Continuing our review of the Panthers 2011 season lets look and recognize the season leaders in some key statistical categories and see how they rank in the NFL. In no particular order so lets make a list.

Touchdowns: QB Cam Newton 35 (5th in NFL); 21 passing (11th) , 14 rushing (2nd)

Scoring: K Olindo Mare 110 points (19th)

Rushing Yards: 836 Yards RB DeAngelo Williams (23rd)

Receiving Yards: Steve Smith 1,394 receiving yards (5th); 7 receiving TDs (21st)

AVG Yards per Kick Return: Kealoha Pilares 25.7 yards (29th)

Tackles: LB James Anderson 145 (6th)

Sacks: Charles Johnson 9.0 (21st)

Interceptions: Sherrod Martin, Chris Gamble 3 (37th)

Forced Fumbles: Jordan Senn 3 (16th)

Passes Defensed: CB Chris Gamble (32nd)

Net Yards Punting: Jason Baker 42.7 (30th

Two things surprise me in this list. The first is the gap between James Anderson and the 2nd place Panther Charles Godfrey with 84 and fact he ended 6th in the NFL. Great season for Anderson. Second is how little our secondary was able to get their hands on the ball. Interceptions and passes defensed were overall very low. It shows how we need more ball hawks in the secondary.

The regular season is finished and we will watch the playoffs from the outside looking in. But we have a lot of good stuff to reflect back on this offseason. We likewise have plenty to be hopeful about for 2012. In 2011 Ron Rivera essentially took a broken team and fixed half of it. Unexpected was the defense-oriented coach would actually fix the offense first which adds to my level of faith that he will turn around the defense this year. So let's see where the Panthers finished as a team with a look back at the mid-season reports to see what the trend was going into the offseason. I'm just looking at NFL stats today but will follow-up with the DVOA stats later this week.

Here's the Panthers final team stats and rankings, starting with the offense:

Yards per Game: 389.8 (7th) This was a drop from mid-season but I attribute that more to Cam Newton's blistering start passing the ball. Regardless of the trend this was a great finish for the offense. OC Rob Chudzinski should feel a degree of satisfaction with the job he did this season.

Yards per Play: 6.2 (4th) An amazing stat that you would expect from a playoff bound team but the turnovers and a defense that couldn't get off the field counteracted it.

Points per Game: 25.4 (5th) What a jump from the mid-season review this is. The Panthers were at 23.4 (14th) at midseason, a two point jump in average. considering we finished last season averaging 12.2 points game I was thrilled with the amount of Panther scoring in 2011, in particular the second half of the season.

3rd Down Completion Success: 40% (10th) Though this is a slight drop off from the midseason 9th ranking but not much.

Turnovers: +1 (16th) This was a big improvement from the midseason report when the Panthers were -3 (23rd). So they went from -3 to +4 in their final eight games.

We will look at the defense in the next installment of our 2011 season review.

My apologies if this post seems redundant with last couple posts but I thought it significant enough because I saw a few surprises in the just released depth chart.

Starting with the offense:

First off I'm surprised to see WR Armanti Edwards in front of David Clowney. I guess Edwards didn't fall after his less than stellar showing against the Steelers.

Basically it looks like tackles Lee Ziemba and Bryant Browning have been switched. I still expect the Panthers to add a RG to the mix through waivers.

We've got the defense after the jump...

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Do you think Chudzinski likes Tight Ends much?  A lot has been written and discussed about the signings of first Shockey and then Greg Olsen, and rightly so.  These guys are big-time receivers with TE size, and will no doubt create mis-matches galore in the passing game.  But I'm here today to talk about the "unsung" free agent Tight End; the one that blocks... his name, in case you've forgotten, is Ben Hartsock, who signed a two-year contract with the Carolina Panthers on July 27.

I suppose the characterization as a "blocking TE" is a fair one.  In his eight NFL Seasons (Colts, Titans, Falcons, and Jets), Hartsock has accumulated a staggering 29 receptions for 282 yards (9.7 ypc).  His longest reception went for 27 yards, and he has 1 career TD.

