The Carolina Panthers in 2014 didn’t match the 12-4 regular season mark put up a year earlier. But despite salary in-depthcap woes and several free agent losses, the team did finish strong, capturing the NFC South for the second consecutive year with a 7-8-1 mark. And, unlike the previous year, the 2015 Panthers won a playoff game.

So hopes are high heading into 2016 that franchise QB Cam Newton can continue his growth and that the pass defense improves, getting Carolina’s defense back close to the level it reached in 2014.

Can the Panthers take the next step and challenge for a Super Bowl appearance? Or will the roar dissipate in 2015? Ken Dye, a writer at Carolina Cat Chronicles, shares his thoughts.

Zoneblitz: The Panthers won the NFC South, but at an underwhelming 7-8-1 record. They did win a playoff game before bowing out. How would you assess the season?

Dye: They peaked late, which is exactly what you want a team to do heading into the playoffs. In a way, it’s better than the previous 12-4 season because Carolina won that playoff game last year while simply appearing the previous one. Given the injuries to the offense during the season, not to mention Cam’s personal bad luck, they still pressed deeper into the post-season so I’d say it’s an unlikely but wonderful success.

Zoneblitz: How do you feel about the work of the Dave Gettleman/Ron Rivera tandem?

Dye: I love ’em. While no GM is perfect, we had so many rookies make contributions and grow into their starting roles as the season went on, it was plain to see Gettleman hit on some gems in the latter rounds. I think Rivera and Gettleman seem to complement each other well with similar ideas about how they want the team’s make-up to be: Dominant defense while adding power and size to the offense.

Zoneblitz: What’s your sense of how Cam Newton is progressing at QB?

Dye: It has been a bit of a bumpy road, but he’s progressing with his decision-making. It’s his footwork and mechanics that still need correcting, but by this point he may just have certain tendencies that he will always carry with him. The staff is certainly building a team around him, albeit in perhaps a different manner. Since Cam is mobile, the left tackle position is left to a healthy Michael Oher, so we’ll see if he can return to form. If so, that’ll only help with Cam’s job. When he misses, he often misses high, thus the 6’5″ duo of Kelvin Benjamin and now Devin Funchess at WR. Overall, I think his mechanics have a ways to go but I like his decision-making. If he can put it all together, the sky’s the limit.

Zoneblitz: After years of having DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, among others, what’s the new plan ?behind Stewart, who has had his injury issues?

Dye: Gettleman has been trying to add youth on the cheap to the RB position, drafting some runners in late rounds. This year, I really think he hit on a good one in Auburn’s Cameron Artis-Payne. Payne was the SEC’s leading rusher in Auburn’s spread attack, and his work ethic is so sound it’s almost obsessive/compulsive. That’s the sort of dedication you want from a fifth-round pick and he’ll likely be the one that sets the bar high for the other rookies during training camp. If he can pick up the pass-blocking stuff, which he’ll work extremely hard at doing I’m sure, then he can become Stewie’s backup with the ability to step in and carry the load if necessary. Ideally, I see Stewart getting 20 carries/touches per game, Artis-Payne 10-12 carries (he’s not an accomplished receiver like Stewie out of the backfield), Newton with 4-8 designed runs for him or zone-read/read-option plays, with FB Mike Tolbert getting a few touches a game. Fozzie Whittaker is a practice squad guy pressed into action last season because of injuries, which is likely why Gettleman decided to draft the Auburn thumper near the end of the fifth round. I think Artis-Payne fits the offense well with his strong inside running. In a pinch, the Toldozer (at 5’9″ 255 lbs) can run or catch well, and nobody sane wants to tackle a fireplug, so we have options running the ball….and Newton is just as important there with his massive breadth of abilities as anyone. I think the team can handle one RB being unavailable but two or more will present a problem, as it would for most teams in the NFL, so I feel like the team is looking pretty good there for 2015.

Zoneblitz: Carolina again waited until later than expected to address the offensive line, grabbing Daryl Williams in the fourth. What is your feeling on how the line looks heading into 2015?

Dye: I’ve never thought the line would be in as bad of a shape as so many “experts” seem to think it is. So long as Michael Oher is healthy and ready, he’s re-uniting with his former position coach from the Baltimore Ravens, when he played his best ball. If that synergy works, I see Daryl Williams being inserted at guard, although I’m not sure which spot. Trai Turner played the strong side, but Daryl seems to be a prototype right guard, so that will be interesting to watch. He doesn’t have lateral quickness to play tackle at the NFL level, but could be an annihilating run-blocker. With RT Mike Remmers playing unexpectedly well, the Panthers are actually going to have some young talent with the beginnings of a little talented depth, actually. The only real question is the left tackle spot and whether we’ll get the early-Ravens’ Oher or the Titans’ Oher.

If it’s the Ravens’ version, which I think he can do and return to at least being a decent tackle, then the offense should be good to go in a set-piece battle with our size and power run-blocking. The pass-blocking will be a bit more suspect all season most likely, but with a top-five defense keeping games close, the offense can hopefully wear down opponents in the fourth quarter, and that’s what seems to be under construction.

Zoneblitz: A year ago, WR was seen as a big need. In Devin Funchess, the Panthers have added another big receiver. Kelvin Benjamin appears to have been a great find early in last year’s draft – how do you feel about that position?

