Season Summary: Carolina Panthers
Posted: Mar 20, 2008Quick Summary: The Carolina Panthers entered the 2007 season as a Super Bowl contender. They started out strong, but the team could not overcome the loss of QB Jake Delhomme. The season quickly unraveled when backup QB David Carr showed the same type of game he had in Houston – nothing. Signing Carr and believing in him turned out to be the team’s biggest off season mistake.
Losing quickly led to more losing as old character flaws were exposed. Too many of Fox’s leaders (Delhomme, Dan Morgan) were on the sideline with injuries. The Panthers were already thin with offensive talent usually relying almost solely upon Delhomme and Steve Smith. During a 5 games losing streak, the team could barely put points on the board.
Like the Bengals, the Panthers were a huge disappointment.
Signs of Hope: Delhomme should be back. Carr is gone. The Panthers also cleaned out one of their biggest underachievers when they sent Kris Jenkins to the Jets.
John Fox is one of the NFL’s better coaches. His roster just got too complacent in some places and too thin in others. He and GM Marty Hurney have built this team from nothing before, and they can do it again. The NFC South is wide open which should help them as well.
Reality Check: The Panthers took a big step back in the eyes of their fans last year. They haven’t just been losing. They’ve been losing at home. This team has been embraced by the Carolina market since Fox took over and delivered a Super Bowl berth. The fans even put up with the low octane offense because they saw the worth of a defense-first approach.
John Fox was teetering last year and rumors swirled that he was about to get the axe. The team began 4-2, went 0-5, and finished 3-2 for a 7-9 record. At the low point of 4-7, most thought it was the end of the road for Fox and Hurney.
SPF thinks that Carolina owner Jerry Richardson came to his senses considering Delhomme’s injury. The offense was a 1-2 punch to begin with so losing punch #1 was going to hurt the team. You have to give Fox a pass on this last season.
The good news is that it gave Fox a chance to see the character of his team. Losing Kris Jenkins is a good thing. It gives Fox a chance to develop more young players on the defensive side.
If Delhomme is healthy and Fox can find a way to make Julius Peppers productive again, the Panthers can compete for the NFC South title.
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