Panthers 2008 Schedule

The NFL released their 2008 schedules, ESPN had a huge SportsCenter Special about it, and the Carolina Panthers don’t have it half bad next year.  The Panthers start their season with an extremely difficult road game versus the San Diego Chargers.  Such a long trip to start the season and play a very strong AFC team isn’t perfect, but at least they’re getting it out of the way early.  The AFC West is their draw across conferences, so they at least get three other very down teams to play.  Neither Oakland, Kansas City, or Denver will be in peak form in 2008 most likely.

Beyond that, the Panthers have their six conference games in the NFC South.  They have improved drastically on paper so far this offseason and if those improvements translate to the field when the season starts, I believe the Panthers have a good chance to win their division in 2008.  Other big games to circle on their 2008 schedule for the Panthers are against Chicago at home in week 2, at Minnesota taking on AP and the Vikings the next week, and then a week 16 showdown with the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.

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

Panthers May Select Mendenhall

According to this article out of the Charlotte Observer, the Panthers may try to select running back Rashard Mendenhall with the 13th pick in the draft.  This would be a great pick-up for the Panthers, in my opinion.  While I’m not entirely sure the Panthers need a second running back to compliment DeAngelo Hall, many people close to the situation seem to believe that they will need a power back before the season begins.  I must simply question whether or not the Panthers actually need to use their first round draft pick to secure said power back.

The Panthers could use their first round pick to get a solid defensive rusher.  Running back is not their only need.  I must also point to the Bill Parcells mantra of “no running backs in the first round ever.”  I know the Tuna isn’t running the Panthers, but I do hear he knows a thing or two about building successful NFL teams, and with the bounty of running backs in this season’s draft, I believe the Panthers could get a truly elite defensive player in the first round and then pick up a stout complimentary running back later in the draft.

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

Jarrett Pleads Not Guilty

I have tried to stay away from this story as best I can.  I really don’t want to have to be the person to tell you that Dwayne Jarrett plead not guilty to drunk driving charges on Friday when he appeared in court.  I wish that the Panthers would give me something else to write about.  I wish they’d make headlines for signing another big name player or for having someone retire or for perhaps leaking some rumors about the draft.  However, since the Panthers seem to be content to remain quiet until said draft, this seems to be the type of story we are stuck with.

Jarrett, as much as it pains me to say it as a fellow Trojan, is walking a thin line at the moment.  After an extremely disappointing rookie campaign, Jarrett now has this unfortunate incident hanging over his head as he enters offseason workouts.  Jarrett had better hope that his play in the new season does a lot to help Panthers fans forget his drunk driving issues.  He might want to put in a little extra time in the weight room and on the practice field in the hopes he can play well enough to make them forget all of last season as well.

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

Jarrett Due in Court

I do my very best to keep things light and positive around here.  I try to shy away from the uselessly negative stories that really have very little to do with football in general.  I try to keep the stories complaining about the way the team is run or the way the team isn’t performing out of this blog, because I find them needlessly depressing at a time when the Carolina Panthers and their fan base have much to be excited about.  However, after a very productive period of free agent signings, the Panthers have fallen a bit quiet before the draft.

And with that silence comes a dearth of decent stories.  So I am left with this story about the fact that Dwayne Jarrett is due in court to talk about his drunk driving charges from last month.  Jarrett, a USC Trojan who should absolutely know better than to be driving while impaired, was pulled over for running a red light.  The officer then smelled alcohol on his breath and Jarrett failed a field sobriety test.  It will be interesting to see how a judge handles Jarrett, and also how the league handles this situation, in light of the commissioner’s track record with players who get into trouble with the law.

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

Panthers Waiting on DT

The Panthers offseason savvy continues to impress.  Now it seems the Panthers will wait to see if they can fill their need at DT in the draft.  With the current crop of free agents on the market being passable but somewhat unimpressive, the Panthers seems content to sit back and watch things unfold at the moment.  They are thin at the position and will certainly need to sign a backup or two before the beginning of the season, but they don’t seem to be pressing about it.  With a solid crop of defensive players who can fill their needs in the draft, this seems the best course of action.

The Panthers have no reason to panic yet on this front.  There are still some defensive tackles out there in the free agent market, but no one who is going to set the world on fire.  The team can likely fill these positions with cheaper, younger players who bring with them less baggage than a journeyman free agent. I can’t say enough good things about the way the Carolina Panthers have handled their offseason.  I truly expect them to be one of the most improved teams in 2008.  They will likely pick up a solid DT in the early rounds of the draft, then perhaps sign one more backup from somewhere as well.  I think this is the best line of action.

