Is Carolina the real deal?

[CGI_Ram]

I got a chuckle out of the article below, but I can't help but wonder - exactly how good is Carolina?

They're undefeated. That's not easy to do in today's NFL. They're 17th in total offense. 2nd in total defense.

They've beaten the Seahawks and Packers, but they've not exactly had the toughest schedule.

I don't know... If my team was in the playoffs, I can think of a few other teams I'd rather not play.

What do you think? Is this team for real?

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...us-worst-11-0-team-ever-label?ftag=YHR6f8d662

It was only a matter of time until someone decided the Panthers, the last remaining undefeated team in the league, were doing something wrong.

That someone was ESPN's statistical-based site FiveThirtyEight.com, which managed to deliver an impressively clickbaity "The Panthers Are the Worst Team to Ever Start 11-0."

There are a couple ridiculous things about this article.

First, there are just 12 teams ever to start 11-0. Naming someone the "worst 11-0 team ever" is like calling Tim Brown the worst Hall of Fame wide receiver.

Second, 538 acknowledges an inherent built-in preseason bias to its projection system:

Add in the fact that Carolina wasn't expected to be anything special before the season began, and it isn't hard to see why our Elo ratings2 still doubt that the Panthers are even the NFL's best team this season.
The preseason rankings definitely got everything right, what with the Cowboys at No. 6, Eagles at No. 7, Ravens at No. 8 and Saints at No. 10. You should absolutely keep considering your preseason opionions as something relevant, computer.

Third, the 10th-best team on this list (2009 Saints) actually beat the 7th-best team on this list (2009 Colts).

Fourth, the previous "worst 11-0 team" before the Panthers came along? The 1972 Miami Dolphins. Seems logical.

Look, the endeavor to figure out where the Panthers rank among all the other 11-0 teams is worthwhile . There aren't many. And you can argue they really are the least-good team on the list, although every single one of those teams, with the exception of the '72 Dolphins, ultimately ended up losing at some point.

The issue is the entire way it's framed is basically a slap in the face to the best team in the NFL. Which seems silly a week after giving them free ammunition against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, when they were underdogs against a three-win team.

 

[Dagonet]

For real to me. Even with winning close against teams under them (Saints, and etc), they still win.. We've failed to do that in the past when we've played "down" to our opponents.

 

[blackbart]

How ever they are doing it, what ever it takes they have not lost a game and that makes them "real" (whatever that means). They seem to get favorable calls at just the right moments and Cam is a unique talent who has been able to over come flaws in his game and the lack of WR talent.

Got to give them credit

 

[Memphis Ram]

Yes. And they seem to be doing it minus the complex offensive and defensive schemes many deem necessary to win games.

edit: And without the so-called necessary WR talent to boot. For goodness sakes, their starting OTs are a disappointing Michael Oher and Mike Remmers who was on the Rams practice squad at some point last year We'd be running them all out the door with the Rams.

 

[den-the-coach]

I hope they are because at this point they are one team that IMO can beat the Patriots. However, Denver just beat them so maybe they will be able to do it again in post season. In the end my hope is very clear...ABNE...Anybody But New England so go Panthers.

 

[Warner4Prez]

I really don't know. Great record for sure, and I can easily 14-2 or better, but this is largely the same team that lost to the Cardinals in the first round last year -- minus a couple weapons on offense. Sure the defense has grown and matured, but we'll see what happens when Cam faces a playoff caliber defense.

 

[Memento]

They're for real because of Newton and a very, very good defense. Newton is able to cover for their lack of receivers (remember that their leading receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, went down with an ACL in the beginning of training camp), and their defense doesn't have a weak link in it.

Newton's emergence is the reason I want Ken Dorsey (his quarterbacks coach) as the offensive coordinator of the Rams.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

They have a very good defense. Better than the Rams defense by far. Huge difference is the linebacker play of Kuechly .

I think the simple scheme has proven to work against complex offenses. The Seahawks have been doing it for years now. Greg Williams defense has weaknesses that can be exploited by scheme. To beat the Seattle defense and now the Panthers defense you have to beat them without scheming around it because you can't. You just have to play very good mistake free football.

For Williams the short stuff and outside runs work well. Getting the ball out fast to negate the run. The Rams have struggled with this more than once. The Rams have also beat Williams in the past with the same plan.

I am still not 100% sold on the Panthers offense. They have a pretty weak schedule. We wont find out until the playoffs.

 

[Legatron4]

I really don't know. Great record for sure, and I can easily 14-2 or better, but this is largely the same team that lost to the Cardinals in the first round last year -- minus a couple weapons on offense. Sure the defense has grown and matured, but we'll see what happens when Cam faces a playoff caliber defense.

They beat the Cardinals last year and lost to the Seahawks in the divisional round. But I see your point.

 

[551staaa]

Right now, yes, they are the real deal. But, it's all about who is hot at playoff time. It's really hard to sustain a high level of play throughout a sixteen game season and the playoffs. I really do get jealous watching the Panthers play and comparing their roster with the Rams. Other than quarterback, there are a lot of similarities. I guess maybe quarterback could be important in the NFL, reckon?

 

[SuperMan28]

With that defense and Cam Newton playing really well, I say yes.

 

[snackdaddy]

I see a couple of impressive wins there. At Seattle and the Packers game. But I don't think anyone else they played has a winning record. But you can't fault them for their record. I remember the 1999 Rams and the weak schedule. Didn't affect them in the post season.

 

[JoeBo21]

With that defense and Cam Newton playing really well, I say yes.

yep. that defense is unreal and Cam's doin it with Greg Olsen and not much else

 

[LesBaker]

They are totally the real deal and IMO have fielded the best defense for the last couple of years or so......AZ and SF have gotten a lot of the love for D but the Panthers D is better.

When the playoffs roll around they are going to be really tough to beat. That defense may carry them to a title, it's as good as we've seen since the Ravens and Bucs.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I'm on that wagon. ANYONE but Arizona.

 

[Athos]

Newton really is Superman this year.

Total garbage around him except Greg Olsen and he's been carrying his team.

Scary how much better they'd be looking with KB. Wish we had a QB like that.