Panthers Lose 12-7, Drop to 0-1

Week one of the NFL season has come and gone, and we start off the year with another gloriously blown close game by the Carolina Panthers.

Ho-hum.

Now that my misplaced anger is out of the way, let's talk about some of the good and bad things we saw in the Panther's 12-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Source: ESPN

As expected, the front seven looked very much improved, pressuring Russel Wilson out of the pocket all day and forcing him to throw off balance. Additionally, the Panthers' defensive line bottled up Marshawn Lynch for just 43 yards on 17 carries, a pretty remarkable feat. Somehow Wilson was able to throw for 320 yards, a testament to his uncanny ability to get out of the pocket and make solid throws on the run. The same can't be said for every quarterback in the NFL, so the Panthers' defense looks set for some shutouts this season.

Cam Newton looked lost and way to conservative in the passing game, which I will get to later. Newton doesn't appear to have any receivers to stretch the defense, his only true weapons are Steve Smith and Greg Olsen, and Smith isn't the same deep threat he used to be. Brandon Lafell was nowhere to be found, and 

the only other Panthers wide receiver who even caught a pass was Ted Ginn Jr., who had one reception for 10 yards.

Source: Fox Sports

Mike Shula, the team's new offensive coordinator, was way too conservative in his first game. The Panthers used way too many run-run-pass sequences, leading to multiple three-and-outs. The defense was never stretched, as Shula seemed content to run the offense like a west coast system, which simply doesn't work with Newton. With a weapon like Cam, Shula has to allow his star quarterback to use his cannon arm to get the ball down the field and throw bullets into the seams. On the other hand, you can't blame Shula for wanting to stick with the ground game, which had surprising success against a very tough Seattle defense. The Panthers totaled 134 yards on the ground, led by 86 yards on just 17 carries for DeAngelo Williams.

Despite all the negatives, the Panthers still played a great game of football. Their defense kept them in it until the very end, and the team even had a shot to take a 14-6 lead late, before Williams fumbled in the redzone. Williams took fault for the loss and swore it would never happen again, but no game is decided by just one play, so not all the blame can be put on Williams.

All in all, the Panthers were able to keep it close against this year's sexy Super Bowl pick, the Seahawks. That in itself is an accomplishment.  Next up is the Buffalo Bills, where the Panthers may get a shot to showcase what their offense is capable of against a spotty Bills defense.