The Carolina Panthers are one of those teams that have gamblers scratching their heads vs. the NFL betting lines. The Panthers are capable of being great and winning a lot of games but they are also capable of losing to any team in the league.
The 2010 schedule could help the Panthers vs. the NFL lines other than their season opener which is at New York.NFL betting lines list the Panthers as underdogs at New York in the regular season opener of Giants Stadium. The Panthers will probably lose that game but things should get better in Week 2 as they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Panthers could also win in Week 3 as they host the Bengals.
Carolina really needs to excel vs. the NFL lines in the early part of the season because the last month of the season does not look favorable. The Panthers could be playing in cold weather in six of their last seven games. This is a make or break year for head coach John Fox and at least the early part of the schedule seems favorable.
The Panthers really need to start the season at 2-1 since they go to New Orleans in Week 4. Carolina has Chicago in Week 5 and that game could decide whether the Panthers head into their bye week with a winning or a losing record. The Panthers come out of their bye with a favorable schedule as they host San Francisco and then go to St. Louis. They host the New Orleans Saints in Week 9 and then go to Tampa Bay in Week 10. The Panthers need to have a winning record heading into Week 11 because it gets tough. They host the Baltimore Ravens in tough matchup in Week 11 and then they go to Cleveland in Week 12. That could be a game in which the weather is factor. The Panthers go to Seattle in Week 13 before hosting the Falcons and Cardinals in Weeks 14 and 15. The last two games of the season look very tough as the Panthers are in Pittsburgh and Atlanta.
Carolina’s schedule has some tough spots but overall it is one in which the Panthers could have some success if everything falls just right.