No love on NFL.com Poll

[Udogg]

Can't blame them. Atlanta looked alot better against Arizona than we did. Plus Ryan is not a rookie anymore. The last game America saw us play we got spanked and with the peppers situation we look like an average team.

Being honest with my self. If I wasn't such a homer I would probably feel that way. But I am, so BACK TO BACK NFC SOUTH CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pantherclaw]

Any national, or heck, international poll is going to be like that.

[rayzor]

people that are saying that the panthers can't finish the season well because of next season's schedule need to take into account how the other teams will stack up against the "dreaded" NFCE and AFCE.

bucs....don't stand much of a chance. can you honestly see them performing better than the panthers against these teams? not going to waste much time with this one.

falcons...matt ryan had the same supposed benefit that the panthers had against a "cupcake" schedule. was it the schedule that made him look so studly in his rookie year? is he due for a sophomore slump? he's going to be playing better defenses. how did he look against the eagles last year? how did turner look against them? how did turner look against solid defenses (which our most certainly was not the 2nd half of the season last year but was the first half)? look at his game log from last year and see if you see him as consistently strong. their defense is most certainly the thing to look at, though. have they gone up or down? if their defense hasn't been improved then they are in serious trouble facing the offensive juggernauts they will be next year.

saints...i don't see their offense as improved at all. they have question marks at WR as far as health is concerned (both colston and moore have had surgeries recently). granted brees will be able to throw to anyone and make them studs. what happens, though, when he has to face the defenses that he has to face? he only got sacked 13 times and only had 2:1 TD-INT ratio but who exactly did they have to face? cupcake defenses? btw...if he goes down, what happens to their offense? i'm not predicting anything but he has to face the giants, cowboys, redskins (they sacked him 2x last year and they were 28th in sacks and now have haynesworth), eagles, dolphins, and panthers next year. not exactly a safe schedule for such a tiny man. the thing that would give me the most concern, though, is their defense. yes, under williams it may be improved but is it enough to stay competitive against the beast offenses that they have to face next year? remember last year, against "cupcake" teams, they were 26th in points allowed, 23rd on yards per game, 23rd against the pass, and 17th against the run against an even easier schedule than the panthers had. also they are going to be without charles grant and will smith for the first 4 games...not good. they are going to need all the wins they can get. it would be flat out embarrassing to lose at home on opening day to the lions who are out to show they aren't that that team that was infamously bad last year.

the panthers, on the other hand...lost less than other teams and finished 1st in the division, even if it was against "cupcake" teams. the oline is questionable as far as depth is concerned but still the line is among the best in the league. the running game is elite. we still have smith. the offense is far from being in worse shape than last year. the defense didn't take too much of a hit either. peppers will be back and playing hard. the defenseis under better management. forget those boneheads who say that we won't be any better under meeks because he is a puppet. we will be, at least, the same as last year which was still better than the other teams in the NFCS who are either moderately better than last year (saints) or took a hit (falcons and bucs). knowing that we have to face pretty much the same teams as everyone else in the NFCS, which defense do you think is going into the season stronger? which is going to be most likely to endure next year? i'm going to be confident in saying that the panther defense will be the strongest next year and overall the panthers team is in better shape facing those teams.

remember that story about two hikers finding out there is a bear heading towards them and they decide they need to get away? one guy kneels down and starts getting into his running shoes while the other guy says, "what in the world are you doing? you can't outrun a bear?" and the guy changing shoes says, "i know i can't outrun a bear. i just have to outrun you."

at worst the panthers are that team with the running shoes.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

remember that story about two hikers finding out there is a bear heading towards them and they decide they need to get away? one guy kneels down and starts getting into his running shoes while the other guy says, "what in the world are you doing? you can't outrun a bear?" and the guy changing shoes says, "i know i can't outrun a bear. i just have to outrun you."

at worst the panthers are that team with the running shoes.

:iagree:

What a great analogy.

Yes, we have what appears to be a tough schedule, but so does the entire NFC South. You and I always seem to share the same opinions (except, perhaps, when debating the semantics of the word "thug"). Every post I read, I just want to yell out "Amen."

I'll end this lovefest now.