This story was posted at RotoWorld.com a few days ago, but I waited to post it in the hope a full list of all teams would be posted at ProFootballFocus.com (Mike Clay writes for both). That didn't happen, and RotoWorld's story only include the top and bottom 5 teams for each.

Surprisingly, the Panthers weren't among the top 5 teams in using a 2 TE set. The Patriots used 2 TE's in 70% of their sets, but next highest was the 49ers with 56%. The team using the 5th most 2 TE sets was the Cowboys at 49%, so the Panthers used a 2 TD set less than 49% of the time. The team using the fewest 2 TE sets was the Raiders, at 9%, and the 28th ranked team was the Bucs, with 25%. So, the Panthers used a 2 TE set on between 25-49% of the time.

The Bills used a 3 or more WR set 77% of the time last season (31st in 2 TE sets, at only 10%). The Colts used 3 WR's the 2nd most, at 63%, and the 5th most were the Steelers, at 57%. The team using the fewest 3 WR sets were the Texans (they ran on 51% of plays), at 21%, and the team ranked 28th in 3 WR sets were the Chargers, at 31%. Once again the Panthers didn't make the top or bottom 5 list of teams using 3 or more WR sets, and were somewhere between 31-57%.

The Bills used 4 WR sets on 32% of their plays, and the Bears were next at 16%.

The Saints used 2 tailbacks on 39% of their plays last season, and next highest was only 9% of the time. With Mike Tolbert, the Panthers should be in the top 5 in this ranking next year.

These numbers show just how often the Panthers will need a 5th or 6th DB on the field. What will that mean for the Panthers defense? I will likely mean that even though the Panthers play a base 4-3 defense, you might see a 3 man front of CJ, Hardy (at DT), and Alexander, backed by 2 LB's (with 6 DB's), or 3 LB's (with a 5th DB), on sure passing downs. It's also a strong argument for keeping a 6th CB, or at least a backup S who can play CB, if both Godfrey and Martin are starting S's, then it would likely be a backup S like Pugh.