Whatifsports NFC South rankings

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

Didn't see this so I thought I'd try to fill my quota of offseason bull.

Carolina Panthers (8-8) (tied for 2nd with Atlanta)

Last season we projected the Panthers to win the division in large part due to in easy schedule. In 2009, it's the opposite as they take another step back from a playoff team to missing the post-season. Carolina has a brutual schedule featuring 13 teams that finish .500 or better in our projections. The Panthers average 22.2 points per game (#11) and allow 22.6 points (#21) against a schedule featuring seven games against 2008 playoff teams.

Absolute Record:6-10

Most Significant Newcomer: Everette Brown, DE - Brown isn't even expected to start, yet he earns the honor by default because the Panthers only added three non-drafted players and one of them, wide receiver Marcus Monk, played basketball, not football, in college last season. Brown is undersized, but has a tremendous gift for getting to the quarterback. He will likely be used on passing downs and is projected to make 27 tackles and three sacks. Brown also serves as some insurance if the Panthers have to move Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers this season or in the near future.

Biggest Strength: Rushing Offense - Carolina has a good, young offensive line and two great running backs in DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. The team also added speedster Mike Goodson, who is probably better-suited for success in the NFL than in college, in the draft. Similar to the Falcons, the Panthers are one of the few teams in the league that can rely on the run as the most integral part of a high-scoring, explosive offense. Carolina projects to run for 2,489 yards on 543 carries.

Most Exploitable Weakness: Schedule - As mentioned above, the Panthers play a remarkable 13 games against teams we project to be .500 or better. They play seven games against 2008 playoff teams and nine games against teams in our 2009 playoffs. There are deficiencies with everything about this team besides the running game and they will be exploited throughout the season by the great teams on the schedule.

Possible Fantasy Sleeper: Jonathan Stewart, RB - From a fantasy standpoint, we are projecting a significant step back for DeAngelo Williams, who rushed for 1,515 yards and scored 20 touchdowns in 2008. Expect the Panthers to maintain a great rushing attack by keeping both of their top running backs, Williams and Stewart, fresh and involved in the gameplan. In the projections, Stewart, a second-year player out of Oregon, totals 934 yards and eight touchdowns on 185 touches.

Closest Game: New Orleans Saints (Week 17) - Carolina is only favored in six games, yet has greater than a 44% chance of winning six others. The Panthers should go 8-8, but, depending on their ability to win (or lose) close games, they could realistically finish anywhere from 3-13 to 12-4. Since we have just one game separating division winner New Orleans and Carolina in the division race, Week 17 could be pivotal to the outcome of the NFC South.

Fantasy Notables: Jake Delhomme (28) 2246 yards, 14 TDs, 11 INTs; DeAngelo Williams (17) 1,400 total yards, 10 TDs; Jonathan Stewart (31) 934 total yards, 8 TDs; Steve Smith (6) 69 receptions, 1,218 yards, 7 TDs; Muhsin Muhammad (46) 49 receptions, 657 yards, 4 TDs; John Kasay (5) 36/37 XPs, 28/33 FGs

http://www.whatifsports.com/beyondtheboxscore/default.asp?article=2009NFLNSOUTH

[panthers55]

I still don't understand how other teams in our division have less of a brutal schedule. I know this is a fantasy site but it is interesting because it ranks not only things like projected winning percentage but also lists projected opponent offensive and defensive power rankings. All the teams in our division have similar schedules. There are a number of other teams with brutal schedules as well including teams in the AFC East (probably because they are facing the NFC South). One thing that struck me was that many of our opponents should have a significantly better passing offense than running offense. Seems perfect that we would hire Meeks who is a pass defense guru. Seems a perfect time to add him and something most folks are not giving us credit for. Our pass defense will be much improved which will be critical to our success and will be the reason we repeat as division champs.

http://accuscore.com/edge/fantasy/fantasy-nfl-strength-of-schedule/

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

I still don't understand how other teams in our division have less of a brutal schedule. I know this is a fantasy site but it is interesting because it ranks not only things like projected winning percentage but also lists projected opponent offensive and defensive power rankings. All the teams in our division have similar schedules. There are a number of other teams with brutal schedules as well including teams in the AFC East (probably because they are facing the NFC South). One thing that struck me was that many of our opponents should have a significantly better passing offense than running offense. Seems perfect that we would hire Meeks who is a pass defense guru. Seems a perfect time to add him and something most folks are not giving us credit for. Our pass defense will be much improved which will be critical to our success and will be the reason we repeat as division champs.

http://accuscore.com/edge/fantasy/fantasy-nfl-strength-of-schedule/

Agreed wholeheartedly

[AKPantherFan]

all the pre-season BS is just that; BS.

All we have to do is win our division, we can control that easily. As long as we focus and take care of what we need to (division-conference games) we should be just fine

11-5 I predicted that 5 weeks ago, i stick with it.

[Nicbsbll2]

Who the hell is whatifsports and why should I care what they think?

[beastson]

We had a pretty rough 2003 schedule. We got through it and went all the way. If we get through this schedule, I think we're going all the way

[Brooklyn Bully]

Who the hell is whatifsports and why should I care what they think?

This. It gets worse and worse on here as the off-season rolls on. People find articles from the lowest, most bottom-feeding websites on the internet and post them here.

OMG, someone from SuperSonicUltraToughMeanGreenFightingMachine.com gave us a crap review! Burn them at the stake for their ignorance!

[carpanfan96]

Yea what is what if sports???????????????? Some kinda jacked up Fantasy/football prediction system???

[John Fox]

What if sports is a pretty cool site actually, I messed around with it for like 15 mins once, you can pit teams against each other, different times etc. and it'll come up with a result. It's stupid as hell, yet its actually pretty fun

http://www.whatifsports.com/nfl/

[hdevonxz]

schedules don't mean anything until half way into the season anyway.

It's funny, every year everyone makes predictions KNOWING how unpredictable the NFL is.

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

Oh yeah. Don't get me wrong. NFL predictions in June are like trying to predict how many of your dogs puppies are going to die in birth. Needlessly depressing.

But hey, we can't just talk about Peppers for another six weeks.

[pantherboss]

Its amazing how people always love the Aints and they always F it up

[Happy Panther]

schedules don't mean anything until half way into the season anyway.

It's funny, every year everyone makes predictions KNOWING how unpredictable the NFL is.

i'd get used to it

[Happy Panther]

This analysis makes sense. The panthers, falcons and Saints really aren't that far apart in terms of potential this year. I could easily see all three teams slogging through a tough schedule and beating each other up with the winner and WC spot not decided until week 17. if the Saints really improve their D then they could be huge. Atlanta really has some weapons and the Panthers are solid all around.

9-7 has been my call all along