The Carolina Panthers have been around for 20 seasons now. In the Panthers' vigintennial season, they are enjoying the best start to a season in franchise history. This led me to wonder if this could be the best iteration of the Carolina Panthers ever. When considering past successful teams, the two that come to mind are the 1996 team that lost to Green Bay in the NFC Championship game and the 2003 team that was cheated out of lost in the Super Bowl to the New England Patriots. Let's take a look, position group by position group, and see which Panthers team is the best. For this exercise, we are not looking at potential, we are looking at actual performances from that season. To make the stat comparisons easy, we will double the 2015 teams' stats to get an idea of where they could be after 16 games. So let's start at the most important position on the field.
*All stats via Pro Football Reference and only account for regular season*
Quarterback
I will go ahead and say that, in my opinion, Cam Newton is the best quarterback in Panthers' history. But let's look at the years the other guys had. We'll start way back in 1996 when Kerry Collins got 12 starts, and he and Steve Beuerlein combined to complete 56.1 percent of their passes for 3333 yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. They also led the team to the seventh ranked scoring offense in the league that year at just under 23 points per game. In 2003, fan favorite Jake Delhomme burst onto the scene after halftime of game one of the season. The Ragin' Cajun came out of nowhere to complete 59.2 percent of his passes for 3219 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Under Delhomme, the offense finished 15th in scoring at 20.3 points per game. Cam Newton's MVP-caliber season throws a wrench into the equation since he runs with the ball so well. Not only is Cam on pace to complete 53.7 percent of his passes for 3640 yards, 28 touchdowns and 18 interception, he's also on pace for 686 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground as well. With Cam under center (or in the shotgun), the Panthers are fourth in scoring with 28.5 points per game. Newton's added element pushes him over the other two for me.
Winner: 2015
Runningbacks
The 1996 team featured Howard Griffith lead blocking for Anthony Johnson and Tim Biakabatuka to the tune of 1729 rushing yards as a team to go with nine rushing touchdowns. 2003 saw the rock being handed to Stephen Davis and Deshaun Foster, who then ran behind cult hero Brad Hoover. This combination led the team to 2091 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. This season the Panthers have leaned heavily on Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart. As a team, the Panthers are on pace for 2276 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. Just looking at the stats, you would think picking this year's team would be a no brainer. But if you take out Cam Newton's rushing yards, I think the better choice would be Davis and Foster. I love Stewart and Tolbert, but imagine what Cam could do with Davis and Foster running behind Hoover. Obviously the offense would be different with Cam at the helm instead of Delhomme, but Deshaun Foster would thrive in this style offense and Davis would still bring that bruising style that Stewart provides.
Winner: 2003
Receivers/Tight Ends
If this were just receivers, or just tight ends, this decision would be a lot easier. But when looking at the group as a whole, the waters get a little murky. Mark Carrier, Willie Green, and a baby-faced Muhsin Muhammad combined with Wesley Walls to make a pretty lethal pass-catching threat in 1996. In 2003 a veteran Moose and a superstar-in-the-making Steve Smith, along with ole reliable Ricky Proehl, put up great numbers. Unfortunately, 2003 is the only team that did not have an excellent receiving threat at tight end. Moving to 2015, the opposite is true. The current iteration of the team has, in my opinion, the best tight end in franchise history but no true threats on the outside. For me, 1996 had the most balanced receiving options.
Winner: 1996
Offensive Line
Ranking the offensive lines is tough. Neither 1996 nor 2003 saw any lineman reach the Pro Bowl, and it's too early to tell if any will in 2015. There also aren't many stats to look at for the offensive line. The 1996 squad allowed 36 sacks and the run game gained 3.4 yards per attempt. In 2003, the line allowed 26 sacks and the run game averaged 4.0 yards per carry. This season the team is on pace to allow 26 sacks as well and 4.2 yards per carry. Based off the limited stats, it appears as though the 2015 team is the cream of the crop, at least so far. I don't remember much about the other two offensive lines, so we'll have to give this one to the present squad.
Winner: 2015
Defensive Line
The defense ran a 3-4 scheme in 1996 and a 4-3 in 2003 and this season. This makes the defensive discussion a little tougher, but let's give it a whirl. I can say with confidence which defensive front I would take, but let's take a look at the stats anyway. The 3-4 scheme in 1996 featured Greg Kragen in the middle with Gerald Williams and Mike Fox on the outside. The 1996 defense finished eighth against the run, and the line was a big part of that. The 2003 line was incredible. Pro Bowlers Mike Rucker and Kris Jenkins combined with a young Julius Peppers and veteran Brentson Buckner to create a nightmare for opposing offensive lines. The unit helped the 2003 defense finish eleventh against the run and register 40 sacks. This season's line has been hit with injuries pretty badly. The best lineman, Charles Johnson, has been out all but three games. This unit may boast the best interior line in Panthers history, as Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei have been absolutely fantastic. If you call Jenkins/Buckner versus Short/Star a push, I like the Peppers/Rucker combo better than anything the Panthers have put on the field this season.
