Carolina Panthers 2010 Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds
With the NFL Football season just around the corner, we are providing season previews for all 32 teams to give you the betting edge. Follow the best NFL Football Handicappers as they analyze the the Carolina Panthers in this 2010 season preview. Use our comprehensive and insider info to bet successfully on the NFL in our recommend sportsbooks.View the rest of our 2010 NFL Season Previews here.
Carolina Panthers 2009 NFL Record: 8-8 Home: 5-3 Away: 3-5
Carolina Panthers 2010 Preview
The Carolina Panthers are a team in the middle of a hurricane. It’s not clear how much damage will be done by all the changes, but it’s very clear that the Panthers won’t look nearly the same in 2010. The Panthers suffered a disappointing 8-8 season in 2009, and they managed to get to .500 only by winning their final three games. The nonplayoff season – which followed a 12-4 year in 2008 – continued coach John ‘Fox’s streak of having never coached two playoff teams in a row at Carolina. After the season ended, it became apparent that Panthers owner Jerry Richardson wasn’t going to fire Fox but wouldn’t extend his contract, either. Fox, then, is in his own “contract year” – he will be free to move on after this season, and the current speculation is that he will. While Fox remains – for now – the Pan thers have lost a large parr of their history. The team will have at least nine new starters in 2010.Most notably, quarterback Jake Delhomnle is gone, now in Cleveland after his release following a terrible 2009 season. Defensive end Julius Peppers took huge free agent money and went to Chicago. Peppers and Delhomme were two of the team’s three most visible and popular players, along with wide receiver Steve Smith. So 2010 has a chance to be a tunlultuous, uncertain but exciting year for Carolina.
2010 Carolina Panthers Quarterbacks
The Panther have less experience at this position than any other NFL team. Moore has a 6-2 record as a starter and was 4-1 at the end of 2009, which made the Panthers decide to christen him the tentative No.1 for 2010. Those eight NFL starts are all the Panthers have – combined. The other three quarterbacks in calnp, Hunter Cantwell and rookies Clausen and Tony Pike, have never started an NFL game. Moore is a strong-armed, who doesn’t know every nook and cranny of the playbook but throws well on the move and can really hum a deep ball. The Panthers were delighted when Clausen dropped to them in the second round. There are some questions about his leadership ability and a confidence that borders on cockiness, but none whatsoever about his arnl. Pike, at 6’6″, has ideal size for a quarterback but not quite the arm strength of Moore or Clausen. He will likely compete with Cantwell for the No. 3 spot.
2010 Carolina Panthers Running Backs
Tailback is the Panthers’ best position. Put it this way: DeAngelo Williams was a Pro Bowler last season, and he didn’t even lead the team in rushing. That honor fell to Jonathan Stewart by 16 yards, but both backs had great seasons. They each rushed for more than 1,100 yards – the first time two backs from. the same NFL team have ever done that. Stewart is the pile-driver who runs th rough people but still has enough burst for big gai ns. Willianls is a powerful scatback who excels at turning the corner. Fox likes to rotate the two almost evenly to keep them fresh, but either one is strong enough to carry the ball 30 times if necessary. Tony Fiamnletta has basically been handed the fullback job over popular mainstay Brad Hoover in a cost-cutting move. The Panthers’ fullback rarely does anything but block, and Fiamlnetta has the size to do that.
2010 Carolina Panthers Receivers
Smith said in the offseason he would like to be a No.2 receiver this year – that if the Panthers grabbed a new No. 1 receiver and he didn’t have to get double-teamed all the time, he would welcome that. Fat chance. Smith, 31, is No.1 until proven otherwise. He didn’t have many big plays in 2009, but he still led the team in receiving yards (982). Smith might have lost a step but remains faster and lnore elusive than most NFL receivers. But who will be the No.2 guy? Rookie Brandon LaFell, a third-round pick from LSU, could have the inside track. LaFell is not a burner but is strong. Dwayne Jarrett could also be a factor in the race, although he has been a great disappointnlent in his three NFL seasons. Kenny Moore has good hands but is a possession type. Arnlanti Edwards, another rookie third-rounder, will be switched from his college quarterback position to receiver and will be very raw and athletic. At tight end, the Panthers enlploy the three-headed monster of Jeff King, Dante Rosario and Gary Barnidge. King is slow but a steadier blocker, while Barnidge and Rosario both can occasionally get deep over the nliddle.
