Panthers Week 16 Team Profile

While the Seahawks have been getting all the attention the Carolina Panthers have quietly become one of the most dominant and balanced teams in the league. Where as Seattle relies on establishing the run (Number 1 in rushing, Number 29 in passing) the Panthers have had no trouble spreading the love. Carolina is averaging 260 yards passing per game, good for 6th in the league, and racks up 134 rushing yards per contest, good for 5th in the NFL. As you'd expect with such numbers, the Panthers have had no trouble lighting up the scoreboard to a tune of 38 points per game, good for 2nd in the league.

Anytime you talk about the Carolina Panthers, one name comes to mind... Cam Newton. Teams used to focus on keeping Cam in the pocket so he couldn't beat them with his legs, but that strategy is clearly not working this year. Supercam has taken his game to the next level, throwing for a league leading 39 TDs to go along with 3,778 yards passing. That's not to say he still can't pound the ball when he has to. Newton has 412 yards on the ground, good for 3rd among QBs, and 4 TDs.

Cam has taken on the mantra of the offense as a whole, throwing to whoever is open. Brandon Lafell has caught 63 passes, 11 for TDs, both good enough to lead the team. Staying stride for stride is cagey veteran Steve Smith, who leads the team with 1,159 receiving yards to go along with 59 catches and 9 TDs. Rounding out the receiving core is every QBs security blanket, the tight end. Luckily the Panthers have a great one in Greg Olsen. When he's not protecting the edge, he's hauled in 44 catches for 6 scores.

When Cam isn't throwing the ball down field he's been handing the ball to DeAngelo Williams to the tune of 1,100 yards and 15 TDs while Jonathan Stewart has yet to break the 100 yard mark on the season. Clearly it's a one man show in the Carolina backfield... or at least you would think. Kenjon Barner has come on as of late, picking up 154 yards and 3 scores in his first career start after being relegated to the bench most of the year. He has been named the starter moving forward. What exactly DeAngelo did to end up in the coach's doghouse is anyone guess, but don't be shocked if he's suiting up in a different uniform next training camp.

On the other side of the ball the Panthers are anchored by none other than Luke Kuechly. As you'd expect he leads the team in tackles, but he's no slouch in coverage either, picking off 4 passes, second on the team only to safety Quinton Mikell's 5 INTs. When in comes to getting to the passer, not many have been better than LE Charles Johnson. His 11 sacks are tied for 2nd among defensive ends and he's also added 16 tackles for a loss.

All told the Panthers have scored a whopping 584 points while giving up only 307, for a 2nd in the NFL differential of +277. As you'd expect from their record, the Panthers have been one of the best teams in the league from start to finish. So where could they improve? While SuperCam has had no qualms about throwing the ball down the field, he could be a little more careful. His 23 INTs are tied for 3rd worst among starting signal callers. 4 of those interceptions came in week one against the Seahawks, a game the Panthers like to keep fresh in their minds. They know it doesn't matter who wins first, just who wins last. The Panthers have made it very clear that they expect to see the Seahawks in the playoffs and that they expect the outcome to be very different. However, the phrase "any given Sunday" originated for a reason. For now both teams will have to take the season one game at a time or risk a season's worth of progress going for naught. The Panthers and Seahawks aren't the only teams with Super Bowl aspirations in the NFC, but more on that to come...

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