Fantasy Carolina Panthers

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet the ...
Super Bowl Champions. Look, people can claim they're not homers all day long, but the fact of the matter is, I read/watch/write re: the Panthers a lot. (Well, as often as I can anyway.) And maybe I'm a little biased, but they're going to win the NFC South this year and they're going to do it by scoring a ton of points. Of course, if Jake Delhomme goes down again, I may look stupid. But it wouldn't be the first time.

The Breakout
The bad news? Jonathan Stewart is already getting a lot of preseason love (check him dead center of the sixth round in an average 12 teamer). The good news? The love is warranted. Stewart was thought to be a top choice of plenty of teams in the draft, but a turf toe injury let him hang around for the Cats. Note that the Carolina team doctor performed his surgery

Fantasy FanHouse will be chiming in throughout the NFL draft with fantasy analysis of each fantasy relevant pick.

This was not what a lot of people thought would happen. I think Ryan Clady was the pick if the Broncos hadn't grabbed him, but Fox and Hurney probably didn't like Otah enough to pull the trigger there. This is also a deep draft for offensive linemen, so that taking Rashard Mendenhall or Jonathan Stewart here wouldn't be out of the question. Unlike, say, taking a quarterback, as many of the draft "experts" seemed to think the Cats might do.

From a fantasy perspective, Stewart is going to be huge sleeper material. Most owners are going to assume -- barring a training camp/pre-season that sees Stewart win the starting job -- that DeAngelo Williams will be the go to guy in Charlotte and a beasty RB2 for fantasy leagues. I don't think it's that simple.

In fact, I think Stewart may end up being the most valuable back out of the two. Stewart is a big, bruising runner who dropped because of issues with turf toe. And if you recall the Panthers teams of a few years ago, with Stephen Davis, you will remember that John Fox absolutely loves to pound the rock. DeShaun Foster and Williams did not allow him to do that. Stewart will.

The Charlotte Observer is reporting this morning that David Carr, most recently made famous for rocking out white gloves during the third and fourth quarters last week, will most likely start at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers this weekend against Tampa Bay. Carr's time in Houston was auspicious to say the least, but he looked good last week against the Falcons in his three of four for 56 yards performance. Which is like saying that Chuck Liddell soundly beat my grandmother in the UFC ring. Still, Carr is being handed the keys to a reasonably potent offense--DeShaun Foster has started to get his zone-blocking-run on and Steve Smith is virtually incomparable in terms of studly wide receivers.

But the big question still remains--does David Carr make a viable fantasy start this week and going forward? It's a tough call, but I say yes. As a Panthers fan I may have even made the call that Carr would be playing by week three--although my prediction was based more on Jake Delhomme failing to perform than getting injured. Such is karma. But Carr has legitimate talent; he was, after all, taken with the first pick the Texans ever made in an NFL draft, and he was a flat out baller at Fresno.

Would I start him this week on my fantasy teams? Only if I was totally backed into a corner by my quarterback situation, as I expect the Panthers to try and establish a ground game against the Bucs. But Carr is a very nice add for most fantasy teams as a backup or bye week quarterback--he gets the keys to this Panther offense and if Delhomme is out for more than just this week, Carr will get to lob passes to Smith against the Saints and Cardinals leading up to the P-Cats' bye week. Don't go dropping anyone essential to your team, but this is the definition of working the wire for fantasy owners if Carr pans out at all.

Let me set the scene for you: It's late in the fourth quarter, and the Ravens have just scored to cut Carolina's lead to 16-14 on Kyle Boller's second touchdown pass of the game to Mark Clayton. Instead of attempting an onside kick, Ravens head coach Brian Billick has decided that the Ravens will kick deep in the hopes that his defense can force Carolina into a quick four and out.

After the ensuing kickoff is returned to the Carolina 28, the stadium is absolutely rocking in anticipation of a big play that will either pin the Panthers deep in their own end, or result in a turnover that will put the Ravens in position to attempt a game-winning field goal. And after living with a defense that's been dominating for its entire existence in Baltimore, that's the sort of result Ravens fans have come to hope for, and at times, even expect.

From my seats in the North end zone, I've got a clear shot of the play developing in front of me. But after Jake Delhomme avoids the Ravens rush, it's all too clear that super speedster Steve Smith has put plenty of space between him and cornerback Samari Rolle on a post pattern. A moment later, the ball is in Smith's hands, and he's headed for the pylon in the hopes he can reach it for a touchdown to put the game away.

And in that instant, I'm doing all the basic algebra I need to determine that if Smith scores, it'll mean nine points for me in my fantasy league.

Please tell me I'm not the only one.