The Panthers will be as good....

[Matt Foley]

...as their running game allows them to be. If Williams keeps the chains moving and Stewart comes back and the O-Line doesn't lose anyone for a significant amount of time, they will make Jake and the defense look a lot better than they are. That last one is a huge 'if', though. This team can hide a lot of problems if DeAngelo is still scoring touchdowns.

[Jangler]

The good thing is we have Goodson. We have a very nice core of running backs, probably the best in the league, top to bottom. Now if Kenny Moore can be the #3 receiver, and with our TEs showing up. I think we will be just fine on offense. It's the D I'm a little worried about right now.

[SKULL]

2 Post that are seeing what I'm seeing

A solid ground game eats up the clock and reduces the other teams oppurtunities to be on the field which reduces their chances of scoring .

Defense does not have to be awesome ,if they are not on the field that much

[Mother Grabber]

Talent is not the issue. We have a conservative, predictable team because it is coached by a conservative, predictable coach.

[Cyberjag]

This has nothing to do with a conservative, predictable coach. That coach wins more than most, and you can't go after his game plans in the preseason because there really aren't any. That's not what preseason is about.

If the defensive secondary learns to tackle and our running game works, then we'll be fine. I'm not too concerned about the play calling in the preseason, but if Gamble, Godfrey, and Harris were quarterbacks everyone would be wondering why they had yet to complete a pass. Preseason is the time to get back in to the game, hone your skills, and prepare for the real games. The score doesn't count for anything, but the preparation does, and that's what is lacking with these guys.

Williams and Stewart running all over the field will be great, but ask a New Orleans fan how it feels to have a powerful offense coupled with an ineffective defense.

[Matt Foley]

The Panthers defense is not built to be on the field more than 35 minutes a game. The ground game must excel for this team to succeed.

[SKULL]

The Panthers defense is not built to be on the field more than 35 minutes a game. The ground game must excel for this team to succeed.

Agreed again

It will be all about playing the Odds

Teams don't score on every possession

So the least amount of possessions you allow them the least amount of oppurtunities they have to score

Ground game eats up the clock

Defense rest and stays fresh

[err456]

I know we are not game planning but where is the famous swarming to the ball creating turnovers style we are suppose to have. Bal. completed passes at will last night and made positive yards almost every play. We tackled them like we were tackling our sister and was afraid we might hurt them (or us). I sure hope we are not seeing the real panthers right now.

[Matt Foley]

I know we are not game planning but where is the famous swarming to the ball creating turnovers style we are suppose to have. Bal. completed passes at will last night and made positive yards almost every play. We tackled them like we were tackling our sister and was afraid we might hurt them (or us). I sure hope we are not seeing the real panthers right now.

You saw a defense out of its element. Baltimore kept the ball, the Panthers didn't have DeAngelo or Stewart to counterpunch with, and the defense got soft. Same thing that happened late last year.

[Pimpdaddy]

...as their running game allows them to be. If Williams keeps the chains moving and Stewart comes back and the O-Line doesn't lose anyone for a significant amount of time, they will make Jake and the defense look a lot better than they are. That last one is a huge 'if', though. This team can hide a lot of problems if DeAngelo is still scoring touchdowns.

Regardless of who it is, we godda start converting key 3rd downs. thats been a problem for awhile. I pray Foster err I mean Gamble gets it together. Im not freaking until about the 3rd-4th game and we're O'ffer.... Hope we develop some chemistry soon because we have some damn good ballplayers.

[unicar15]

That's a good point but we have to be able to stop other teams at the line too. As long as we get a starting caliber NT on our line by week 1 we will be ok. If we can't do that then our corners are going to be left out on islands for good QBs to pick them apart...which is just as destructive as not stopping the run.

[Kevin Greene]

...as their running game allows them to be. If Williams keeps the chains moving and Stewart comes back and the O-Line doesn't lose anyone for a significant amount of time, they will make Jake and the defense look a lot better than they are. That last one is a huge 'if', though. This team can hide a lot of problems if DeAngelo is still scoring touchdowns.

You're absolutely right. If we control the clock and TOP is 36 minutes Panthers/24 minutes opponent we will win a lot of games.

[Zod]

The panthers must score more points than their opponents if they want to win.

[Guild]

I like your point in this thread Meat. It seems to me that if we can reliably score and get ahead in points then our conservative defense could pay off when opposing teams are forced to try for big high risk plays to catch up.