In Week 2 of the NFL regular season, the Carolina Panthers will play the Chicago Bears at Bank of America Stadium at 1 PM EST. At first glance, this game would appear to be a fairly easy victory for the Panthers. But let's take a closer look at this matchup anyway.
The Panthers defense shouldn't have any trouble keeping the Bears offense at bay.
Chicago's current quarterback situation isn't as bad as the Panthers' was last season, but it's by no means stable. There is no clear starter, and neither Kyle Orton nor Rex Grossman, last year's starter, have showed much ability in the preseason (in which they have played two teams whose defenses were below the top ten last year.
Orton is only a combined 12-of-29 for 99 yards (and no touchdowns) in Chicago's first two preseason games this year.
Grossman has gone 13-of-23 for 118 yards and a touchdown so far in the 2008 preseason—he's played better than Orton, but not by much. Besides, performing better than Kyle Orton is no large task.
But it doesn't matter how good your quarterbacks may or may not be, they're no good without a great offensive line and receiving corps.
Center Olin Kreutz is the only standout on the offensive line, so the Panthers defensive line should be able to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback (whoever that turns out to be). Julius Peppers in particular ought to overwhelm left tackle Chris Williams.
Marty Booker, who had 50 catches for 556 yards and a touchdown last year, is the Bears' No.1 receiver. On most other teams, he'd be a third receiver at best. That just shows you how bad Chicago's receivers are.
Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble, who had 47 tackles, an interception, and six deflections last season, will be lined up opposite Booker. Look for Gamble to limit Booker to about 55 yards and five catches.
No.2 receiver Brandon Lloyd is entering his sixth NFL season, and he has never received for more than 48 grabs, 733 yards, and five touchdowns. CB Ken Lucas, who accumulated 61 tackles, 12 deflections, and two picks, will be matched up with Lloyd. Expect Lucas to hold him to three receptions for 40 yards.
The running backs are no better.
2007 starter Cedric Benson is gone, and Adrian Peterson—no, not that Adrian Peterson—is listed as the starter. However, second round draft pick Matt Forte could take over the starting job quickly. He ran for 2721 yards and 23 touchdowns on 361 carries in his senior year at Tulane, and he also received for 32 receptions and 282 yards.
The only positive on offense is tight end Desmond Clark, who is coming off the two best years of his career, between which he caught 89 passes for 1171 yards and 10 touchdowns. If Clark can bring his good hands back for 2008, he could be the thorn in the Panthers' side.
If Clark doesn't catch fire (even if he does it will be very hard for him to win the game for the Bears single-handedly), it looks like the Bears will have to hope that Devin Hester returns multiple kickoffs for touchdowns because that's the only chance the Bears have to score more than six or seven points. The Panthers defense, led by second-year middle linebacker Jon Beason, should not have any trouble containing the Bears.
Similar to the Panthers' predicted ability to stop the Bears offense, the Chicago defense will not give much to the Carolina attack either.
In Week 3 of last year in a game against the Falcons, starting quarterback Jake Delhomme went down with an injury that eventually needed surgery. After that the Panthers used three different quarterbacks—bust backup David Carr, supposedly-retired veteran Vinny Testaverde, and undrafted rookie Matt Moore. None of them started more than a few games in a row. The offense never recovered. But now the Panthers have put the chaos of last season's quarterback situation to rest with a healthy, revitalized Delhomme. There's no doubt that he will be the starter.
Running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart will likely start the season in a situation similar to the platoon commonly used in baseball. While Williams will likely get more carries, Stewart will take on short-yardage and goal line duties.
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