Panthers' Schedule Analysis

The NFL regular season schedule was released yesterday, exciting fans everywhere as we get closer to the season.

The Carolina Panthers have the 22nd toughest strength of schedule in the league this year, at .473. However, you can't judge how a team will perform based on that. It's a very deceiving stat. Last season, the Panthers had the toughest strength of schedule, and they went 12-4.

The season starts out well for the team, with three winnable games at Tampa Bay, at home against Detroit and at home against Pittsburgh.

After week 3, Carolina will be in for a tough ride. They'll head to Baltimore to face Steve Smith and the Ravens, then come back home to play Chicago. They'll then go on a two-game road trip against Cincinnati and Green Bay, then come back to Charlotte to face the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks and the division rival Saints. After that, they go to Philadelphia. They come back home to face Atlanta before finally having their bye week.

After the bye, the schedule eases up a little. The Panthers will head to Minnesota, then New Orleans, then come back home for the Bucs and Browns. They'll close the season at Atlanta.

Because of their success last season, the Panthers were rewarded with three primetime games. On September 21, in week 3, they face the Pittsburgh Steelers at home on Sunday Night Football on NBC. On October 30, in week 9, they'll be at home against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football on NFL Network. Finally, they get a Monday Night Football game on November 10 in week 10 at the Philadelphia Eagles.

Two games that I think should be primetime matchups are the week 4 game at the Baltimore Ravens and the 8 game against the Seattle Seahawks. Carolina will face former wide receiver Steve Smith when they visit the Ravens, and after being released, Smith promised that when he faced his former team, there would be "blood and guts everywhere." It's sure to be entertaining. The Panthers and Seahawks were the top two seeds in the NFC last season, so it's a little surprising to see that the game between them won't be a primetime matchup.

I will soon be doing predictions for each game. I'll also do predictions for each game after the draft, which is two weeks from today.