Not many sports websites keep up to date with depth charts, but in my opinion, CBS Sports has done a darn good job. 

In a four-part series, here is Carolina's , followed with three things I like, and three things I don't.

Three Things I like

1) QB Depth -- Cam Newton is obviously a star, but having Derek Anderson as a back-up is certainly fantastic, as he has proved to be a serviceable player. 

2) RB Depth -- No explanation needed here. The Panthers are loaded in the backfield. 

3) Greg Olsen -- It was obviously important to get Newton more weapons in the passing game, and the team has done that. Steve Smith and the former Chicago Bears tight end should do wonders. 

Three Things I dislike

1) DT Depth -- Don't care for the DTs on this team at all. The linebackers are surely going to get a lot of work.

2) Safeties -- The FS and SS positions are fairly weak on this squad, especially with other teams in the division having strong ones. 

3) Right side of offensive line -- Jeff Otah has to step up, as does Geoff Hangartner, or everyone will be expecting the back to run left. Let's see if the two can be physical early and often. 

Cam Newton, the 2011 NFL Rookie of the Year, No. 1 overall pick and star quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, has stated to Yahoo! that he was a poor teammate in his first season. 

"I was very immature," Newton said."I'll be the first one to tell you, the pouting and the moping, I kind of overdid it. I know that. I was a bad teammate. I shut off to some people who gave unbelievable effort. ... That's where I have to mature.

Others noticed, especially after a 24-21 loss to Minnesota in Week 8. 

"Cam was angry because he thought he could and should make every play," said wide receiver Steve Smith.

"He has to realize you can't do it all yourself. It's like when someone drops a touchdown pass at the end of a close game. You can say that play cost the team a chance to win the game, but it didn't cause the team to lose. As you get older in this game, you see how everybody has to do their job and how there are so many plays in a game that affect the outcome. As a competitor, you want the ball in your hands at the end to make the play, but you can't do it all in football. You have to give other people a chance to make a play for you, to help you out."

But now, Smith expects to grow alongside the massive QB as they look for glory in the NFC, hoping to get to the Super Bowl. The wideout plans on challenging his quarterback, hoping to help him improve in year to. 

"Cam and I challenge each other in a good way," said Smith, 33. "He came out to practice one time in training camp and said, 'Man, I'm tired.' I looked at him and said, 'How can you be tired, you been here like 15 minutes.' He took that the right way and really went hard in practice.

"A little later, he threw a deep one to me and it went over me. I came back to the huddle and he said, 'The old Steve Smith would have caught that.' After that, I went just a little harder on every route. I wasn't going to let him overthrow me again. That's good. That's bringing the best out of both of us."

Good morning all. Let's take a look around the conference with the major news story for each on this lovely Saturday.

Buccaneers

Tampa Bay and new head coach Greg Schiano found themselves a defensive coordinator, finally.

Bill Sheridan, a Super Bowl winner on the New York Giants staff, joins the team as DC.

Here is the official release fom the Bucs' official website.

Falcons

Things are a bit slow around Atlanta, not too much going on, but the general manager Thomas Dimitroff has a bit of a new role.

Here is the official release from the Bucs' official website.

Panthers

Everyone knows the type of rookie season that Cam Newton had. As a result, the awards keep coming in. The talented former Auburn quarterback already won the Pepsi Rookie of the Year award, but there is more. 

Here is the official release from the Panthers' official website.

Saints

Sean Payton and company recently made some BIG hires on the staff, including bringing in an elite defensive coordinator with the hope of taking home another Super Bowl title, with a guy who has experience doing so.

Here is the official release from the Panthers' official website.

The Carolina Panthers should try to resign Cam Newton to a longer contract right now. Yes Cam Newton has three years left on his rookie contract but the Panthers need to start now in talks with him.

Cam Newton didn’t get the huge money that Sam Bradford and other rookie quarterbacks did. Due to the new rookie salary cap Newton didn’t get the big payday. But since Cam Newton has such a successful rookie season, Panthers fans already are scared that Cam Newton will leave the Panthers when his contract runs out.

I think Cam Newton will end his career as a Carolina Panther and here are the reasons why.Charlotte is very media friendly to Cam Newton and he will have his bad days. Quarterbacks get a lot of grief from the media in some markets.

Cam Newton can get all the commercial deals he wants right there in Charlotte. He does not have to be in New Yorkor some other huge city to get endorsements. With all the banking in Charlotte there will be numerous business deals in the area for Cam Newton.

The fact that Cam Newton leaving Charlotte is a major topic after just one season shows how much the Panthers fans love him. I just listened to an interview of Cam Newton on WFNZ and he was asked if he would stay in town. Of course he said he would stay but then again he wouldn’t say otherwise either.

