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Preseason Link Love
By Brinson | May 13, 2008
I guess everyone learned their lesson from a few years ago about picking the Panthers in the Super Bowl. Just like I learned my lesson about boldly predicting that Mittens would take over this team last year (KARMA = WHORE). Instead of proclaiming the Panthers to be a legitimate playoff contender, we’re getting all the sleeper love on the interwebs.
John Clayton at ESPN names us the number one sleeper:
Using the same standards that allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the NFC South last season, the Panthers should be the top surprise team. That status should give them a chance to win the division.
[...]Jake Delhomme is back from Tommy John surgery. If he can stay healthy for 16 games, the Panthers have a great chance to make a playoff run. Before elbow problems ended his season in September, the Panthers were averaging 25 points a game, and Delhomme’s quarterback rating was above 100. Without him, the Panthers finished with a dismal 16.7-point scoring average.
For personnel, the Panthers went back to John Fox’s philosophy of getting big and nasty on the line, adding five 322-pound-plus blockers and running back Jonathan Stewart, a first-round pick. On paper, the Panthers have a great chance to win 10 games this season — as long as Delhomme stays healthy.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. ITP also says Peter King is giving us Favre-like sleeper love, clocking us in at TENTH in his preseason power rankings. I couldn’t agree more, and that’s not the blatant homerism coming out — we win the NFC South if Jake Delhomme is healthy last year and all we did in the offseason was get better.