2007 Carolina Panthers Preview

2007 Carolina Panthers preview from MadduxSports.com. Once the football campaign kicks off order our winning picks on NFL games. as well as bookmark the NFL point spreads page so you can assure yourself the best line on every nfl bet you make.

Little Fast Guy, Big Slow Guy
By Adam Barone

Prior to the '06 NFL season the Panthers were the heavy favorite to win the NFC and go to the Super Bowl. It was as if the season wasn't even necessary. Sportsbooks, Vegas, experts, writers, everyone had them playing in February. Funny thing was - it was completely necessary. Carolina went 8-8 and didn't even have the opportunity to compete in the playoffs. They've made some intriguing moves in the offseason, and with the expectations a bit more realistic, the Panthers should be considered one of the favorites again this year.
Most notable of Carolina's post-'06 debacle was signing free agent quarterback David Carr. Carr had an offer from Seattle, but when he found out that he would have been Matt Hasselbeck's and Seneca Wallace's professional clipboard-holder, he decided to go to Carolina where there's a decent chance he could steal Jake Delhomme's job very soon.

The Panthers actually have offensive linemen on their roster so they feel that if Carr is actually standing up, he might be able to complete a few passes. After only five seasons in Houston as the number one overall pick in 2002, Carr is still young and there is every reason to believe that he could still live up to his potential.

The only other major impact moves that the Panthers have made in recent months were via that draft. Though their selections could generally be described as “wake me up when it's over,” they certainly addressed needs.

Their first round pick was at #25 where they selected Miami linebacker Jon Beason. Beason will be a security measure against any injuries to current MLB and also former Miami Hurricane Dan Morgan. Beason can play any linebacker position and is smart, fast and can pound Florida International players with the best of them.
Though he seems to like himself a bit too much and will not be winning any sportsmanship awards any time soon, tall, physical, slow Dwayne Jarrett could be a very useful compliment to short, speedy and more speedy Steve Smith. Keyshawn Johnson is probably still excited about adding Jarrett after the Panthers released him and all but gave Jarrett his job.

The Panthers offense overall was very middle-of-the-road in 2006, ranking 15th in passing, 24th in rushing and 24th overall. Their lack of ability to establish a running game can be viewed as the main reason they were not successful in '06. Such inconsistency certainly can not be blamed on the defense, which ranked 7th overall. With such a stingy defense, the offense should have had plenty of time and opportunity to score, but was just not able to duplicate their success of '05.

2007 Carolina Panthers Predictions

Because DeShaun Foster seems to have decided that he just isn't very good anymore, this will be the season that second-year running back DeAngelo Williams will be looked upon for big things. The team drafted Ryan Kalil, a center out of USC, who is extremely intelligent and should help out on what was a mediocre offensive line. The Panthers need to establish a big play threat out of the backfield and keep defenses off their toes by balancing that with a vertical passing attack to Steve Smith. If they are not successful at both of those things, they will continue to struggle. In terms of putting any of your money on them for any reason, the Panthers will be a difficult team to invest in because of their probable inconsistency.

If you enjoyed reading our Carolina Panthers preview read up on the rest of the NFC South rivals like the Saints, Falcons, and Buccaneers team previews from Maddux Sports.

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