Carolina Panthers Have Young Talent, Big Potential To Build on Despite 2-14 Mark

The Carolina Panthers had their second-worst year in franchise history this past season, finishing at 2-14.

Carolina struggled all season at the quarterback position and was unable to keep players healthy and build any chemistry. It seemed like the Panthers could not get anything going on offense, and were lucky to win the two games they did.

Jimmy Clausen, a second-round pick in 2010, was expected to be the franchise quarterback of the future, but got his name called a little earlier than expected when Matt Moore struggled to get any offense going and was later lost for the season, giving Clausen the starting job.

Clausen won only one game during the 10 contests he started, and only threw three touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He was statistically the NFL's worst quarterback. 

Carolina also lost star running back DeAngelo Williams for the season after only playing six games. Even before his injury, he struggled to be a big contributor on offense.

The Panthers, however, found bright spots throughout their struggles.

Defense has always been the strength of the Panthers franchise since they began back in 1995, and that didn't stop even during their 2-14 year.

With the loss of Julius Peppers, who signed with the Chicago Bears over the past offseason, many people wrote the Panthers defense off right before the season even started. Nobody gave their defense enough credit at all, but they actually were one of the better units in the league.

Jon Beason, 2011 Pro Bowl linebacker, posted 121 tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles and one interception. Defensive end Charles Johnson, who took over for Julius Peppers, posted a career-best 11.5 sacks, good for seventh in the NFL this season.

Might I add that he posted more sacks then Julius Peppers, just sayin'.

Charles Godfrey had a breakout season, posting a career-high five interceptions, and became one of the better ballhawks in the NFL.

Surprisingly, the Panthers also found bright spots on offense, as rookie receivers Brandon LaFell and David Gettis combined for 976 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Mike Goodson, who took over for DeAngelo Williams, also looked like an elite back at times with 452 yards and three tochdowns.

Steve Smith is still the team's elite receiver, but it seems as though he is ready start somewhere new. If DeAngelo Williams re-signs with Carolina, he will remain the top back. But, if Smith is traded and Williams signs elsewhere, the Panthers can remain confident in their young receivers and Goodson at backup running back to Jonathan Stewart.

James Anderson, who became the team's starting outside linebacker this season, is a free agent Carolina needs to re-sign. He is one of the most underrated linebackers in the league, and for those who watched the Panthers play every week (God bless you, true fans, I was right there with you), you know he is one guy we can't afford to lose.

Between Thomas Davis, Jon Beason and James Anderson, this will be one of the best linebacker cores in the league.

Captain Munnerlyn, a seventh-round pick in 2009, took the starting job away from Chris Gamble toward the end of the season, and has been huge on special teams and as the teams nickelback.

The quarterback position remains a question for me. Even through is bad stats, did anyone else notice Jimmy Clausen grow and get better as the season went on?

We can sit here and make excuses for Clausen's performance, and I understand that elite quarterbacks should be able to suceed with whatever weapons they are given, but give this guy some slack.

He was a rookie and was thrown into the starting lineup when everyone projected he would have a year to sit back and watch the game instead of playing. Clausen also had no true veteran quarterback to give him advice and help him blossom into a franchise quarterback.

Lets take a trip down memory lane and throw up the stats of future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Peyton Manning during his rookie year. Alright, Manning threw 26 touchdowns and Clausen threw three, but Manning also threw 28 interceptions.

Now look at what he has come to be.

I'm not saying by any means that Jimmy Clausen will become as good as Peyton Manning. But he has good excuses for his struggles and showed improvement and potential throughout the whole season.

Don't throw the towel in on him yet.

Carolina is almost in the same position it was in before the 2002 season, as it holds the first overall pick (the Panthers held the second overall pick in 2002, and selected Julius Peppers). The Panthers also hired a new head coach (John Fox in 2002, Ron Rivera now) and are looking to rebuild.

If Carolina can re-sign the young players that have expiring contracts, add some pieces through free agency and put together a great draft, this team could go from bad to great in a flash.

I expect Carolina to do the same it did back in 2002 by selecting a star defensive linemen, in this case Nick Fairley, and build its team around the defense.