(Photo by: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
This summer, I have given reviews and previews for 31 NFL teams and now it is time for the final one. They are the toughest team from the last year’s toughest division, the Carolina Panthers.
The Carolina Panthers became the most feared team in the NFC by the end of the regular season. They were the only team to go undefeated at home and showed they were never out of a game as they had the most comeback victories in the NFL.
The league’s best running duo in Williams and Stewart paired with the best wide receiver in the NFL led the Panthers to a 12-4 record and an NFC South title.
The Good
The people who know absolutely nothing about what it means to be a football player will disagree with this, but Jake Delhomme earned his spot in this category. He is the only player to come back from Tommy John surgery as quickly as he did.
The Comeback Player of the Year award went to Chad Pennington, but it took him three to four years to even be able to play like a NFL quarterback, while Delhomme came back in less than one year and led his team to a 12-4 record.
As for his “on the field” attributes, no one in the NFL has more heart and fire than Jake Delhomme. He is the best fourth quarter quarterback in the NFL. His team knows that as long as he is quarterback, they are never out of a game.
As for the Arizona game, get over it as it was a bad day and in the end is no different than the Giants losing, the Eagles losing, and 28 other teams who did not bring home the Lombardy Trophy. He will use the Cardinals game as his fire to once again lead the Panthers to victory.
Another huge reason why the Panthers went 12-4 was because of the best running back duo in the NFL, Double Trouble. This tandem terrorized every defense they came across in the regular season, especially the Bucs as Barber is probably still having nightmares.
DeAngelo Williams was the best back in the second half of the season. Williams rushed for over 1,500 yards and led the NFL with 20 touchdowns. The more spectacular thing is that he did not fumble once.
Even though he had all these accomplishments, somehow he is not selected to the Pro Bowl and Clinton Portis, who had 300 yards less and many fewer touchdowns. Williams will once again make his case, and maybe even decide who the best back in the NFL truly is, and will look to change the entire league’s mind about his ability.
The other half of this dynamic duo was, then rookie, Jonathon Stewart. He has decent speed and great strength. He was able to rush for around 900 yards and did not reach 1,000 yards only because Williams was scorching hot.
He is a great compliment to Williams and maybe this year will be his time to rush for over 1,000 yards. These two are a powerful duo as teams put eight in the box and these two still ripped off big plays. These two are fun to watch and a successful year will cement them as the best duo in the NFL.
The Panthers may run it most of the time, but they do have a talented receiving core. They have the league’s best receiver in Steve Smith. Many will ask about why Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson, or Larry Fitzgerald is not the best. The answer is simple, Moss is 6’6", Johnson is 6’4", and Fitz is 6’3", but Smith is only 5’9".
He makes the plays these others do, and better ones, and he is half a foot or shorter than the rest. Also, Steve Smith averaged over 100 yards per game and racked up more than 1,400 yards receiving even though he was suspended for the first two games.
Muhsin Muhammad is the old veteran who is the perfect compliment to Smith. He has good size, he can be the go-to guy on some occasions when Smith is not in, and he is the best blocking receiver outside Hines Ward in the NFL.
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