Carolina Panthers Tickets

The Carolina Panthers turned in a disappointing performance for a second consecutive season, but an offseason makeover gives hope for a successful 2008 campaign.

The biggest problem for the Panthers last year was the season-ending elbow injury to quarterback Jake Delhomme. He is expected to be 100 percent this season, but there is no telling how his elbow might hold up following Tommy John surgery.

The reason for the injury was the poor offensive line, which has gotten progressively worse over the past few seasons.

The Panthers addressed that issue in the offseason, cutting a few offensive lineman while signing others, essentially remaking the entire unit.

The hope is that the running game will also prosper with the newly constructed line. The Panthers finally cut ties with oft-injured running back DeShaun Foster in the offseason and selected quick, powerful running back Jonathan Stewart. Stewart should combine with DeAngelo Williams to form a potent running attack.

Without Delhomme, the Panthers figured the offseason signing of David Carr would prove to be a great move. Instead, Carr was inexplicably downright awful, leading the Panthers to start undrafted rookie Matt Moore for much of the year.

One of the reasons for the injury to Delhomme was the poor offensive line that was unable to protect him, which is yet another reason why the Panthers worked so hard to fix that area of their team in the offseason.

The defense has taken a few hits following the retirement of defensive end Mike Rucker and the loss of oft-injured defensive tackle Kris Jenkins.

Defensive end Julius Peppers had a very quiet 2007, so quiet in that he was hardly even noticeable. He will need to be more of an impact player in 2008.

If Delhomme is healthy, there is no reason the Panthers can't challenge for the NFC South title.