My Steve Smith NFL Blog

Who would have thought that the Carolina Panthers would start out the 2009 football season with an 0-2 record? This is the team that finished last year at 13-3, and looked better and better with each week that passed.

The Carolina Panthers were a dangerous football team in 2008. Armed with one of the best wide receivers in the game (Steve Smith), a great quarterback (Jake Delhomme), and arguably the best running back in football in 2008 (DeAngelo Williams), the Panthers were dangerous. Add a potent defense to the mix that no team wanted to face, and Carolina had the makings of a team with legitimate Super Bowl potential.

Hopes were equally high for the team entering the 2009 season. Nearly everyone was back from the year before, and things looked to pick up exactly where they left off in 2008.

For some reason, things haven't worked out this way thus far. In week 1, the Carolina Panthers were embarrassed by the Eagles on their own field. They lost this game by a score of 38-10. Their defense was pitiful, and Jake Delhomme looked just as dreadful at the quarterback position.

Week 2 looked somewhat better, but as they say, a loss is a loss. The team traveled to Atlanta for a matchup against the Falcons, and lost this game 28-20. While they looked a little better than they did in week 1, Delhomme was still less effective than usual, and the team failed to show the defensive dominance they exhibited week in and week out in 2008.

The Panthers travel to Dallas for a week 3 Monday Night Football game. Is an 0-3 start in the cards?

Enjoy an awesome Carolina Panthers forum, at RootZoo Sports, home to the best sports articles online.