Panthers Williams StewartThe Carolina Panthers haven’t been truly putrid since the 1-15 failure in 2001 that brought John Fox and Julius Peppers to town.

But they haven’t quite been great, either.

The Panthers haven’t posted double-digit losses since Fox became the head coach, but they’ve had three 7-9 seasons; the Panthers haven’t won a Super Bowl since Fox became the head coach, but the franchise made its first appearance in the Big Game in 2005. Coming off of a stellar 12-4 campaign in 2008 that ended in a flurry of Jake Delhomme interceptions in the playoffs, the Panthers should be one of the dominant teams in the NFC this year; in the tough NFC South, they could just as easily go 7-9 again.

Theirs is the world of the NFL bourgeoisie: Not quite as good as the true kings (Patriots, Colts, Steelers, Giants), but living in much better circumstances than those peons in the muck (Lions, Raiders).

The Past as Prelude:

Jake Delhomme threw a bunch of interceptions. Julius Peppers held out for much of the off-season, asking for trades and getting “disgruntled” attached to his name wherever possible, then traded that adjective for “stinkin’ rich” by signing a huge franchise tender.
The Panthers didn’t have a first-round pick this year, but picked up Florida State’s Everette Brown, reputedly a first-round talent with a second-day frame, shored up the running back positions and their secondary, stole Oklahoma’s Duke Robinson, who will start on the offensive line at some point in his NFL career, and grabbed South Carolina’s Captain Munnerlyn, allowing me to make note of the fact someone named a child Captain, which is fantastic.

The Fantasy Angle

: Here’s an idea: Draft DeAngelo Williams, then make the next guy draft Jonathan Stewart and trade him to you with creative blackmail. I know, I know: Handcuffing two really good backs in a system that has produced massive yardage totals and more than a few scores of late is crazy. But trust me on this.

Also, do not draft Jake Delhomme unless you’re in a bizarro league that awards points for gunslinging.

The Schedule

: The NFC South’s nightmare slate includes the NFC and AFC East for everyone (a collective 78-51-1 in 2008), but the Panthers also draw the NFC division winners, adding the Cardinals and Vikings to the second-toughest schedule in the NFL by 2009 win percentage. However, the Dolphins, owners of the toughest gauntlet, at least get the Jaguars, 5-11 last year, and two games against the 7-9 Bills; the Panthers play one game against a team that was under .500 last year, an October date against those same Bills. A repeat of the 12-4 mark from 2008 is unlikely.

The Easily Predicted

: Steve Smith is hurt. He will likely miss a game this year, as he has in all but two years of his NFL career. The defense will be good, as they have always been under Fox, never ranking outside the top half of the league in scoring defense during his tenure.

Jake Delhomme will throw interceptions. And bloggers will make fun of that fact.

The Inexplicable

: Jake Delhomme looks like one of the Brothers Followill, talks like Forrest Gump, and throws like one of the Jonas Brothers. And yet he has signed a contract to do his job, which requires, at least, a non-Jonas performance with his arm, for eight digits of income over the next six years of his life. He’s never thrown fewer than 12 interceptions in a full season in his career, and never committed fewer than 15 combined turnovers when playing in at least 13 games. And his playoff implosion against the Cardinals was downright Favreian.

I don’t want to say that Delhomme is the next Favre, hanging on for too long and gradually turning a “gunslinger” reputation into a mask for years of stupefyingly reckless play. But I see parallels and I can’t imagine that Carolina’s decision to tether themselves to a 34-year-old quarterback into the next decade, Favre comparison be damned, pays off. The last NFL QB older than 30 to start and win a Super Bowl was Brad Johnson in 2002; Peyton Manning was 30 when he won Super Bowl XLI.

Is Delhomme really the horse a team should be betting on to buck that trend?

The Prediction

: Say the Panthers are still the class of the NFC South: 4-2 isn’t too outlandish to expect. If can go .500 against the Easts, by perhaps stealing a game on the road and going 3-1 at home against those beasts (they did go undefeated at home last year), they only need to get revenge on the Cardinals and beat the Vikings to get to 10-6 and a playoff berth. And with their ground game and defense still both reminiscent of threshers, they have as much chance to survive the playoffs as any NFC team.

Of course, this assumes that Jake Delhomme will only throw one interception a game.

The Video

Cronos Quartet can make anything sound awesome. The black-and-white is a nice touch.

2009 NFL Previews

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys | Philadelphia Eagles | New York Giants | Washington Redskins

NFC North: Chicago Bears | Detroit Lions | Minnesota Vikings | Green Bay Packers

NFL South: Tampa Bay Bucs | Atlanta Falcons | New Orleans Saints