Tomorrow night is the beginning of the 2016-2017 NFL season. The Carolina Panthers hope that this one brings redemption in the form of a Super Bowl win. The Panthers are one of the 4-5 teams that have themselves in great position to contend for the Lombardi trophy. But as a fan, even with the certainty from almost every expert that the Panthers will be in the position to compete for a Super Bowl title, I can't help myself from having doubt. I do believe that outside of the Patriots and maybe a random team like the Steelers or Bengals the AFC is all but a lock. The NFC however, is the cream of the crop in the NFL. It's almost like the NBA, but backwards. The Patriots are whatever team LeBron plays on and the Western Conference is the NFC. The Spurs are the Seahawks, the Warriors are the Panthers, and the Clippers/Thunder are the Cardinals/Packers. Not sure which one is which on the last comparison. Not to say that the AFC is bad or the Eastern Conference is bad, but there is a heavyweight/all-time great that dominates that side of their respective league.
So anyways, the gist of the argument is that the Panthers have a much harder path to go through in order to seek redemption. Packers are for some reason everybody's favorite which I don't understand. Rodgers is an all-time great QB in his own right, but I never see the pieces around him even with Jordy Nelson being healthy. But they are a great team and pose a threat. Same with the Cardinals, although I have my doubts with Carson Palmer. I am not sure how he will bounce back from the shellacking he and his team took from the Panthers in the NFC title game last year. Plus, can he really repeat his year he had last year at his age? Then you have the Seahawks, who I believe are the biggest threat to dethrone the Panthers in the NFC, not the Packers. What scares the hell out of me is that they drafted very well, have a great QB, great coach, great defense, and have a revenge factor against the Panthers as well. Also, no one is talking about the Seahawks. Do we forget that they are three years removed from a Super Bowl title, two from being an incredible interception away from going back-to-back? Oh, and they almost made one of the biggest if not the biggest comebacks against the Panthers in the playoffs. So yeah, let's respect them okay?
Here is my prediction. I truly believe, barring injuries, that the Panthers will win the NFC again and go back to the Super Bowl. They have the fourth easiest schedule in football this year, which is extremely lucky. Given that fact I believe that they will be able to finish the season anywhere between 14-2 to 12-4. Personally I'm thinking 13-3 which should get them the number one seed over the Packers and Seahawks along with home field advantage, which is huge.
Panthers Schedule and W/L prediction:
@ Broncos W
vs. 49ers W
vs. Vikings W
@ Falcons L
vs. Buccaneers W
@ Saints W
BYE
vs. Cardinals W
@ Rams W
vs. Chiefs W
vs. Saints W
@ Raiders L
@ Seattle L
vs. Chargers W
@ Redskins W
vs. Falcons W
@ Buccaneers W
