The Panthers broke a three game losing streak last weekend when the won on the road, 27-19 against the Colts.  The Buccaneers have lost five games in a row, as they have been pretty lousy.  Here is a look at the matchups of what could be a very high scoring game this Sunday:

When the Panthers have the ball:  The Panthers are starting to be more balanced offensively as of late.  Cam Newton will be taking aim at a Buccaneers’ D that is allowing 254.9 yards passing per game so far this year.  WR Steve Smith could be in line for a huge game this Sunday against the lackluster corners of the Bucs.  Jeremy Shockey, Greg Olsen and Brandon LaFell are also going to be in on the action in the passing game for the Panthers this Sunday.  Cam Newton is going to take off running the ball a few times in this game, but DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are more than capable of putting up big numbers in the running game this Sunday against a soft run defense.

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Buccaneers are probably going to try to feed the ball to LeGarrette Blount a lot in this game.  The Panthers are giving up 137.5 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry so far this year, so Blount could be in line for a field day.  Bucs’ QB Josh Freeman has a really sore right shoulder and he might miss this game.  Josh Johnson is very similar in style to Freeman….but not talent.  Johnson is a good runner, but his arm is pretty weak.  WR Mike Williams and TE Kellen Winslow have been stepping up lately for the Bucs, so the secondary will be keying on stopping them.

PREDICTION:  PANTHERS 31, BUCCANEERS 27

The Carolina Panthers were a pathetic 2-14 last year and it cost longtime head coach John Fox his job.  Enter 49 year-old Ron Rivera.  He is the new head coach of the Panthers after serving 12 years as an assistant coach in the NFL.  He has been a defensive coordinator for six years in the NFL (3 with the Bears and 3 with the Chargers).  Rivera is going to try to build the Panthers on defense and the running game in an effort to protect rookie QB Cam Newton in 2011.  It will be interesting to see if he will succeed or not.

22-year old Cam Newton out of Auburn was the #1 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.  But, he only started 1 year at Auburn and despite having great physical talent, he might not be ready to excel in the NFL mentally quite yet.  Newton is without a doubt the Panthers’ QB of the future, but, I think it would probably be better for him to watch the first  few games due to the lockout cutting a lot of practice time out.  If Newton would have had a full training camp, I think they would have thrown him into the fire right off the bat.  But, I think he would be overwhelmed by NFL defenses right now.  The Panthers can’t afford to screw up Newton, so look for him to be holding a clipboard early in his career.

23-year old Jimmy Clausen looked overmatched last season but he’s the favorite to start the Panthers’ season opener at Arizona.  Clausen played in 13 games (10 starts) as a rookie for the Panthers last year 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 year.  The Panthers were 1-9 (10%) in games started at QB by Clausen last year.  Clausen projects as Cam Newton’s long term backup but he will likely get the starting nod in Week #1.  It’s up to him how long he will keep the starting job.

28-year old Derek Anderson was signed to give this group a veteran presence.  Anderson played in 12 games (9 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he completed 169 of 327 passes (51.7%) for 2,065 yards with 7 TD passes and 10 INTs (65.9 QB Rating).  Anderson also carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) last year.  Anderson has now played in 51 games (43 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has completed 756 of 1,436 passes (52.6%) for 9,148 yards with 53 TD passes and 55 INTs (68.8 QB Rating).  Anderson has also carried the ball 76 times for 205 yards (2.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far in his career.  Anderson is 18-25 (41.9%) as a starting QB so far in the NFL.  Anderson has been to a Pro Bowl in his career but he often makes bad throws that result in pickoffs and his accuracy has never been too good in the NFL.

25-year old Tony Pike is going to have a hard time making the roster unless Newton, Clausen or Anderson gets injured.  Pike played in 1 game off the bench for the Panthers last year and he completed 6 of 12 passes (50%) for 47 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (60.1 QB Rating).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS QBS IN 2011:  D-

The Panthers could really use better starting position for the offense in 2010.  23-year old RB Tyrell Sutton is a very talented player who could excel in this role.  He’s on the small side at 5’9″, 190 pounds but Sutton is strong and fast.  He played in 7 games for the Panthers last season and he returned 14 kickoffs for 302 yards (21.6 avg).  I think he will be better in 2010 for the Panthers.