The Carolina Panthers need to show Cam Newton that they are dedicated to winning. If Cam Newton wins with the Panthers then he will stay.Newton wants to go down as the best quarterback ever and you need to win to do that.

So the Carolina Panthers need to show Cam they want to win and they need to try to resign him now. Even if Cam Newton decides to leave Carolina, he will still be franchised two times. So it’s in Cam Newton’s best interest to sign a long term deal with the Panthers anyway.

I do not expect the Panthers to negotiate with Cam Newton about and extension yet. However if Cam Newton follows up his rookie season with another great year, then the Panthers will have to start negotiating with him.

Cam Newton by far is already the most popular Carolina Panther ever and the fans are very concerned about him leaving Charlotte. I don’t recall any rookie ever striking fear into his fans that he would leave when his contract runs out. Let’s just hope that Cam Newton finishes his career as a Carolina Panther.

Here are my news and notes about the Carolina Panthers for the first week of January 2012. I will mention any team news I have found about the Panthers and offer my opinion on it.

The Carolina Panthers have signed four players to “Future” contracts. That means they become part of the roster in March of 2012. The new Carolina Panthers are guard Roger Allen, linebacker Phillip Dillard, tight end Greg Smith and cornerback Reggie Sullivan. All of these players spent at least some time on the Carolina Panthers practice squad in 2011.

I enjoyed finding out that former Carolina Panther running back Tyrell Sutton has signed with the Seattle Seahawks. Sutton was a Carolina Panther during 2009 and 2010 before being released right before the 2011 season. Sutton is a class act and very friendly on Twitter. I feel strongly that Sutton should have been kept in Carolina as the third back on the roster.

I have to say I am surprised at the success of former Carolina Panther coach John Fox this early. I am pleased by it as well since I also cover the Denver Broncos for Sportsblog.com. Former Carolina Panther and current Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy is being considered for some NFL head coaching jobs. As much as John Fox dislikes media attention he must have really loved all the Tim Tebow talk this year.

Jeremy Shockey has been on my mind this week. I really hope the Carolina Panthers bring him back next season but I think it’s doubtful. Shockey was productive but has been injury plagued. Gary Barnidge has potential to be a really good tight end in this offense and Shockey may not be resigned to make room for Barnidge. Gary Barnidge was on injured reserve this season for the Carolina Panthers.

So far so good on Coach “Chud” remaining with the Carolina Panthers for 2012. I believe the coaches jobs will begin to be filled after the playoffs and or after Jeff Fisher picks between the Rams and Dolphins. I expect Fisher to become the coach of the Rams because they have Sam Bradford AND a high draft pick in 2012.

Speaking of the 2012 NFL draft, I am working on a Carolina Panthers mock draft. My Panthers mock draft should be posted here this week so please check back for that. I also expect to post an interview with one of the guys from WFNZ in Charlotte, very soon.

This is a list of what I consider the Carolina Panthers biggest offseason needs. Yes the Panthers played well at the end of the year but heading into 2012 there is a lot of work to do. With a few key additions the Carolina Panthers can be a playoff contender in 2012.

Carolina Panthers Offseason Needs

1 Keep coach Rob Chudzinski

Young quarterbacks need continuity to have success and Rob Chudzinski was a big part of Cam Newton’s great rookie season. The Jacksonville Jaguars are interested in Chudzinski and my big fear is that he will get a head coaching job somewhere. The Panthers should promote him to assistant head coach and give him a raise in order to try to retain him.

2 Address the Defensive Line

The Carolina Panthers are decent at defensive end but could use some depth there. But defensive tackle must be addressed via free agency and probably the draft again. Terrell McClain and Sione Fua were drafted at defensive tackle in 2011 but the team needs more young ones. A veteran defensive tackle who can still play would be a nice free agency pickup as he could help the young guys learn.

3 Defensive Back

The Carolina Panthers need at least one starting caliber cornerback to be added to the defense. Captain Munnerlyn would be a good nickel back but I don’t love him as a starter. It’s possible that Brandon Hogan can help out here now that he is healthy and will have some offseason work. The Carolina Panthers could also use some help at the safety positions but not nearly as much as at corner.

4 Wide Receiver

 It would be hard to expect Steve Smith to repeat his spectacular season he had in 2011. I do like the young Carolina Panthers wide receivers but the free agent list of receivers is quite impressive. Adding a good mid level veteran to the unit will help Cam Newton progress as a quarterback.  I also think it is time to get rid of Armanti Edwards and use his roster spot for a more productive player.

5 Offensive Line

The Panthers offensive line is better than most but I would love to see some additions there for depth if nothing else. The Panthers gave up too many sacks of a mobile quarterback for this line to be considered great.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think the Carolina Panthers offseason priorities should be heading into 2012. And don’t forget to check back here often for Carolina Panthers news and notes.