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May 13, 2008
Shhh! ... It's a surprise ...
Many Panthers fans won't like this, because it joins a growing list of national media outlets with repesentatives speaking out and saying Carolina could be a comeback playoff team next season.
First, it was SI's Peter King. Now, it's ESPN's John Clayton, who lists the Panthers as the No. 1 surprise team in the NFL for the 2008 season.
Clayton says, with the return of quarterback Jake Delhomme and the renewed emphasis on a power running attack, the Panthers could win 10 games and make the playoffs.
-- Charles Chandler
Posted by Observer Sports on May 13, 2008 at 09:22 AM | Permalink
Comments
Oh crap, don't let the team see that! They need the motivation!
Posted by: Daniel | May 13, 2008 10:01:32 AM
Yeah these are the same morons that predicted us to win the Super Bowl and we all know how that ended up. So it is what it is.
I think the Radiers will be the surprise team this year. They might actually win 5 games.
Posted by: John Fox | May 13, 2008 10:24:59 AM
nfl live predicted us 18th in power rankings,even below the cardinals,so we are still under the radar.good!
Posted by: ray | May 13, 2008 10:42:48 AM
People make a big deal out of these things when they first come out, then forget about them by the end of the season. If you think this is important, keep score, expose the good predictors and the bad predictors and maybe we can get rid of the worst.
Posted by: Ben | May 13, 2008 10:58:39 AM
Expectations, don't mean jack. What people think does not affect what happens on the field. The NFC division rivals know they can't sleep on the Panthers. What matters is health, talent, and competitive intensity. Jake Delhomme, when healthy, is a pro-bowl caliber QB that has led his team to a near Superbowl victory. The return of Moose will help out the best receiver in the game. Jonathan Stewart will restore the power run game. The secondary and linebacking corps will be stronger than they have been in a very long while. The question marks will be on the lines. There are a lot of new beefier bodies being thrown together. And there is no obvious pass rush on the line where Peppers slipped drastically last year. If the lines come through and the players stay healthy and play with heart, this team will be competitive regardless of what the media thinks. Go Panthers!
Posted by: Dave | May 13, 2008 12:22:45 PM
I don't think its so bad that people are predicting the Panthers to be a "surprise" team. That won't get anyone's head too big on the team, since "surprise" implies that we weren't any good last year. Not to mention we were definitely the surprise of the season in our Super Bowl year. The worst is when these sportswriters and ESPN guys say we're a lock to win the NFC South or, worst of all, pencil us in as a Super Bowl team. Things always go south from there...
Posted by: Haywood Jablowmi | May 13, 2008 12:26:49 PM
We've never been a "surprise" team except in 2003. Usually we are more along the lines of:
Surprise, we ran off right tackle on first down.
Surprise, we tried a 56yd field goal instead of going for it on 4th and inches.
Surprise, the other team's tight end is open across the middle again.
Surprise, we got a false start to cap off a momentum building drive.
Posted by: Chet | May 13, 2008 12:54:35 PM
Too funny chet, but that is right on. Don't forget the surprise draw play on 3rd and 10.
Posted by: LOL | May 13, 2008 1:12:33 PM
Chet, you weren't surpised we went to the NFC championship game in our second year of exsitence? Otherwise, great post.
Posted by: rayray | May 13, 2008 1:16:12 PM
is a team a game or two out of the playoffs the previous year and who is predicted to make the playoffs the next year really a SUPRISE team?
Posted by: matt | May 13, 2008 1:17:25 PM
I don't know why it would be a surprise to anybody that with our starting QB under center again, that we can win 3 more games than we did with Carr and Vinny running the team for most of last season. That is kind of the most important position in football ya know.
The Bucs went from 4-12 in 06 to 9-7 in 07, and getting a better QB was the only real improvement to their offense.
Posted by: monstercat | May 13, 2008 2:46:46 PM
My only hope is that the "surprise" is a positive one. I never thought we'd beat the Vikings and then lose 15 straight games while George Seifert watched it all happen.
I never want THAT surprise again.
Posted by: Air Borden | May 13, 2008 3:44:46 PM
Anyone know if John Clayton has ever made an accurate prediction in his life?
And, if we actually knew exactly how they would do, it wouldn't be too exciting, would it? But then again, it would be most excellent to know that they were going to win 10 games. Now WHICH ten games... Sorry for these rantings.
Posted by: Fat Cat Fan | May 13, 2008 4:59:08 PM
LOL Keep em comin Chet. Dont stop there.
Posted by: chets funny | May 13, 2008 6:12:14 PM
Damn, the negativity is back. I was really enjoying everyone being optimistic about our team's chances next year.
Posted by: SlayerGhaleon | May 13, 2008 6:38:53 PM
That wasn't much of a surprise now, was it Slayer?