23-year old RB Mike Goodson is also in the hunt for kickoff returns.  He played in 8 games for the Panthers last season and he returned 17 kickoffs for 352 yards (20.7 avg).  Goodson will need to improve to beat out Sutton for the kickoff returner job in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS KICKOFF RETURNERS  in 2010:  C-

The Panthers have one of the most talented offensive lines in all of football.  It all starts on the blind side at tackle where Jordan Gross plays.  He is a solid technician who is always in the right place at the right time.  He will do a fine job of protecting whichever young QB takes the snaps for the Panthers in 2010.  Left guard Travelle Wharton is equally adept at run blocking and pass blocking.  That’s because he likes to hit the defender hard and first.  Center Ryan Kalil is very quick off the ball and that helps him win battles with DL who are bigger than he is.  Mackency Bernadeau will likely be the starting RG this year for the Panthers.  His stength is pass blocking but he has everything it takes to also be a good run blocker.  RT Jeff Otah is just plain nasty.  The only reason he’s playing RT instead of LT in because he’s quite a masher in the running game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS O-LINE in 2010:  A

55-year old head coach John Fox might be on the hot seat in 2010 but he won’t have a hard time finding a new job if the Panthers let him go.  Fox somehow got his team to finish 8-8 last season despite getting horrible play out of the QBs.  It might have been his best coaching job ever.  Fox has a 71-57 (55.5%) record in his eight years with the Panthers and he is 5-3 (62.5%) in the post season.  He led the Panthers to a Super Bowl in 2003 in which they narrowly lost to the Patriots.  Fox is a good coach and he will get the most out of the Panthers in 2010.

40-year old John Kasay is getting up there but he’s still productive for the Panthers.  Kasay played in all 16 games for the Panthers last season and he connected on 22 of 27 field goals (81.5%).  He also made 31 of 32 extra points as he finished up with 97 points last year.  He has now played in 269 games in his NFL career and he has made 408 of 500 (81.6%) field goals and 507 of 518 extra points as he now has 1,731 career points.  It looks as if Todd Carter will be the Panthers kickoff specialist to save the bullets in Kasay’s gun for when they really count.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS KICKERS in 2010:  B

The Panthers hope that 31-year old Steve Smith will be ready to start the season after breaking his arm in a flag football game earlier this summer.  He has been to 4 Pro Bowls in his 9 years with the Panthers.  Smith played in 15 games (all starts) for the Panthers last season and he caught 65 passes for 982 yards (15.1 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He has now played in 121 games (100 starts) in his nine years in the NFL and he has caught 574 passes for 8,330 yards (14.5 avg) with 50 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 47 times for 295 yards (6.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his NFL career.  With the kiddie corps the Panthers will have at QB…..they need Steve Smith to be ready to go when the 2010 NFL season begins.

Rookies Armanti Edwards (3rd round), Brandon LaFell (3rd round) and David Gettis (6th round) will all be given opportunities to earn the starting job opposite Steve Smith in training camp.  My money is on the 6’2″, 211 pound LaFell who is the most polished of these guys.  Edwards was a QB in college (Appalachian State) and he’s small at 5’11″, 182 pounds but he’s fast.  At best, he projects out to being a #3 WR in the NFL.  David Gettis is another big guy at 6’3″, 216 pounds but with the inexperience the Panthers have at WR he could move up the depth chart with a nice training camp.

23-year old Dwayne Jarrett is just trying to keep his NFL career going in Carolina.  He played in 13 games (2 starts) for the Panthers last season and he caught 17 passes for 196 yards (11.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Jarrett has now played in 29 games (3 starts) in his three years with the Panthers and he has caught 33 passes for 388 yards (11.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  If Jarrett doesn’t come to play in training camp he could get cut as the Panthers have been very disappointed in him so far in his career.

25-year old Kenneth Moore played in 12 games (1 start) as a rookie for the Panthers last season and he caught 6 passes for 59 yards (9.8 avg).  He doesn’t appear to have a big upside but he has as good a chance as any receiver other than Smith to produce in 2010 for the Panthers.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS WRs in 2010:  C-

The Panthers got surprising production out of their TEs last season as they combined to catch 63 passes for 755 (12.0 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  It used to be said that a young QBs best friend is the TE and you know the Panthers’ have a utter lack of experience at QB.  27-year old Jeff King is the best run blocker of this bunch.  He played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Panthers last season in which he caught 25 passes for 200 yards (8.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  King has now played in 60 games (46 starts) in his NFL career in which he has caught 93 passes for 802 yards (8.6 avg) with 7 TD grabs. 

25-year old Dante Rosario is the best combination of blocking and receiving that the Panthers have on the roster.  Rosario played in 14 games (8 starts) for the Panthers last season and he caught 26 passes for 313 yards (12.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 46 games (16 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 50 passes for 630 yards (12.6 avg) with 5 TD grabs. 

24-year old Gary Barnridge played in 15 games before last season in which he didn’t catch any passes.  But in his second year (2009), he played in 16 games (3 starts) in which he caught 12 passes for 242 yards (20.2 avg).  Not many TEs can get down the field like Barnridge so look for the Panthers to look for him more in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS TEs in 2010:  C+

With DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart at tailback the Panthers don’t need any offense from their fullbacks, they just need them to block.  23-year old Tony Fiammetta heads into training camp as the starting FB.  He is 6’0″, 246 pounds so he has the size the Panthers like.  He played in 10 games (2 starts) for the Panthers last season in his first year with Carolina.  Undrafted rookie Rashawn Jackson will be #2 on the depth chart heading to training camp but he likely won’t see a lot of action in 2010 unless Fiammetta gets hurt.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PANTHERS FBs in 2010:  C-