons. Jonathan Stewart will have to develop quickly in order for him to make a splash on the offense. If Stewart struggles in Pre-Season, Carolina should consider signing former NFL MVP Shaun Alexander to a 2 year deal (so that he won’t take up too much cap space), who has similar abilities as Stewart and could help groom Stewart. The D-Line will be better than most people expect because of the depth at DT, but Tyler Brayton needs to prove that he can at least put on some pressure on the quarterback. Carolina should consider waving one of their tackles (namely Frank Omiyale who hasn’t proved a thing in the NFL) in order to make room for former San Diego tackle Shane Olivea who’s suspension was recently lifted by the NFL in order to add reliable depth to the offensive line. Speaking about additions they should make the Panthers bringing in Brett Favre would be a mistake. Yes, Brett Favre is a future hall of famer, but doesn't Brett Farve wanna go some where he'll start? The Panthers probably wouldn't start him because of the faith they have in Jake Delhomme. Favre would start causing comotion about his backup status and him mentoring Matt Moore. In addition, it would have the fan base scratching their heads because when I was at Bank of America Stadium watching the Colts trounce the Panthers, I heard a lot of the fans around me saying, "We need Jake Delhomme back." Also, when they were giving highlights about the other games when showed Brett Favre's stats everyone started booing because 12 seasons ago Brett Favre beat the Panthers in the NFC Championship Game, which costed the Panthers a Super Bowl berth. Well what I'm saying is that the Brett Favre move would be good for Carolina in case Delhomme gets hurt again/or if can't play again. It's just Brett Favre would start using his ego to cause havoc in the lockeroom. It would make more since to see the Falcons getting Favre due to Matt Ryan probably not being ready by week 1 (the Falcons should've never traded Brett Favre to Green Bay).  Anyways, I can see Carolina finish at least second because Tampa is getting old (they also had a crummy off-season too but hey least they picked up Jeff Faine) and the Falcons aren't getting any better (well maybe in about 3 seasons they'll get better give or take). I can see New Orleans giving competition due to the improvements on defense (even though the secondary still looks bad). But all in all, the Carolina Panthers are a much improved team than last year.