Dye: I like what Gettleman did here. He took flak from “experts” for trading away four of the nine draft picks, but he traded up to grab guys he wanted that could make the team. No way would nine rookies make a team that has won back-to-back division titles! As I touched on earlier, when Cam misfires, he often misses high. I don’t think he’ll ever be an accurate passer like Brady or Brees, but has the arm strength to threaten just about any place on the field at any time. That, given with the size advantage of his WR combo now, seems to fit the mold of what sort of personality the offense should be.

Zoneblitz: Carolina went from second in points allowed in 2013 to 21st in 2014. Certainly free agent losses played a role, but what else went wrong and how does it get fixed?

Dye: It was largely due to very poor play at the safety positions. Thomas DeCoud got released after being a famous “Dollar Store” chewing gum patch for the starting defense. A lot of those bad defensive numbers are skewed to the early part of the season, before our bounty of a crop of rookies began making big contributions. When we went on another late winning streak, we were playing as well on the defensive side as anybody, and that’s when you want to hit your stride.

Zoneblitz: There’s been some criticism of the first pick, Shaq Thompson, due to his being a bit of a tweener and perhaps a Thomas Davis clone. Where do you see him fitting on defense and what did you think of the pick?

Dye: I think we were probably going to take LT D. J. Humphries of Florida but he went with the pick just prior, so I think Gettleman decided on his own solid “plan B.” You see, Carolina brought him in for a private workout and was the only team to do so to my knowledge. In short, ultimately, yes, I see him as not only a Thomas Davis clone but his eventual successor in a couple of years.

Zoneblitz: What Panthers players have a chance to break out in 2015?

Dye: That’s a good question. I think safety Tre Boston began to break out last season, so can’t really use him. Same for Bene Benwikere. Given the injuries the RB corps saw last season, I’m liking Cameron Artis-Payne, the running back from Auburn, to get a good share of carries to take the burden off of Jonathan Stewart, but only if he can pick up NFL blocking and blitz protection schemes. Not much of that was called for at Auburn, but the kid is a great north-south runner that simply produces without being flashy. I see lots of seven- to 10-yard runs as normal routine in his future – the bad runs will come from missed blocks and not getting started up in the first place. He’s a patient runner like Le’Veon Bell just without quite the physical attributes Bell possesses. My money’s on the Auburn runner.

Zoneblitz: How far are the Panthers from making a deep run in the postseason?

Dye: Seattle is a perpetual roadblock for us, but they’re also a great team to measure yourself against. They are likely the team Gettleman is designing the offense to compete with – power against power, and even Richard Sherman can only cover one of our big WRs. Gettleman’s answer? Get another one just like him, more or less. Ironically, I think the offense is going to be the more “physical” of the two units, depending on Shaq’s possible impact, which I don’t see him making at all until at least mid-season. Even if he fits in as a weakside linebacker for now and in sub-packages, the defense needs stability at that WILL position in pass coverage and that’s something that is one of Shaq’s biggest strengths. They also need to replace Roman Harper at strong safety, but that wasn’t addressed in the draft when the team could have had the “one safety” in Alabama’s Landon Collins but Shaq was the pick instead. Trying to look at the bigger picture here, the team peaks late, which is good. They made the playoffs in 13, then made it and won a game in 14.

We didn’t really have any huge offseason free agency losses other than DeAngelo Williams, who is an aging platoon back these days. Of course, we lost Greg Hardy due to off-field issues we didn’t sign him after franchising him last year, but Gettleman had drafted Missouri’s Kony Ealy, a first-round talent that slid to us in the second round last year, so Hardy’s departure shouldn’t be as big an issue as many think. Recall, he only played in one game last year so it isn’t like we had him producing then lost him. I just don’t think Ealy is going to be that “breakout” player this year, but if he puts it together, he certainly has the talent to. We again have Ted Ginn, Jr. as a kick return threat, so all signs seem to be pointing to a team that hasn’t yet reached its full potential but is certainly heading in the right direction.

Zoneblitz: Collectively, what are your thoughts on the offseason moves at this point and what would you like to see the team do through the rest of free agency and in the draft?

Dye: Well, at this point the “choice” free agents are long gone, but there are still some veterans out there as well as the rookie undrafted free agents. There’s a little buzz about a punt returner showing something in rookie mini-camp, so look for unknown names in the return game in the early going too. The Oher pickup was ideal for the price and the situation with the former position coach and familiarity there. I think trading away some of those nine picks to move up in the early rounds was exactly the right thing to do, and for a synergy of need and best available, so the management is quite competent and frankly, easy to follow their logic.

Panther Nation is overwhelmingly behind the decisions Gettleman makes, with one exception having been me with the Byron Bell-to-left-tackle-fiasco last season. I had said from the very start it was a horrible idea and unfortunately, I was right. I don’t think Oher could be any WORSE and he has a lot of upside despite recent history. Look out for a kid named David Mayo (ILB) who will likely be Luke Kuechly‘s backup and appears to be a “poor man’s” version of the All-Pro. Very productive in his career, Mayo played in relative obscurity and lacks Kuechly’s elite athleticism, but has a great nose for the ball and makes plays. This year’s “haul” had a little something for everybody’s flavor, speaking of Mayo. The line got a bit of help on offense, Cam got another big new toy for the outside, the running game got a fresh set of legs and one of the hardest-working guys you’ll ever see in Cameron Artis-Payne, and the defense overall got deeper and more athletic at linebacker.

Zoneblitz: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Dye: Thanks for the invitation! I enjoyed answering them and they made me think quite a bit.

Follow Ken Dye on Twitter at: @Ken_Dye
Follow Carolina Cat Chronicles on Twitter at: @Cat_Chronicles
Follow Zoneblitz.com on Twitter at: @ZoneblitzCom

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