Do you want to see Steve Smith, Julius Peppers and Jake Delhomme in the postseason. In 2009. These three are the Carolina Panthers 2008 NFC South Champions. Their fans have every right, I suppose, to see them again.

But yes, it will be just like every other expected playoff contender, there will be obstacles too.
For the Carolina Panthers, particularly three things could stand in the way of a return trip to the postseason in 2009.

First of all there is a tough division and of course an equally or more tough one. The next possibility is that the team is almost entirely new defensive coaching staff might not mesh with the personnel. The last is a key member of that personnel (Peppers) and also the possibility of a holdout.

Despite all these potential bumps, there are also many reasons to believe in this years Panthers.

Tags: 2009 playoffs, playoffs, steve smith