..the nfc south has the toughest schedule in the league (2 yrs straight). *the early bye weeks put this division over the top in that regard.

the panthers were listed ahead of the bucs & saints in the official standings, but that 3 way tie @ 7-9 was based on conference, not division. with 2 losses to the bucs, they were JUST ahead of the saints, who were reeling in the wake of a scandal that included suspensions to players AND their head coach.

injuries are a given in the league, so that's not a debatable point for this discussion. knowing that every team in the league works to make moves in the offseason to improve, how did the panthers address their current issues?

*example*

my beloved bucs were plagued by gapping holes in the secondary. to address this, they brought in the following players:

darrelle revis (cb)
dashon goldson (fs)
jonathan banks (cb)
jonathan casillas (lb)
akeem spence (dt)

even with those upgrades (major), they still have their work cut out for them. i'd love to see them start strong & fast, winning 11 or 12 games. realistically, i wouldn't be surprised if they finished 9-7, barely making the playoffs.

carolina has an explosive, yet anemic offense and their defense was even more porous than the bucs. looking at the panther's 2013 schedule, i don't see them winning 10 games.

REGULAR SEASON
DAY DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME NETWORK
Sun. Sept. 8 vs. Seattle Seahawks Bank of America Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX
Sun. Sept. 15 at Buffalo Bills Ralph Wilson Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX
Sun. Sept. 22 vs. New York Giants Bank of America Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX
Sun. Sept. 29 Bye
Sun. Oct. 6 at Arizona Cardinals University of Phoenix Stadium 4:05 p.m. FOX
Sun. Oct. 13 at Minnesota Vikings TCF Bank Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX
Sun. Oct. 20 vs. St. Louis Rams Bank of America Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX
Thu. Oct. 24 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Raymond James Stadium 8:25 p.m. NFLN
Sun. Nov. 3 vs. Atlanta Falcons Bank of America Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX
Sun. Nov. 10 at San Francisco 49ers Candlestick Park 4:05 p.m. FOX
Mon. Nov. 18 vs. New England Patriots Bank of America Stadium 8:40 p.m. ESPN
Sun. Nov. 24 at Miami Dolphins Sun Life Stadium 1:00 p.m. * FOX
Sun. Dec. 1 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Bank of America Stadium 1:00 p.m. * FOX
Sun. Dec. 8 at New Orleans Saints Mercedes-Benz Superdome 1:00 p.m. * FOX
Sun. Dec. 15 vs. New York Jets Bank of America Stadium 4:05 p.m. * CBS
Sun. Dec. 22 vs. New Orleans Saints Bank of America Stadium 1:00 p.m. * FOX
Sun. Dec. 29 at Atlanta Falcons Georgia Dome 1:00 p.m. * FOX
* - Subject to flexible scheduling.



*skatin' the rings of saturn*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B7E8dge7H8Y


..and miles to go before i sleep...