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

Toefield Wants Chance to Prove Himself

We’re only a couple of weeks from the NFL draft, and journalists are getting desperate for sports stories.  This is basically the deadest period of the year for the National Football League.  Many of the best and most exciting free agent signings have already occurred. I’ll put it this way: If your team is signing free agents at this point in the offseason, then your team probably isn’t in very good shape.  And with so many teams deciding to remain very tight-lipped about the draft, there is simply a dearth of decent stories to report on this week.

With that in mind, let’s get to this story about how running back LaBrandon Toefield wants his shot to start in Carolina. This story is actually kind of interesting, given that Toefield was really just signed to a one-year deal in Carolina where he will be expected to play backup to DeAngelo Williams while the Panthers teach a rookie running back their offense then unload Toefield to sign somewhere else.  By all accounts Toefield is a talented back who got buried on the Jacksonville depth chart.  I hope he at least gets a few more carries in Carolina, if for no other reason than to show another team that he could be their feature back.

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

John Fox on Clayton’s Hot Seat

John Clayton finally decided to come back from vacation and grace us all with more of his amazing football knowledge.  This time, he’s writing about NFL coaches on the hot seat in 2008.  And, to no one’s surprise, John Fox made this list. It’s not that John Clayton doesn’t like John Fox.  It’s just that Clayton has an obligation to call it like he sees it, and the fact of the matter remains that the Panthers have underachieved as of late.  If they can’t right the ship and turn things around in the next season, then it’s almost a definite that John Fox will get a pinkslip.

I would say, however, that I don’t see that happening.  The Panthers have already made some solid moves in the offseason, and as Clayton points out, they’re also getting their Super Bowl quarterback back from Tommy John Surgery.  And when you add to that the Panthers’ relatively easy schedule next season, you have to be very happy about the way things are shaping up this season for the Panthers.  While John Fox is certainly on the hot seat, I believe that he will do just fine this year and save his job.  He definitely has the chops to navigate this rough patch.

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

Exploring the Panthers’ Draft Options

We have only three weeks left until the NFL draft, so the people over at the Charlotte Observer decided to take a peak at the Panthers’ draft options as the big day fast approaches.  Panthers fans have had the luxury of a watching their team wreck shop in free agency, picking up many role players and solid veterans to bolster their team’s toughness,professionalism and depth.  Now, the Panthers can turn their attention to the draft, where they will get an immediate impact player in the first round if they can manage to play their cards right.

The Panthers have many options in the first round, though I believe they must go after an offensive tackle if they don’t want to erase some of the progress they have made in the offseason.  Though this article explores other possibilities, I truly believe that anything less than an offensive tackle would shortchange their fans.  Obviously, if there isn’t a player of the caliber they need at that position, they could go after a pass rusher.  But I really don’t see a need to go after a running back in the first round for the Panthers this season.

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

Can the Panthers Give Peppers Big Money?

I’ve sung the praises of the people over at the Charlotte Gazette for awhile now.  Their work this week has been particularly inspiring, and other local newspapers would do well to take a page from their play book (newspaper?) in the future.  This particular piece takes on the issue of whether or not the Carolina Panthers should give Julius Peppers a huge contract extension this offseason.  On one hand, if the Panthers don’t give Peppers the extension, they risk losing one of the best pass rushers in the game.  On the other hand, if the Panthers re-sign Peppers now, what are they really buying?

Would the Panthers be signing the Julius Peppers they knew for the first amazing years of his career?  Are they signing the beast who comes close to leading the lead in sacks every season?  Or are they signing the player who only logged 2.5 sacks last year?  This is an important question, and one the Panthers surely cannot answer right now.  They are stuck between a rock and a hard place.  If they sign Peppers to a huge deal, then they run the risk of him never getting back to his old ways.  If they don’t, they run the risk of Peppers leaving the team and reverting to greatness.

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

Sitting Down with John Fox

Yesterday I lauded the Carolina print-media for their excellent sports coverage during the offseason.  While I have had a my disagreements with the writers who cover the Panthers far more closely than myself, I have to at least appreciate their dedication to covering the team, even when the action is all occurring off the field.  Most journalists across the county have been taking the football offseason as downtime if the pigskin is their main beat, and I can’t blame them.  However, kudos to the Carolina journalists for giving us all stories like this one sitting down to talk with John Fox about the Panthers.

I don’t want to give a synopsis of the whole article, because it’s a really great read.  Any Panthers fan should take the five minutes it should require to give it a look.  Fox discusses last season’s disappointment, looks forward to next season, and gives some insights on some of the Panthers’ most high-profile players.  All in all, I found the entire article interesting, enlightening and just really strong in general.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  The Carolina Panthers ought to be one of the most improved football teams in the NFL next season.
You can get all your Carolina Panthers tickets at www.stubhub.com.

 Page 2 of 3 « 1  2  3 »