We seem to be on a run of Top 10 'this' and 'that' recently so I thought I would keep it going with a post I found on MVN. This one is by Greg Trippiedi who appears to actually be a 'Skins fan so I will cut him a break for being so wrong! Greg has listed the Top 10 most valuable Panthers on the current roster. Now he doesn't clarify most valuable in what regard? Such as most valuable fantasy-wise? To winning in 2009? To the team in general or even on the free agent market. So I'm going to critique the list based on who is most important to winning in 2009:

#1: Steve Smith (MVN has at #5)

This is overall a tough decision to make and I know you could argue that we won two games without him last season. But would we really want to try and win without him over 16 games? Without Smith the Panther deep option dries up and teams could stack the box against the run. Smith is also a key playmaker that has pulled Panther wins out of the fire in the past. Without him I would not be so optimistic about 2009.

#2 LT Jordan Gross (MVN has at #1)

With the loss of some kep back-ups on the o-line I have to agree having Gross protect Jake's blind side is key. You could argue that Wharton is a very capable, experienced back-up but I think the pass protection would suffer which is something we do not want to have to worry about.

#3: RB DeAngelo Williams (MVN has at #2)

The only reason Williams is not #1 is because we have a very strong back-up in Jonathan Stewart. I actually wouldn't mind seeing Stewart start a game or two just to see what he can do.Yet in the end the best situation is having both of these guys available with Williams leading it off.

#4: QB Jake Delhomme (MVN did not have in Top 10)

We saw how a season can go without Delhomme in 2007 and it wasn't pretty. You could argue we have a more capable back-up in Josh McCown or Matt Moore but would we really want to find that out? My apologies to the Jake-haters but he is easily my #4 if not higher.

#5 LB Jon Beason (MVN has at #3)

I can agree with the argument that Beason is the heart and soul of the defense and without him we would be a very dead, uninspired bunch. My hope is that Ron Meeks can provide some of that lift as well and given our depth at LB missing Beason might not be so dramatic. Let me clarify though, I certainly don't want to play 2009 without the guy who very soon might be my favorite Panther.

#6: DE Julius Peppers (MVN has at #6)

I'm pretty sure the Panthers were prepared to play in 2009 without Pep but I am glad we won't try. For all the talk about his lack of desire and motivation I still like the idea of every OC on our schedule having to game plan for the 'at times' dominant DE. Without him our pass rush could be questionable at best depending on how the young players develop.

#7: CB Chris Gamble (MVN has at #6)

Gamble is our shut down corner and without him our secondary suddenly becomes very suspect (maybe it already is). With newly promoted starter Richard Marshall on the other side the Panthers need a steady starter against the high-powered passing games the Panthers will face this season.

#8: RT Jeff Otah (MVN did not have in top 10)

Otah is a key to the Panthers stout rushing attack that I expect to be dominant again in 2009. It was apparent our rushing attack suffered to a degree when the big guy was injured those few games as the rookie made a big impression. I'm predicting Otah's value to sky-rocket in 2009 as he mauls his way to future PB consideration.

#9: RB Jonathan Stewart (MVN has at #8)

For the same reasons Williams is on the list the Panther running game will be key to the 2009 season. As good as Williams is the fact Stewart is such a stud himself makes the Panther offense something every defense should worry about in 2009. I imagine a similar list in 2010 would have Stewart much higher after what I am expecting to be a break out season.

#10: K John Kasay (MVN did not have on list)

I know he missed the kick against the Giants but more often than not Kasay will hit those game winning kicks. I would hate to suddenly have to worry about the kicking game in 2009 should Kasay suddenly become unavailable. Finding a clutch kicker is hard to find on the waiver wire so I think Kasay will be key to several wins in 2009 with his steady leg. We might even look back and wonder why he wasn't higher up this list.

There you have it Panther fans. In case you care not to link over to the original post the three players MVN has on the list that I don't are C Ryan Kalil, LB Thomas Davis and CB Richard Marshall. These are all improtant guys but I'm thinking they just missed the list due to depth at the position should they become unavailable.

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