Dec 30, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) scrambles out of the pocket under pressure from the New Orleans Saints defense during first quarter of their game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The Carolina Panthers are up next in our Reader’s Mock Draft, continuing the streak of NFC South teams.  The Panthers finished up the season 7-9, but Ron Rivera’s crew was thisclose to a much better record.   They narrowly escaped with a victory when they met up last season, needing a Tim Jennings pick-6 and a Robbie Gould last second game winning field goal to get past the Panthers.  Cam Newton got his act together and Carolina finished up 5-1 down the stretch.

The Panthers have been relatively quiet this offseason, picking up a few minor free agents including former Bears nickelback DJ Moore.  They could use some help to bolster their 14th ranked rushing defense, which gave up 110 rushing yards per game.  It’s possible they try to put some more weapons around Cam Newton besides the aging Steve Smith.  They could seek to improve their secondary with either a safety or a cornerback.  There are plenty of options.

Top Needs

Defensive Tackle

Cornerback

Safety

Wide Receiver

Offensive Line

Top Prospects

Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri

Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington

Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas

Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia

DJ Fluker, OT, Alabama

Check our main Reader’s Mock Draft post for the results so far and bookmark that page to track the progress as we work our way towards the April 25th draft date.

Up next, the New Orleans Saints.

Oct 2, 2011; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester (23) during his 69 yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

The Chicago Bears (5-1 overall, 3-0 at home) face off with the Carolina Panthers (1-5 overall, 0-2 on the road) for the eighth time since the Panthers joined the NFL in 1995.  The Bears have won four of six regular season meetings, but lost to the Panthers in the playoffs in 2005 when WR Steve Smith smoked CB Chris Thompson and the Bears defense for 218 yards and two touchdowns.  The last time these two teams met, the Bears beat the Panthers and QB Cam Newton 34-29 in his fourth career start in 2011.

The Bears defense has dominated this season with 21 takeaways and 21 sacks, led by CB Charles Tillman (2 INTs, 2 TDs, 3 FF, 1 FR) who won NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his dominant performance against Lions WR Calvin Johnson (3 catches for 34 yards) last week.

Newton has struggled in his sophomore season (214.2 Passing YPG, 5 TDs, 6 INTs, 79.3 QB rating) and is looking to get a lethargic Panthers offense (17.7 points per game) back on track.  Head coach Ron Rivera seems to have forgotten that he has three dominant running backs in Jonathan Stewart (7 carries per game over last two games), DeAngelo Williams (4) and Mike Tolbert (2).  Newton is currently the team’s leading rusher with 273 yards and three touchdowns.  It’s going to be a tough challenge if the Panthers want to get off and running against the Bears, who allow 71.0 yards per game and have allowed on one rushing touchdown.

Let’s take a look at some numbers of interest for this Sunday’s game.

3-0:  Bears record against the Panthers at Soldier Field during the regular season.

543:  Total yards gained (374 passing, 169 rushing) by the Panthers in the game against the Bears last season (third most total yards given up by a Bears defense in franchise history).

205:  Rushing yards by Matt Forte in the game against the Panthers last season (career high).

529:  Total yards from scrimmage (463 rushing, 66 receiving) by Forte in three career games against the Panthers.

3:  Punt/kick returns of 50+ yards by Devin Hester in three career games against the Panthers.

6-0:  Bears record under Lovie Smith in home games the week following a Monday night game.

166.25:  Average receiving yards per game for Panthers WR Steve Smith in four career games against the Bears.

20:  Number of field goals attempted and made against the Panthers this season.

2:  Number of field goals attempted and made by the Panthers this season.

1-10:  Panthers record when QB Cam Newton rushes for less than 50 yards.

41:  Number of receptions by Brandon Marshall through six games this season, more than any Bears wide receiver had in all of the 2011 season (Johnny Knox and Roy Williams had 37 each).

18.5, 7.8:  Average yards per kick return (1^st in NFL) and punt return (14^th), respectively, by opposing players against the Panthers this season.

27.6, 24.3:  Average yards per kick return (5 returns) and punt return (6) by Hester in three career games against the Panthers.

20:  Number of third downs converted by the Panthers this season (worst in the NFL).

0:  Number of players on the Bears, other than Cutler, who have turned the ball over this season.

6:  Number of combined points allowed by the Bears defense in the first and third quarter this season.

