I bleed Panther black and blue from preseason to the end of the season from the west coast!

As of late I am James evil twin, the resident pessimist. But actually I’m just a realist ;)

I really don’t think we can attribute too many loses to Peppers alone. For most of the losses, it was just down right stupid play calling. I’ve not really seen any distinct indication that Peppers has cost us a game specifically, nor our defense as a whole. Sure there’s a slight lack of depth but we’ve made do (and well, at that) and even when our offense has been putrid, the defense has held. Our defense is 24th in the league in points allowed, meanwhile we’re 5 yards out from being a top 10 in yards allowed. That to me says our D is getting scored on a lot from teams starting with a short field, which I take as meaning our offense isn’t moving down field near enough to at least get deep punts, and our special teams is allowing too many long returns. There are also a few games where our defense was on the field entirely too long. Add that on top of our injuries and I’d say everyone has had to step it up to maintain that kind of position.

Our largest margin of defeat was by 28 points to start the year, against Philly. Since then, our largest m.o.d has been 14. We hold an average m.o.d of 13 points. For our few wins, we have won, averaged, by 8. That says so many things to me but that’s another time, another place :).

If Carolina comes out and plays Panther football this week, we could easily jump back into the top 10 overall defenses.

If our offense had performed up to service consistently, we’d most likely be a top 10 team all around.

When we stink, we smell of a rotten skunk – but when we come to play, there’s no one in this league that can touch us. I’m sure a lot of teams feel that way, but those teams don’t have Double Trouble, Smith, nor an increasingly optimistic defense. Our rookies/players filling in have stepped their game up, we could easily be down there with Detroit and KC with the key positions we’ve lost… but we’re not and that speaks volumes about the front office, coaching staff, and players in my mind, especially considering our thin cap is no well hidden secret.

Tyrell Sutton has made himself a top 10 kick returner among rookies, meanwhile the Cap’n is 5th of 10 among rookie punt returners, and the first rookie on the list that’s not a wide receiver. Sherrod Martin is second only to Jairus Byrd in rookie interceptions with the few games he has played. We have a bright future ahead of us and, if we can draft next year like we did this year (luck/skill wise, depending how you look at it) we’re going to have a very bright QB and WR joining us.

We’re going to give it our all for the remainder of this year and finish as best we can. And next year, when all is fresh and anew? I’m looking for a consistent top 3 defense & top 5 offense.

I hope I was able to brighten your outlook on the season, I know I’m a ton more optimistic now than before I started typing this comment :).

Our pass rush has been a pleasant surprise. Even though they are not getting a ton of sacks, they are making some of the NFL’s best QBs very uncomfortable… And it shows by the poor, rushed throws that have really boosted the secondary’s stats.