Winner: 2003
Linebackers
In a recent article, I made the argument that Luke and TD are the best linebacking duo of all time. I stand by that statement, but this is about finding the best full linebacking corps, not just two guys. The 1996 team had three Pro Bowl linebackers, two of whom were All Pros. This was the group that carried the 1996 squad to the brink of the Super Bowl. Lamar Lathon, Carlton Bailey, Sam Mills (Keep Pounding!), and Kevin Greene led Dom Capers' defense to 60(!) sacks in 1996. The 2003 team had some pretty good linebackers, too, with Dan Morgan in the middle and Will Witherspoon and Greg Favors on the outside. Obviously the current linebacking corps is fantastic as both Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis Sr are on their way to the Pro Bowl, and rookie Shaq Thompson has shown flashes. Unfortunately, Keek and TD are not good enough to overcome all four of the 1996 team's backers. Imagine if Luke and TD were in the middle of that D with Lathon and Greene on the outside, though.
Winner: 1996
Secondary
The 1996 defensive backfield featured Pro Bowler Eric Davis and Tyrone Poole on the outside with Brett Maxie and Pat Terrell at the safety spots. Those four, combined with defensive back Chad Cota, accounted for 17 turnovers that season, though they were often overshadowed by that linebacking corps. 2003 had two of its leaders in tackles play in the secondary. Mike Minter and Deon Grant were big hitting safeties that could play aggressively behind that vaunted front four. Reggie Howard and Terry Cousin were on the outside, with Ricky Manning in the nickel, and this group of corners were solid if unspectacular (Manning's insane postseason aside). This group did manage to force thirteen turnovers themselves, which is a pretty good number. This season's secondary has been a roller coaster ride. On one side you have the best corner in the league in Josh Norman. Opposite him is Charles Tillman, a savvy vet who has obviously lost a step, but not his penchant for forcing turnovers. Bene Benwikere has struggled at times in the nickel but still makes some plays. The safety play was pretty bad until the last couple weeks when Kurt Coleman and Roman Harper really stepped up their play. Despite giving up the occasional big play, this year's secondary is on pace to force 22 turnovers. For me, 2015 is the clear favorite here.
Winner: 2015
Special Teams
The 1996 special teams unit had Pro Bowler John Kasay hit 82 percent of his field goal attempts and punter Rohn Stark averaged just over 40 yards per punt. Michael Bates and Winslow Oliver combined for a couple return touchdowns. The 2003 version of Kasay hit 84 percent of his field goals and punter Todd Sauerbrun averaged 44.6 yards per punt. Steve Smith and Rod "He Hate Me" Smart combined for a couple return touchdowns as well. This season the Panthers have Graham Gano hitting just over 80 percent of his field goals and punter Brad Nortman is averaging 45.5 yards per punt. The return teams have not been as explosive, as Ted Ginn and Fozzy Whittaker have solid return averages but no scores thus far. I'll take the 2003 squad on this one. Kasay was good (until the final kickoff of that particular postseason), Sauerbrun was great and the return specialists were dynamic.
Winner: 2003
Overall
Obviously certain position groups are weighted differently in the grand scheme of things, but let's make this as simple as possible. Which year won the most position groups? It's a TIE! The 2003 team and 2015 team both won three categories, while 1996 only won two position groups. I would love to say the Keep Pounding team of 2003 is the best Panther team of all time, but there is something special about this season. It feels different. The newest iteration of the Cardiac Cats, at least so far, is the best Panther team in franchise history. Hopefully they finish one game better than the 2003 squad.
For fun, just imagine the following position groups lining up together:
Offense: Cam Newton, Stephen Davis, Deshaun Foster, Brad Hoover, Wesley Walls, Mark Carrier, Willie Green, Muhsin Muhammad, Michael Oher, Andrew Norwell, Ryan Kalil, Trai Turner, Mike Remmers
Defense: Mike Rucker, Kris Jenkins, Brentson Buckner, Julius Peppers, Lamar Lathon, Sam Mills, Carlton Bailey, Kevin Greene, Josh Norman, Charles Tillman, Bene Benwikere, Roman Harper, Kurt Coleman
Special Teams: John Kasay, Todd Sauerbrun, Rod Smart, Steve Smith
Man, that defense would be unbelievably good.