NFL Teams Betting - Carolina Panthers - NFC South

Carolina lead the NFL with 26 rushing touchdowns last season, six more than any other team, while rushing for just over 2400 yards, good for third in the league. The Panthers may be even more dangerous on the ground. Quarterback Cam Newton and running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart all ran for more than 700 yards last season and each one of them could run for more than 1000 this season. The Panthers also signed fullback Mike Tolbert who has rushed for 1,225 yards and 19 touchdowns the last two season in San Diego. As crazy as it seems, expect an improvement on last year's rushing performance, and the Panthers offence could break more records.

The Carolina Panthers became an entertaining team in 2011. This year they hope to become a good one. The Panthers played and lost a lot of games of the 30–27 variety in 2011 en route to a 6–10 season. Their offense was dramatically improved thanks to quarterback Cam Newton, who won all sorts of rookie of the-year awards while accounting for an astonishing 35 touchdowns (21 passing, 14 rushing). It was perhaps the best rookie year ever at any position, rivaling those of players like Lawrence Taylor and Gale Sayers.

But the Panthers’ defense will need a serious upgrade this year if Newton is to lead the team into the playoffs in what will be both his and head coach Ron Rivera’s second season in Charlotte. In 2011, Carolina allowed franchise highs in points, yards and passing yards as one quarterback after another eviscerated its defense. The return of linebacker Jon Beason and the arrival of first-round draft pick Luke Kuechly offer some hope, but this is a team that still has major defensive questions.