2007 Record: 7-9 (2-6 H, 5-3 A)
2007 Against the Spread: 8-8 (3-5, 5-3 A); 6-10 vs. Total (2-6 H, 4-4 A)
2007 Rankings: 29th Offense (14th Rush, 29th Pass); 16th Defense (18th Rush, 17th Pass)
2008 Odds: 40-1 Super Bowl odds, 20-1 NFC Championship odds, 3-1 NFC South odds, 8 wins (O/U)

The usual suspects are back for the Panthers this year as Jake Delhomme returns from injury and looks to return this team to the prominence that saw itself in the Super Bowl during his earlier days. This team struggled miserably with injuries last year and their numbers show it. Carolina did somehow win seven games despite a plethora of injuries. They finished second in the division by way of a tiebreaker over the Saints. However, the tiebreaker was irrelevant as neither team was close to making the playoffs.

The Panthers were one of the rare teams to play better on the road (5-3) than they did at home (2-6) last year. Although the Panthers were .500 within the division, and 7-5 in conference, this team was miserable against non-conference foes, going 0-4. Thus, this team's glaring weakness is when they go outside the conference and are simply unable to get the job done. Of course, once again, note that with a crop of new quarterbacks taking the snaps while Delhomme was out, it was tough for this offense to get in sync. Having said this, this is not the same team with the same intensity that broke into the Super Bowl as a surprise a half a decade ago. They are a bit older and it seems the league's athletic ability is surpassing their own and in particular their skilled players very quickly.

This is the same team that was 29th in the league in total offense last year as they averaged just under a total of 290 yards per game. On defense, they were middle-of-the-pack but were nearly dead last in the NFL in passing yards allowed. To be frank, I think at best this team finishes 8-8 this year but note that none of the teams in the NFC South should run away with this division so they should continue to be in the hunt but fall short.

As per the Panthers this year, although they have a defense that has gotten better and an offense that has gotten healthier since last year, their offense is still highly questionable. Furthermore, Delhomme is simply too error prone behind center. In addition, if there was another injury to Delhomme who comes off surgery, this team has very little depth to replace him with a quality starter. In fact, this goes to all of their skill positions including wide receiver and offensive line as this team simply lacks depth. Remember, the Panthers anemic offense only put up 28 touchdowns last year, only two better than the Falcons and they were outscored by a total of 80 points.

2008 Carolina Panthers Predictions: 8-8 (no playoffs), ATS Trends to look for: Home Unders.

Click the link for the 2008 Carolina Panthers Schedule and results.