Posted by: wisiwyg | May 13, 2008 7:25:02 PM
We will win at least 10 games next year no doubt. Just we better have a surprise year from tyler brayton on the passrush or we are going to get picked apart.
Posted by: Cameron | May 13, 2008 8:40:23 PM
It shouldn't be a suprise to anybody if the Panthers do well this year. When you suffer the types of injuries that we have the last couple of years the suprise would be still winning with Carr under center. Plus since this is supposed to be a "make or break" year for Foxy maybe he'll start playing to win games rather than not to lose them!!! I've never been a fan of the whole we're up by 3or7 so let's do the infamous 3rd and 10 draw play! Did Henning 4get to take his playbook with him when he left or what? I know I watch every game faithfully but if I as a fan know exactly what play is coming next most of the time I'm sure NFL coaches and players aren't fooled much either. How bought some suprises on offense like trying to blow teams out instead of intentionally trying to live by the name of the Cardiac Cats!!!!
Posted by: #1 Fan | May 13, 2008 8:48:22 PM
#1 Fan.. Henning was never the problem with the offense.. Coach Fox was the one that demanded that we not loose the games with our offense, and let the defense win the games. That hasn't worked the last few years, with Jake back, and a power running game, we should be able to win 10+ games. Look at the schedule, also Tampa now has to play # 1 teams, since they won the division.
Posted by: Catsnmbr1fan | May 13, 2008 11:35:10 PM
Don't worry guys, I'll find a way to lose some more games for us and keep us out of the playoffs. How many touchdowns will I give up this year, maybe 14 or 15? I'm tired of teams picking on me and throwing at me all day.
Can I go back to playing receiver?
Posted by: Chris Gamble | May 14, 2008 7:21:57 AM
Check out this link from Pro Football Weekly.
http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFL/NFC/NFC+South/Carolina/Features/2008/parr051308.htm
We are definately on the national radar. GO Panthers!
Posted by: mdizzy5 | May 14, 2008 9:20:26 AM
The main point of the article and what concerns me is that i feel we have the talent but i question the talent of the coaching staff.
crossman has got to be one of the worst s.t coaches in the league.i cant believe hes still here.i also have no use for trgo.
he shows no ability to improvise or adapt to what offenses are doing. i can only assume that these coaches have foxes blessing.
another thing that disturbs me is that players dont seem to improve very much in foxes system,except for the self motivating smith.players actually seem to regress or stay the same, ex. wahle,wharton,jarret,hartwig,foster.
i cant believe noone could teach foster to carry a football so he wouldnt fumble.
the panthers also seem to have an inordinate amt of injuries every year. is it conditioning? is it training regimen?
this year should reveal a lot.
Posted by: ray | May 14, 2008 11:48:05 AM
I'm with you on the injuries thing ray. In 2004 we had more injured starters than any other team in the league, and in 2005 we were running too thin by the time we made it to the NFC championship game to even be competitive. Other teams have injury issues too, but ours seems to come by the bushel. Still, it could very well be the physical type of game the team likes to try to employ. The IDEA is hard hitting run stuffing D and mauling run pounding O. Maybe the style of play has a higher likelihood of injuries? I don't know, but I look forward to seeing what the team can do this year after filling some glaring needs and getting Jake the Snake back. Let them fly under the radar and then blow everyone up week after week as far as the media attention goes.
Posted by: James | May 14, 2008 2:03:23 PM
Nobody on our team ever improves much? What about Chris Harris? He came in after an average couple of years at Chicago and made a serious impact here. He led the league in forced fumbles, even.
Posted by: SlayerGhaleon | May 14, 2008 2:14:04 PM
Mike Wahle got worse because he got old. Travelle Wharton got worse because he tore his ACL. Dwayne Jarrett has been bad from the start...he couldn't get worse. Justin Hartwig got worse because he destroyed his groin.
Oh, and as for "nobody gets better": the aforementioned Chris Harris, Jeremy Bridges, Todd Sauerbrun, Jason Baker, Damione Lewis, Chris Draft, Ken Lucas, John Kasay Al Wallace, and, oh yeah, Jake Delhomme have all had their greatest play or productivity after coming to Carolina from another team. Guys like Deon Grant, Dante Wesley, Marlon McCree, and Ricky Manning have never approached their level of play with the Panthers after they left. Further, we've signed at least three guys (Nick Goings, Jordan Castens, and Brad Hoover) who have both gone from undrafted to starter, as well as developing undrafted fan darling Matt Moore, who couldn't even make the Cowboys roster. I could certainly go on, but I don't have all night, you know?
Posted by: Michael Procton | May 14, 2008 8:23:22 PM
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