Your 2012 bold, yet reasonable predictions.

[MadHatter]

Then why weren't they handled by Stewart last year?

I am basing my opinion on the signing of Tolbert more than anything. The guy is a goal line and short yardage battering ram.

Again, this is only my opinion and time will tell which one of us is correct.

Until then, there is really no need for us to argue about something that neither of us really has much of a clue about.

[Chimera]

What QB for the Browns do you have taking them to the bowl?

Harry Butts

[Chimera]

Newton's passing yardage falls slightly (not nearly as bad as others have predicted) but throws more consistently. Accuracy is up. YPC about the same. Fewer passes attempted.

No RB or WR/TE breaks 1000 yards. But as groups, they put up insane numbers (Smith, Lafell, Murphy, Tolbert, Olsen combine for 3700 of Cam's 3900 passing yards; 3 RBs + Cam grind it out for atleast 2600 yards). Keek DROY. Panthers sweep stains and Bucs, split with Failconvicts. Sweep AFC West. 2-2 vs. NFC East. Finish 12-4; lose in OT in NFCCG

That's the dream world, injury free version.

Now the more realistic (yet still optimistic) version - Olsen dominates the middle of the field. No 3rd WR takes advantage of his opportunity. Smitty or Lafell miss atleast 8 games. Receivers are serviceable, but don't allow Cam to take over a game. We play a more exciting version of Foxball and mostly win on the ground. Keek in running for DROY but injuries put a lot of pressure on the rookie. Defense overall improves, but still can't dominate. Road wildcard game vs. stout D that has its way with us.

[rayzor]

I still don't think that Newton gets anywhere near 10 rushing TD's. Goaline TD's will be covered by Stewart and Tolbert this year.

you're probably right. 7-8 probably more reasonable. i was thinking that most of his TDs weren't going to be coming from goalline situations...more from just being opportunistic in the red zone.

[CLEARHOT]

Pstall, I like your predictions...except the part about Dallas-playoffs. I think they may finish in the cellar of the NFC east......and that's not just because I hate their blue and silver guts. For our Carolina Cats, I'm saying 10-6 and a deep playoff run. Shocker alert: the falcons miss the playoffs.

[MadHatter]

you're probably right. 7-8 probably more reasonable. i was thinking that most of his TDs weren't going to be coming from goalline situations...more from just being opportunistic in the red zone.

I still think 7-8 is high if he loses the goal line carries to Tolbert/Stew. That would mean he would have a long scramble for a TD every other game. Not sure how realistic that is, but with his skillset it could be possible.

Other big ? is how Chud/Rivera uses his skillset. Do you let him run a lot because he is big and fast....or do you try and limit those becasue an injury to him would be devastating. There are arguements to be made on both sides of that arguement (been discussed here many times). I just don't know which side of that arguement Chud/Rivera would lean to.

Regardless.....anyway you look at it, our offense has a ton of weapons, is very diverse, should be a nightmare for DC's to gameplan for, and should be a lot of fun to watch.

[rayzor]

I still think 7-8 is high if he loses the goal line carries to Tolbert/Stew. That would mean he would have a long scramble for a TD every other game. Not sure how realistic that is, but with his skillset it could be possible.

Other big ? is how Chud/Rivera uses his skillset. Do you let him run a lot because he is big and fast....or do you try and limit those becasue an injury to him would be devastating. There are arguements to be made on both sides of that arguement (been discussed here many times). I just don't know which side of that arguement Chud/Rivera would lean to.

Regardless.....anyway you look at it, our offense has a ton of weapons, is very diverse, should be a nightmare for DC's to gameplan for, and should be a lot of fun to watch.

it all depends on how much they believe in the other talented players on that offense and chud's ability to keep this offense diverse and not so focused on one aspect or player.

[CRA]

I still think 7-8 is high if he loses the goal line carries to Tolbert/Stew. That would mean he would have a long scramble for a TD every other game. Not sure how realistic that is, but with his skillset it could be possible.

Other big ? is how Chud/Rivera uses his skillset. Do you let him run a lot because he is big and fast....or do you try and limit those becasue an injury to him would be devastating. There are arguements to be made on both sides of that arguement (been discussed here many times). I just don't know which side of that arguement Chud/Rivera would lean to.

Regardless.....anyway you look at it, our offense has a ton of weapons, is very diverse, should be a nightmare for DC's to gameplan for, and should be a lot of fun to watch.

4, 14, 16, 11, 6, 14, 49.....even if you take away his goaline dives he had 7 last year. if we score more points collectively you know Newton will simply have a decent number of goaline looks. Chud would be silly to ignore the greatest redzone mismatch in the NFL. Even if his usage is slightly down. I think if Cam has less than 9-11 rushing TDs our offense as a whole likely isn't scoring what we think they should. Cut his TD dives in half last year and he had 10.5 rushing TDs. He will be smarter and better this year.....which means a more dangerous Cam bc he will understand more.

Still more worried about Newton getting hurt in the pocket passing than as a rusher.

[MadHatter]

it all depends on how much they believe in the other talented players on that offense and chud's ability to keep this offense diverse and not so focused on one aspect or player.

Agreed. I am jsut very interested to see what Chud does this year in evolving his offense. I swear that I would not actually be surprised at ANYTHING he did. They guy is a true wildcard and unpredictable.

