In spite of a so-called off-season focus on improving the Panthers special teams they remain near the bottom in every special teams category. Most distressing for me is our inability cover kick offs. There is nothing more de-motivating than to score and then allow the other team to start their next possession at the 40 yard line. It makes me want to scream every time it happens.

Part of the problem is that K John Kasay is dead last in the league in touchbacks with...drum roll please...1. Now contrast that with the league leader Sebastian Janakowski who has 20 touchbacks. Most teams in the league have at least 10. The truth is half his kicks don’t even come close to the end zone and usually land around the 5-10 yard line. That puts your kick off coverage at a huge disadvantage.

Don’t get me wrong, I love me some John Kasay. I think he is one the better clutch field goal kickers in the league and I am by no means saying to get rid of him. I’ve even forgiven him for that out of bounds kick off in the Super Bowl. I just think the Panthers need to supplement their kicker stable with a KO specialist. The Panthers need someone who can put it in the end zone consistently and maybe even entice a few touchbacks. That would have to cut the starting position of the Panthers opponents by at least 5-10 yards. That’s huge for a team that relies on ‘bend but don’t break’ defensive game planning.

The Panthers special teams need every advantage they can get these days. A deeper kick off would be a good start.