The Carolina Panthers have an utter lack of talent at QB and it will need to be addressed before the 2011 season begins.  23-year old rookie QB Jimmy Clausen was forced into action early last season due to an injury to Matt Moore and he looked like a deer in headlights.  Clausen played in 13 games for the Panthers last season and he completed 157 of 299 passes (52.5%) for 1,558 yards with 3 TD passes and 9 INTs (58.4 QB Rating).  Clausen also carried the ball 23 times for 57 yards (2.5 ypc) last season.  The Panthers will be in big trouble in 2011 if Clausen is the starting QB on opening day.

26-year old Matt Moore was handed the keys to the car after finished the 2009 season strongly.  But, he got banged up and he was pretty awful even when he was healthy.  Moore played in 6 games for the Panthers last season and he completed 79 of 143 passes (55.2%) for 857 yards with 5 TD passes and 10 INTs (55.6 QB Rating).  Moore also carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) last season.  Moore has now played in 22 games in his NFL career and he has completed 227 of 392 passes (57.9%) for 2,640 yards with 16 TD passes and 17 INTs (73.9 QB Rating).  Moore also has carried the ball 20 times for 27 yards (1.4 ypc) so far in his career.  Moore wants to come back for 2011 but I think the Panthers would be smart to let him walk.

31-year old Brian St. Pierre started a game against the Ravens last season but then a sore arm derailed his big chance the rest of the year.  St. Pierre played in 1 game for the Panthers last season and he completed 13 of 28 passes (46.4%) for 173 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (48.7 QB Rating).  St. Pierre has now played in 3 games in his NFL career and he has completed 15 of 33 passes (45.5%) for 185 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs (45.6 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 5 times for -1 yard (-0.2 ypc) in his NFL career.

24-year old rookie Tony Pike played in 1 game for the Panthers last season and he completed 6 of 12 passes (50%) for 47 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (60.1 QB Rating).  Pike was passes over for Brian St. Pierre for a start last season so John Fox didn’t think too much of him.

VERDICT:  The Panthers will likely release every QB except Clausen that was on the roster last year.  I expect them to make a deal for a starting QB or for them to sign one in free agency.  Remember the name Billy Volek as he was out in San Diego with Ron Rivera.

The Carolina Panthers have signed 48-year old Ron Rivera to a 4-year, $11.2 million dollar deal to serve as the new head coach.  Rivera was the Bears’ defensive co-ordinator from 2004-06 and he had the same job with the Chargers in 2008-10.  To me it’s king of amazing that the Panthers decided to hire a defensive minded coach.  The offense needs rebuilt but the defense played solid football considering the circumstances last season.  Rivera is a tough guy and it will be interesting to see how the Panthers respond to him.  He will have his work cut out for him, that’s for sure.

The Panthers have decided not to bring back 55-year old head coach John Fox or any of his staff for the 2011 NFL season.  The Panthers finished 2-14 last season which had them in last place in the NFC South by a large margin.  The Panthers were brutal on offense as they averaged 115.4 yards rushing per game (4.3 ypc) and 143.1 yards passing per game.  The Panthers went through 3 starting QBs in 2010 in Matt Moore, Jimmy Clausen and Brian St. Pierre and they all stunk as Panthers’ QBs compiled a QB Rating of 57.0 in 2010.  The Panthers only scored more than 20 points twice in 2010 as they were outscored 408-196 last season. 

John Fox was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers for 9 seasons.  He won the NFC South 3 times and he took the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2003 where they lost 32-29 to Tom Brady and his Patriots in a fantastic football game.  Fox compiled a 73-71 (50.7%) record during the regular season for the Panthers and he was 5-3 (62.5%) during the post season.  The Panthers cut costs last season and sent Fox into gun fights with a butter knife.  I don’t look for Coach Fox to be out of work too long as the Browns are already considering him to replace Eric Mangini who they fired earlier today.

The Panthers played hard earlier today but they were simply overmatched by the Falcons in this game.  Jimmy Clausen completed 19 of 33 passes for 182 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception in one of his better games of his rookie year!  Jonathan Stewart led the way on the ground for the Panthers in this game with 31 yards rushing on 13 carries (2.4 ypc).  Mike Goodson had a rough game as he carried the ball 2 times for 14 yards (7.0 ypc), but, he also caught 2 passes for -11 yards (-5.5 ypc) and he lost a fumble.  Tyrell Sutton pitched in with 13 yards rushing on 2 carries (6.5 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 21 yards (7.0 avg).  Brandon LaFell made some big plays in this game as he caught 4 passes for 63 yards (15.8 avg) and he also had 1 carry for 60 yards.  David Gettis also had a busy day with 4 grabs for 33 yards (8.3 avg) and he also carried the ball 1 time for 19 yards.  WR David Clowney (2 rec, 56 yards) and TE Jeff King (2 rec, 1 yard, TD) also pitched in for the Panthers in the passing game today.  The Panthers finished up with 137 yards rushing on 19 carries (7.2 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 34 passes for 154 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 24:30.

Defensively the Panthers played pretty hard.  LBs Jon Beason (12 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and James Anderson (10 tackles) led the way for the Panthers on D in this game.  Safety Sherrod Martin (7 tackles) and CB C.J. Wilson (5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) also got their work in today for the Panthers.  The Falcons finished up with 99 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 38 passes for 253 yards.  The Panthers finished the 2010 NFL season with a pathetic 2-14 record and they will get the first overall pick in next April’s NFL Draft.