Carolina Panthers Season Recap

NFC South	Finished 4th in Division
Overall Record: 6-10	Draft Position: 8th
Head Coach: Ron Rivera	GM: Dave Gettleman

Pro Bowlers

• LB Thomas Davis
• LB Luke Kuechly
• TE Greg Olsen
• FB Mike Tolbert
• G Trai Turner

2016 Rankings

	Yards/Game	Points/Game	Passing Yards/Game	Rushing Yards/Game
Offense	19th	15th	T-21st	10th	TDs – 17th
Defense	21st	26th	29th	6th	Sacks – 2nd	INTs – T-4th

Top Passers

Name	Games Started	CMP. PCT.	Yards	TDs	INTs	Passer Rating	QBR
Cam Newton	14	52.9	3,509	19	14	75.8	53.1
Derek Anderson	2	67.9	453	2	5	67.6	18.1

Top Rushers

Name	Rushing Yards	Y/A	TDs
Jonathan Stewart	824	3.8	9
Cam Newton	359	4.0	5

Top Pass Catchers

Name	Receptions	Yards	Y/C	TDs
Greg Olsen	80	1,073	13.4	3
Kelvin Benjamin	63	941	14.9	7

Top Defensive Players

• LB Thomas Davis - 106 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 3 INTs, 1 forced fumble
• LB Luke Kuechly - 102 total tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble
• DE Mario Addison - 27 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
• S Kurt Coleman - 95 total tackles, 1.0 sack, 4 INTs, 1 forced fumble

Impending Free Agents

• DE Charles Johnson
• RT Mike Remmers
• WR Ted Ginn Jr.
• DE Mario Addison
• DT Kawann Short
• FS Colin Jones
• CB Teddy Williams
• FS Michael Griffin
• C Ryan Wendell
• G Chris Scott
• DT Kyle Love
• CB Leonard Johnson
• ILB Ben Jacobs
• ILB A.J. Klein

What I Said About Them Before the Season

• This was the team that I may have been the most off on compared to my pre-season predictions. I thought that Carolina had a chance go undefeated this season and to represent the NFC again in the Super Bowl.  I severely underestimated the importance that cornerback Josh Norman had on the Panthers' defense last season.  I also strongly believed in the season Cam Newton had last year when he was named MVP and Offensive Player of the Year and he didn't have a repeat year.

Success/Failure

• Failure - I think that anytime a team gets to the Super Bowl one year and then fails to even make the playoffs the next year, that is a failure for a season.  The Panthers took a big step back from last season, as their secondary was weakened from the departure of Josh Norman and Cam Newton wasn't near as good as last year in a shortened, injury-riddled season.  The team struggled to protect Newton, who took shot after shot, often after the play, to the point that the league has to do something about it going forward.

Offseason Needs

• The Panthers need some serious help in the upcoming draft to help them rebound from their down year this season.  They need offensive line help, a position group of which there is usually plenty of talent in the draft and could be addressed in the first round.  They also need help on the defensive line to develop a stronger pass rush.  Perhaps the need that they address first is their issue at running back, where Jonathan Stewart has been injury-prone throughout his career and the Panthers haven't had consistency there in a few years.  Luckily for them, both Leonard Fournette and Dalvin Cook are in this year's draft and at least one of the them will be available when the Panthers make their first pick at eight.  In my opinion, I'm a bigger fan of Cook, who I think is the better all-around back of the two and who didn't have injury problems throughout his college career like Fournette did.

*All stats and information come from espn.com, nfl.com, pro-football-reference.com, rosterresource.com, spotrac.com, overthecap.com, and cbssports.com