Panthers Slide in Power Rankings

ESPN.com has released their weekly power rankings, and the Carolina Panthers slid 4 spots this week, to number 16 overall.  The Panthers have been hindered by a lack of defense, and indeed, their latest loss came in spite of three Steve Smith touchdown catches.  While the Texans are a surprising upstart team, the Panthers will need to win these types of games if they hope to make the playoffs this year.  Especially at home, where the Panthers actually received boos after their lackluster performance on Sunday.

The Panthers are team with big questions and big problems.  They are riding Steve Smith and Steve Smith alone to all their points right  now.  They need to establish a run game and some type of defense, because quite frankly, Jake Delhomme is one nasty hit away from going out for a month, at which point you’re stuck with David Carr throwing to Steve Smith.  Right now the only thing keeping you in games is the chemistry between Smith and Delhomme.  You lose that without gaining anything else, and you’re looking at a world of hurt and a very long season.

You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.