Have the Arizona Cardinals overtaken the Carolina Panthers?
By Jim Koch
Defensive Line- Calais Campbell has star ability, Corey Peters is a solid veteran coming off of injury and rookie Robert Nkemdiche can cause all kinds of havoc if he keeps his head on straight. Frostee Rucker, Red Bryant, Rodney Gunter, Josh Mauro and Ed Stinson provide quality depth. Carolina boasts Kawann Short coming off of an 11 sack season, run-stuffing load Star Lotulelei and quality defenders like Kony Ealy, Charles Johnson, Paul Soliai and 1st-round pick Vernon Butler. Edge: Panthers
Linebacker- Chandler Jones played defensive end for New England but will switch to outside linebacker in the Cards’ 3-4 scheme. Deone Bucannon is a converted safety excelling at inside linebacker, Kevin Minter is mediocre playing inside next to him and Markus Golden showed promise last season on the outside with four sacks as a rookie. The Panthers are loaded with blue-chippers like Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis and Shaq Thompson. Edge: Panthers
Cornerback- Patrick Peterson is a regular visitor to the Pro Bowl and is coming off maybe his best season. Justin Bethel is a question mark and the rest of their corners lack experience. The Panthers are most likely gonna be starting Robert McClain and Bene’ Benwikere after inexplicably letting Josh Norman walk for nothing. Carolina spent three of their five draft picks on CBs. Edge: Cardinals
Safety- Tyrann Mathieu is a budding star who has already made two trips to the I.R. in his three seasons as a pro. The team signed Tyvon Branch to offset the loss of Rashad Johnson. Tony Jefferson, D.J. Swearinger, Chris Clemons and rookie Marqui Christian round out a very deep group. Kurt Coleman and Tre Boston are slated to start for the Panthers. Edge: Cardinals
Special teams – Carolina’s Graham Gano and the Cards’ Chandler Catanzaro ranked 1st and 2nd respectively in points among NFC placekickers. The Panthers signed veteran punter Mike Scifres away from San Diego and the Cardinals brought in Fresno State’s Garrett Swanson to try to unseat the woeful Drew Butler. Arizona’s return men are Peterson and RB Kerwyn Williams while the Panthers use Ginn Jr. and Whittaker. Edge: Panthers
In conclusion what we have are two immensely talented teams, it’s difficult to judge who has the better roster overall. There’s a good chance the next NFC Championship game will feature these two teams again. Let’s all hope that game gets played in the Valley of the Sun.