Future Remains Bright For Carolina Panthers Despite Week 9 Loss

By Andrew Skaggs on October 31, 2014

Coming off a disappointing 28-10 home loss to the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night, things aren’t exactly looking up for the 3-5-1 Carolina Panthers. It was the second time the Panthers have been embarrassed on national TV at home this season, after losing 37-19 against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton is coming off his worst game of the season, completing just 35.7 percent of his passes for 151 yards and an interception. While it all looks bad at the moment, I’m here to tell you that all is not lost for the Panthers in the future.

Carolina’s 2013 season that saw them go 12-4 and win the NFC South was very important for several different reasons but also a bit misleading. It was important in establishing that Newton could lead the Panthers to the playoffs behind a stingy defense and a capable running game, the formula Carolina is hoping to win with going forward. Newton certainly has his inconsistencies throwing the football, with last night being a prime example, but the reality is that he was very raw in that area coming out of Auburn and last season proved that the Panthers could win with Newton under center.

The drawback to going 12-4 and winning the NFC South last season was two-fold. First, it raised expectations to a level not seen in Carolina since Jake Delhomme was in his prime. Second, the Panthers had to pick late in every round of the NFL Draft last May because of their impressive record. Both of these things were misleading because the reality is that the Carolina roster simply isn’t that talented at a lot of different spots. While the Panthers hit the jackpot at a need position with first-round pick WR Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina is still a couple of good drafts away from truly competing for Super Bowls.

When general manager David Gettleman took over in 2013, he knew he would have to be patient in rebuilding the roster the way he wanted to thanks to poor salary cap decisions by the previous regime. Running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are making over $10 million per year combined despite both being below average at their position. With the value of running backs in the NFL at an all-time low, these two contracts are playing a major role in restricting the the salary cap freedom that Gettleman and his staff have.

One thing Panthers fans can hang their hats on for the future is the excellent run of first-round picks by both Gettleman and the previous regime. Starting in 2011 with the selection of Newton with the top pick, Carolina has been absolutely on fire. In 2012 they picked LB Luke Kuechly with the No. 9 overall selection, only to see him win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in his first two seasons. The Panthers then used the No. 14 overall selection in 2013 to pick DT Star Lotulelei, who along with Kuechly anchored the No. 2 defense  in 2013. To top it off, Carolina selected Benjamin with the No. 28 pick in 2014, and he is on pace to record one of the best seasons by a rookie wide receiver in NFL history. With major needs at left tackle, cornerback, safety and wide receiver, the 2015 NFL Draft will be an important one for Gettleman and the Panthers to get back on track and return to the formula that made them so good in 2013.

We are still just nine games into the 2014 season, so I’m not trying to make it sound like this season is a lost cause by any means, but the reality is Carolina has an absolutely brutal schedule this season. The Panthers are near the end of a nine-game stretch that has seen them play Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Seattle and New Orleans, with a Monday night game at Philadelphia looming. Eight of those nine teams are at or above .500 with Chicago being the worst from a win-loss standpoint, but certainly not a bad team by any means. Only two of Carolina’s final seven games this season are against teams that are above .500, so there will certainly be opportunities to turn it around this season. The fact of the matter is that whether they make the playoffs or not this season, the future still looks bright in Carolina.

Andrew Skaggs is a Carolina Panthers writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @RantSkaggs and add him on Google.