[rayzor]

4, 14, 16, 11, 6, 14, 49.....even if you take away his goaline dives he had 7 last year. if we score more points collectively you know Newton will simply have a decent number of goaline looks. Chud would be silly to ignore the greatest redzone mismatch in the NFL. Even if his usage is slightly down. I think if Cam has less than 9-11 rushing TDs our offense as a whole likely isn't scoring what we think they should.

Still more worried about Newton getting hurt in the pocket passing than as a rusher.

agreed about the non-goalline TDs and how they would still keep his numbers up.

i don't think that they should ignore newton in the redzone at all, but they shouldn't ignore the other incredibly talented options available. the more spread out it is between them, the more potent this offense will be.

re: newton scoring less than 9-11 TDs meaning the offense as a whole isn't scoring as much as it could...not completely buying that. if the team is winning and/or leading the league in scoring even without without cam having to carry all that load then they are doing things right.

completely agreed about being more worried about cam getting injured in the pocket than as a rusher, though he takes some awfully big chances diving into the endzone. i'd rather see that scaled back some.

[rayzor]

Agreed. I am jsut very interested to see what Chud does this year in evolving his offense. I swear that I would not actually be surprised at ANYTHING he did. They guy is a true wildcard and unpredictable.

the one thing i really see him not doing is focusing too much on one aspect of the offense. i think this thing is going to be wide open and the furtherest thing from a one-dimensional offense possible.

[hepcat]

NFC South Final Standings Prediction:

Atlanta: 11-5

Carolina: 9-7

New Orleans: 9-7

Tampa Bay: 5-11

Carolina beats out NOLA on a tiebreaker for a wildcard at 9-7. I expect Atlanta to be the most consistent & balanced team and they will win the division. New Orleans will take a step back with their coaches suspended and Drew Brees will show frustration in losing and begin to show signs of getting older. They will still be competitive and score a lot of points but where they will really suffer is defense, with a new coach and even the interim head coach suspended for the first few games.

Cam's numbers won't pop off the sheet but he will cut down on his turnovers. I don't think the running game will be as potent as last year either, with more small dump-offs and screen passes to the backs becoming more of a focus. Cam will still get his rushing yards and I expect him to top 500+ at least. Greg Olsen has a break out year and gets close to 1000 yards. Steve Smith is still Steve Smith for now. No one really steps up behind him and Olsen ends up the #2 receiving option.

Defense is better but still puts the offense in positions where they need to score at the end of the game to win. I expect this to be more successful this year. There were too many games where the Panthers had a chance to score and either tie/win the game on the last drive and came up short, and I chalk that up to Cam being a rookie. Charles Johnson gets 10+ sacks but no one gets more than 4 behind him. Beason plays the whole year, isn't exactly like he used to be but still a great player. Thomas Davis doesn't play much and retires after the season.

Overall I think the Panthers will be 8-8 or 9-7. Improving, but the defense and special teams just aren't good enough to be true contenders just yet. The offense will keep them in a lot of games so it'll be a fun year to watch for sure.

[CRA]

agreed about the non-goalline TDs and how they would still keep his numbers up.

i don't think that they should ignore newton in the redzone at all, but they shouldn't ignore the other incredibly talented options available. the more spread out it is between them, the more potent this offense will be.

re: newton scoring less than 9-11 TDs meaning the offense as a whole isn't scoring as much as it could...not completely buying that. if the team is winning and/or leading the league in scoring even without without cam having to carry all that load then they are doing things right.

completely agreed about being more worried about cam getting injured in the pocket than as a rusher, though he takes some awfully big chances diving into the endzone. i'd rather see that scaled back some.

Newton simply isn't good enough yet to be an impact player without his legs being part of the mix. If we are a big play and high scoring offense.....Newton again will play a big role in it.

And yeah, his helicopter was dumb.....but that isn't a reason to significantly reduce his involvement. Newton is too good of a runner not to score often.....and if you give Newton options he knows that despite a talented cast he often will be the best option.

9-11 rushing TDs I think is a safe number to bet on. I could see him challenging his own record if we are a legit contender in the next 2 years. I think in the next two seasons he makes a legit run at 30/20....which is college type numbers. Winning is what Cam wants.....and calling his own number gives us a great chance at points. Only way his TDs go down is if the coaches flat out take the option away from him. I don't see that as realistic.

[rayzor]

Newton simply isn't good enough yet to be an impact player without his legs being part of the mix. If we are a big play and high scoring offense.....Newton again will play a big role in it.

And yeah, his helicopter was dumb.....but that isn't a reason to significantly reduce his involvement. Newton is too good of a runner not to score often.....and if you give Newton options he knows that despite a talented cast he often will be the best option.

9-11 rushing TDs I think is a safe number to bet on. I could see him challenging his own record if we are a legit contender in the next 2 years. I think in the next two seasons he makes a legit run at 30/20....which is college type numbers. Winning is what Cam wants.....and calling his own number gives us a great chance at points. Only way his TDs go down is if the coaches flat out take the option away from him. I don't see that as realistic.

yeah, the option won't be taken away.

i don't see him reaching his numbers from auburn this year, but in the next couple years i definitely see it. in fact we'll probably not see is until it's time to talk contract.