With four consecutive wins, the Bears are trending up and with four consecutive losses, the Panthers are trending down.  Add to the Panthers woes, a QB who is looking for answers and the abrupt firing of GM Marty Hurney, and you have yourself a desperate team.  The Bears should be careful not to take this team too lightly.  Their defense has 14 sacks and two INTs returned for touchdowns.  And while the Panthers running game has been mediocre so far, they have four players (Newton, Williams, Stewart, Tolbert) who have rushed for 10 or more touchdowns in a season.  The Bears need to get the offense going to give their overachieving defense a little break.  The Panthers might be the perfect medicine to boost the production of Cutler, Marshall and the Bears offense.

Oct 2, 2011; Chicago, IL, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) passes the ball during the second half against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Bears defeated the Panthers 34-29. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

The Bears and Panthers get set for their 4th meeting in 5 years.  Talk about two teams headed in opposite directions.  The Bears are rolling, winners of their last four in a  row while the Panthers have lost four straight.  Cam Newton has gone from Superman to Hello Kitty in less than a season.  This seems to set up for an easy Bears win, but nothing is ever as easy as it seems.  To help us get the inside scoop on the Panthers, we’ve enlisted Ken Dye from FanSided’s Panthers site Cat Crave to do our weekly Q&A.

Here are my questions and Ken’s answers.  Be sure to head over to Cat Crave to see my answers to his questions. (more…)

Since I couldn’t decide between the picture to use, it’s a special double-header edition of Create a Caption.  You know the drill.  I provide the pictures, you provide the captions.   Be funny, be smart, be stupid.  Drop your captions in the comments (and since there are two pics, label them #1 or #2).  My favorite caption – and yes this is totally subjective – wins a free copy of Da Bears book.   Captions are due by 12 noon on Friday.

Photo #1: Your caption here. (Photo courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

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Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher are ready to maul the Panthers. (photo courtesy of ESPN.com)

This week we will observe one of nature’s great rivalries, Bears (3-1) vs. Panthers(0-4) and break down the key matchups.  It will be a true battle for dominance between a wise old grizzly, Bears QB Todd Collins and a young cub, Panthers QB Jimmy Clausen.  The two will lead their packs into the wild kingdom that is Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

The Bears have their reputations on the line as a real contender in the NFC, but will be without their alpha male, QB Jay Cutler (concussion).  The Panthers, after losing their first four games, limp into week 5 and will most likely be without their ferocious WR Steve Smith (injured paw).   They will have to rely on two young kittens, WR David Gettis and WR Brandon LaFell, to protect the Panther’s home den.  Let’s take a look at some key matchups that will help decide this week struggle for NFL survival:

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Doesn't Todd Collins look excited to be making his first start since 2008? (Photo courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

Jay Cutler will be tucked safely away on the sidelines (or possibly cuddled up on the couch next to Kristen Cavallari) on Sunday after an independent doctor failed to clear him to play against the Panthers.  This from Chicago Breaking Sports:

Cutler practiced on a limited basis Wednesday, but after being examined by an independent doctor, it was determined that although he was making progress in his recovery from the injury, he shouldn’t play against the Panthers.

Gee, I thought the Bears’ doctors or Lovie Smith read my Lower the Boom post which said Cutler should sit.  Thankfully the NFL has a process in place to protect players from this situation.  Had it not been for the independent doctor, I can assure you Cutler would be rushed back.  Lovie and Co. have their jobs on the line after all.

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5. Chicago Bears: Don’t underestimate the influence of new coordinator Mike Martz on offense. Jay Cutler’s first year was a disappointment, but Martz has been able to add three to six points to offenses with quarterbacks less talented than Cutler. The Bears averaged 19.4 points a game last year. If Martz can add about four or five points a game through Cutler’s powerful arm, the Bears might be 9-7 or better instead of 7-9.

The schedule isn’t easy because the NFC North plays the NFC East and AFC East. The Bears play a .504 schedule compared to .496 a year ago. The key is the improvement of the offense. Because expectations are down, the Bears have a chance to sneak up on teams.

The thing that J-Clay doesn’t account for is that for Jay to be effective, he’ll need to stay upright.  Martz’s offense might kill Cutler if the Bears don’t get some protection for him.

In case you’re interested, the other surprise teams are 1. Washington, 2. Carolina, 3. Oakland and 4, Atlanta.  The Bears get to face the top two supposed “surprise teams” this season.

Early word out of Halas Hall has veteran linebacker Jamar Williams headed to Carolina in exchange for Harris.

This from Brad Biggs’ conversation with Harris:

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