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The fullback position for the 2010 Panthers offense has proved to be a difficult position to evaluate. The only true fullbacks to see action for the Panthers in 2010 only received 7 carries between them. RB Tyrell Sutton essentially filled the role for a couple games but you can't really tell from the stats which, if any of his carries came while lined up at FB. So this position review is going to be very subjective.

The FB position in a John Fox running game doesn't get many carries; the position is key though simply for the blocking aspect. The 2010 season was the first season since 2000 that the position was not locked down by long-time fan favorite Brad Hoover. If you go back and watch 2008 highlights of RB DeAngelo Williams or Jonathan Stewart you will most likely also see Hoover clearing the way for big runs.The dude could simply stone a DE and annihilate LBs. So his replacements in 2010 had big shoes to fill and I think that did affect my 2010 season grades for the position.

Tony Fiammetta

2010 Season Stats: 7 carries for 22 yards (3.1 YAC); 5 rec for 34 yds in 14 games and 9 starts

In my view Fiammetta had an inconsistent year in his first season as a starter. He was only a 2nd year player so it's understandable that he struggled at times. I recall throughout the season that on one play he would execute his assignment as required and the next completely whiff. His low YAC is no concern as I imagine most were 3rd and short type of carries where all was needed was a yard. I am surprised he didn't catch more balls out of the backfield but then again given the offense was epically bad it's hard to fault him for that. Yet overall I think he does carry some of the burden for the Panthers starting RBs averaging nearly a yard less per carry than seasons past. Given his athleticism I was hoping for a little more.

Grade: C-

A little more after the jump...

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Just twelve short months ago you would be hard pressed to find a position that was going through more turmoil than defensive end. The absence of Julius Peppers alone created a vacuum in which the organization were relying on the mostly untested Charles Johnson, veteran Tyler Brayton with Everette Brown and Greg Hardy hoping to add something to the Panthers' pass rush. It required a major leap of faith on the part of fans, and in the end the result was very optimistic.

Charles Johnson

2010 Statistics (16 game starter): 62 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 1 FF

Julius who? If there is one player that will help fans forget #90 it's Charles Johnson. The 4th year DE was a man on a mission in 2010 wrecking opposing offensive lines and becoming one of the few bright spots in a dour season. At 6'2", 275lbs he's the ideal size you want at the position and was severely overlooked in Pro Bowl voting.

Letter Grade: A+

More after the jump....

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The safety position was definitely in flux during the 2010 season. When the Panthers made the unpopular decision to trade fan favorite (and CSR poster) Chris Harris to the Chicago Bears for Jamar Williams during the preseason it was a hard pill to swallow, one made even harder by Williams who has yet to make an impact for Carolina at linebacker. In hindsight the move gave us two clear indications on what Marty Hurney wanted to do with his roster, and highlights the youth movement that was forced on the Panthers last season. 

The organization really like the two players they have at the safety positions. Both Sherrod Martin and Charles Godfrey bring different things to the table, but both excel at playing the ball in the air, even if they aren't the most accomplished tacklers we could have in the secondary.

Today we'll look at Martin and Godfrey... after the jump

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We continue our 2010 position review Panther fans looking now at the defensive tackle (DT) position. This position was in most fans views one of the weaker positions on the team in 2010. Though you could argue the offense kept them on the field way too much the Panther leaders at defensive tackle in 2010 were hardly considered elite in 2010, more like average to pedestrian at best.  Yet when you consider their two starters at the beginning fo the season were a 5th round pick and a UDFA it's hardly surprising they failed to impress. We'll take a look at each of the DTs from 2010 that made a contribution worth discussing, starting with last years game one starters:

Derek Landri

2010 Stats: 43 tackles (30 solo) 3.0 sacks, 1 FR, 1 PD in 16 starts

Landri's 43 total tackles in 2010 led the Panthers at the position and was good for a tie at 15th among DT/NGs in the NFL.The 30 solo registered tied for 16th best overall. Essentially middle of the pack statistics overall but honestly not bad for a 5th round pick in his 5th season. Landri played the RDT position with usually a one gap assignment. Often he succeeded at getting in the backfield only to miss the tackle for loss. The fact is the Panthers got all they could have hoped for from Landri in 2010 which unfortunately was not near enough.

Grade: C+

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