2010 Carolina Panthers Offensive Line
The gems of this group are center Ryan Kalil and left tackle Jordan Gross. Both have won all-league recognition of various types. Gross returns in 2010 after a broken right tibia and fibula ended his year prematurely last November, but his rehab has gone well. As the most athletic lineman on the team, he should be fine protecting the quarterback’s blind side. Kalil is a bit undersized but very smart and makes great blocking adjustments at the line. Right tackle Jeff Otab (6’6″, 330) is a behemoth who played a key role as Carolina set a team record with 2,498 rushing yards in 2009. He is coming back from a knee injury suffered in December. Travelle Wharton normally starts at left guard and will return there this season but can play either tackle position if necessary. The new right guard will likely be Mackenzy Bernadeau, who played well in seven games as a spot starter last season.
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2010 Carolina Panthers Defense
The Panthers’ most gaping holes are here. In Peppers, the Panthers lost a perennial Pro Bowler and the most effective pass-rusher in team history. Only one of Carolina’s four starters from 2009 will return – end Tyler Brayton, whose presence runs counter to the youth movement on the rest of the defense. Brayton was kept because he came relatively cheap and he’s a smart player who is decent at everything. There will be much pressure on Everette Brown, the second-year player who cost the Panthers a first-round draft pick to acquire. Still well undersized for an end at 256 pounds, Brown has shown some speed-rushing skills but too often gets overpowered while playing the run. Charles Johnson, who is a bit stouter, might beat out Brown. The tackles will be new. Tank Tyler and Louis Leonard are 300-plus pounders who both played well but sparingly due to injury in 2009. Ed Johnson, formerly of Indianapolis, could be a factor as well.
The Panthers believe they have two of the best young linebackers working today in Jon Beason and Thomas Davis. Beason’s speed allows him to get everywhere, and though only 25, he’s also the team’s acknowledged defensive leader. Davis is just as fast as Beason and a better pass-rusher. A likely Pro Bowl season for Davis was short-circuited due to knee inj ury. Dan Connor, who is mostly a run-stuffer, will likely be the third starter, and James Anderson and rookie Eric Norwood (a fille blitzer and special-teamer) are the primary backups. The Panthers also got Jamar Williams, a backup in Chicago, in an April trade. He should contribute on special teams and might even have a chance to unseat Connor.
Cornerbacks Chris Gamble and Richard Marshall have good (but not great) ballhawking skills and tied for the team lead in interceptions last season with four. Teams target Marshall more frequently than Gamble, but it’s close. Free safety Charles Godfrey might move to the strong side; he sometimes gets beaten deep but is improving. Versatile second-year man Sherrod Martin had three interceptions in part-time duty as a rookie and can play every position in the secondary decently. He moves into a starting role at safety following the trade ofstarter Chris Harris in April. Nickel corner Captain Munnerlyn is only 5′ 8″ but has a tough streak.
Carolina Panthers 2010 Season Prediction
The Panthers won’t be expected to do much given the way they purged their team of well-known veterans in the offseason. They will rely on their two running backs and their defense to win games and hope that their inexperience at quarterback won’t lose games for them. Although Fox enters the last year of his contract, he’s good at compartmentalizing, and that won’t be as much of a distraction as it might appear. However, he just might not have the horses for the playoffs – unless the Panthers find three to four young players who emerge as standouts at just the right time.
We predict that the Carolina Panthers will finish 3rd in the NFC South, with a record of 6-10.
Carolina Panthers Betting
NFC South Odds: +500 NFC Conference Odds: 16-1 Super Bowl Odds: 35-1
Carolina Panthers Five-Year Win Betting Trends
2005: 11 2006: 8 2007: 7 2008: 12 2009: 8
Bet on the Carolina Panthers
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