The Panthers finished 12-4-0 last season to win the NFC South division. In the playoffs the Panthers lost to the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional playoff round 33-13.

Offense: The Panthers offense last season was led by the power running game of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart that ranked third in the league. Both players had over 800 yards and double digit touchdowns on the ground helping the Panthers rank seventh in points scored. The only statistic that Carolina struggled with last year was the passing game, ranking 19th in the league last season even though quarterback Jake Delhomme had his first 3,000 yard season since 2005. Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad had over 900 yards receiving, but they were the only players on the roster that had over 250 receiving yards last season. The Panthers did little to improve the depth of the wide receivers this offseason, hoping that third-year receiver Dwayne Jarrett will step up and take the spot as the third receiver on this team.

Defense: Last season the Panthers struggled against the run ranking 20th in rushing yards allowed. Their worst performance was against the New York Giants in Week 16 as they gave up 301 yards rushing without starting defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu. The first day of preseason Kemoeatu ruptured his Achillies and will now be out for the season making the rushing defense worse than last year. If there is any bright spot for the defensive line this year it is the return of end Julius Peppers. Peppers signed the franchise tender from the Panthers to remain in Carolina for one more season after he and the team failed to finalize a long term contract. Carolina was equally as bad against the pass last year ranking 16th in yards allowed, and they released one of their starting cornerbacks from last season Ken Lucas. For how bad the defense was last season in yards allowed, it is all the more impressive that they ranked 12th in points allowed last season.

Star Power: After being the secondary back behind DeShaun Foster for his first two seasons, DeAngelo Williams broke out last year with over 1,500 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns in his first year as the featured back. Williams is a freak athlete that can either beat you with breakaway speed or run you over with a power move. With a solid offensive line in front of him Williams should have another great year this season. Plus having second-year back Jonathon Stewart behind him will help keep Williams fresh and healthy throughout the season. Expect another 1,500 yard year from Williams with double digit touchdowns as well.

Biggest Addition: With star defensive end Julius Peppers wanting out of Carolina; the Panthers had to come up with his replacement and fast. That is why they traded a 2010 first round pick to move up in the second round of the 2009 Draft to take pass rusher Everette Brown from Florida State. Brown finished third in the nation in sacks with 13.5 and fourth in the nation with 21.5 tackles for loss, making him the only player in college football to rank in the top four in both categories. Having Brown come in and play a year behind Peppers can only help the rookie as he gets to pick the brain of one of the best pure pass rushers in the league. Hopefully some of the tricks and skills that Peppers has applied will help ease the transition of Brown into the starting lineup.

Biggest Loss: A pass defense last season that ranked 16th in the league got even worse for the Panthers as they released cornerback Ken Lucas partly for salary cap reasons. Carolina hopes that new starter Richard Marshall will be able to fill the hole that Lucas’s release created. Lucas was outplayed but Marshall on the stat sheet, but Marshall was primarily the nickel back going against the slot receiver of the opposition. Lucas was covering one of the top two receivers of the opposition so comparing their stats is like comparing apples to oranges. With the release of Lucas the youngster Marshall will be thrown into the starting lineup and the success of the Panthers defense may rest on if he sinks or swims.

Biggest Game: On Sunday, January 3rd the New Orleans Saints come to Carolina for a Week 17 matchup, pitting the division rivals against one another in the last game of the season. This game could decide who wins the division as it NFC South should be one of the tightest races in the NFL. Anyone of the four teams could win the division title this year so every game will count; and this one could be the biggest.