Panthers 2008 Offensive Preview
July 25, 2008
Word of the Day: Potential
Quarterbacks:
Jake Delhomme has shown that he can take a team to the Super Bowl. I have no questions about his arm. “Experts” say he needs to be careful in camp, which I would agree with, but when they say he’s a big risk to get injured or have his play suffer, I have to draw the line. What do they know about Tommy John Surgery, seeing as he’s one of the only quarterbacks to ever undergo that type of surgery, it’s tough to tell, but he seems fine to me. He says his arm is stronger than it has been in long time which is a positive, and he’s looked sharp in camp. He is the Panthers best player when he’s on, but when he struggles, they struggle. Jake could rebound this year and lead the Panthers on a long run.
He has the strongest recieving core since the days of Moose, Smith, and Proehl. Though Moose is older, Smith is much improved now and DJ Hackett has a lot of potential. Delhomme needs to have recievers that know how to come after the ball on errant throws, and thats what he has in Smith, Moose, and Hackett.
Matt Moore showed fans last year that he knows what it takes to win games, going 2 - 1in the last three games of the season, beating playoff teams Tampa Bay and Seattle. He also almost pulled out a win versus the Dallas Cowboys despite one of the worst referee performances I have ever seen, namely a blatant pass interference by the Cowboys that wasn’t called. He gets the ball to Steve Smith, and can move out of the pocket. He has potential and will see some action this year in many games, hopefully getting some action towards the end of the year when we are resting Delhomme for the playoffs and when the Panthers are beating up on teams such as the Falcons.
With a slightly run oriented offense, Delhommes stats will slightly dip, but he should have a nice year with great endzone threats.
Delhomme: 2,800 pass yds./25 pass tds./12 ints./90.0 QB Rating
Moore: 700 pass yds./4 pass tds./3 ints./78.0 QB Rating
Running Backs:
By selecting Jonathan Stewart with the 13th pick in the draft, the Panthers showed that they want to pound the ball this year with a potentially great 1 - 2 punch in Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Stewart will be getting the majority of the carries by the end of the season, but they will be basically equal. Stewart will pound the ball down the throat of the defense for the first half, and early 2nd half, then DeAngelo Williams will be utilized in the role that he is more effective, which is to run by tired defenses. I think that by sharing carries, the careers of these two running backs will be preserved, and eventually could form a great tandem. Jonathan Stewart’s toe injury does not worry me, and I predict they will both have solid years, with Deangelo getting more yards while Stewart gets the majority of the goal line carries. Together, they’ll be able to run around defenses. If the Panthers run a two RB backfield as they have tried with Foster and Williams in past years, they could have big play ability with both of them in the game.
Brad Hoover is a solid FB and will do a good job leading these backs down the field. He is a solid blocking FB and it will be nearly impossible to stop Stewart behind Hoover at the goal line. Labrandon Toefield will not be used much, but he is a solid backup in case of injuries to Williams or Stewart.
Williams: 1,000 rush yds./4 total tds./200 recieving yds.
Stewart: 900 rush yds./9 total tds./300 recieving yds.
Recievers & Tight Ends:
Steve Smith is argueably the best in the NFL. He is surely one of the only recievers in history to recieve for over 1,000 while being passed to the majority of the season by 3 different backup QBs, including the oldest in the NFL, Vinny Testaverde, the biggest bust in the NFL, David Carr, and the undrafted rookie out of Oregon State, Matt Moore. I find it amazing he pulled out that sort of season under those circumstances. With DJ Hackett and Muhsin Muhammad relieving double and triple teams from Smith, it should be tough to stop this recieving core. Hackett caught 31 footballs for 374 yards and 3 tds last year in 5 games. Moose is nearing the end of his career, but he still has a chance to recieve for at least 500 yds rotating with Hackett in that number 2 spot. Smith has deep play ability, Moose is a consistent touchdown threat near the endzone, and Hackett is a great no. 2 reciever when healthy This recieving core could potentially be one of the hardest in the NFL to stop.
Dwayne Jarret is starting to smell like a bust, but he has shown improvement this offseason. He is studying more and catching better. Ryne Robinson also has potential, and I am a fan. He made some impressive catches in mini camp and has good speed.
Jeff King is a well rounded tight end. I doubt he’ll ever be great, but he is a good blocker and an average pass catcher for a tight end. Dante Rosario and Gary Barnidge are both good pass catchers with good run-after-catch abilities. They could both pass King on the depth chart by the end of the year.
Smith: 1,300 recieving yds./11 recieving tds.
Muhammad: 500 recieving yds./5 recieving tds.
Hackett: 700 recieving yds./6 recieving tds.
Jarret: 200 recieving yds./1 recieving td.
Robinsion: 100 recieving yds./0 recieving tds.
King: 100 recieving yds./1 recieving td.
Rosario: 300 recieving yds./2 recieving tds.
Offensive Line:
Jordan Gross moved over to the left side this year, which shouldn’t be a problem. He will probably adjust quickly and be able to protect Jake Delhomme’s blind side. Hopefully, they can resign him to a longer contract before the year ends because I feel he is crutial to our offensive line. At LG, we have Travelle Wharton, who used to be the starting LT. He will be a great guard because he is surely mobile enough, and is a solid pass and run blocker. Ryan Khalil is the starting center after Justin Hartwig’s departure. He was less than impressive at guard last year, but he can be a solid center in the NFL. He could be the weak point in our line if it turns out he was put into the starting role too early.
The RG spot is up for grabs between Toniu Fonoti, Jeremy Bridges and Keydrick Vincent. I feel that the larger than life Fonoti will get the job. If he keeps losing weight, he could possibly return to his former self and be one of the best run blocking RG’s in football. When he was with the Chargers, he was great, but weight problems ruined his career for a short time. This could be the year that will revives his career or ends it. Jeff Otah was the best run blocking tackle in the draft IMO. He needs to improve on pass blocking, but I think he will pave the way for Stewart and Williams for years to come.
Evan Mathis has shown that he can start at G and play alright in case of injury, but he might not see as much playing time due to Keydrick Vincent, Jeremy Bridges and Toniu Fonoti. Hopefully, Geoff Hangartner will be able to fill in due to poor play by the pass blocking center, Khalil. Hangartner is a better run blocking center and that might be what John Fox wants. Geoff Shwartz was a steal in the late rounds of the draft. He could become a solid LT if coached right. He is big enough to be an overpowering run blocker and is already a proven pass blocker. He won’t ever be great, but he has potential to be a starter.
By Tyler Horner
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Written by Carolina Crazy · Filed Under Offseason
that sucks that jonathan is injured does any body lnow when he can play?
ya but other then that o hope they will run him alot so he will have lots of yards this year. Does he have a really bad toe injury or what because i don’t want the injury like Dennis Dixon. Wait do you think Jonathan Stwert will be ok?