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 my preview of the Carolina Panthers at the Houston Texans to be played on Sunday December 18^th 2011. The Houston Texans having lost two quarterbacks for the season still clinched their division last week. The Carolina Panthers started strong againstAtlanta before faltering in the second half.

With the Texans clinching their first playoff berth in franchise history it’s unclear if they will rest their starters or not. I will assume the Houston Texans will go all out against the Carolina Panthers to try to secure a home playoff game.

The Texans have won seven straight and now have rookie T.J. Yates at quarterback and one of his backups is former Carolina Panther Jake Delhomme. I am not worried about Delhomme helping the Texans much as the Panthers did not use the same offensive system when Jake played for them.

To beat the Houston Texans, the Carolina Panthers need to play four quarters of mistake free football. Under Wade Phillips the Texans have a very sound defense against the run and the pass. On offense with a rookie quarterback the Texans will try to have their number three rushing offense in fine working order.

I think the Carolina Panthers should go old school John Fox ball and run often. To keep the Texans from running on the banged up Panthers defense, the offense should run on Houston.

I feel that DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are primed for big games if they get the opportunity. Cam Newton needs to keep Steve Smith in his thoughts early and often against the Texans.

Look also for Coach Chud to get the tight ends and running backs involved more in the passing game. Against the 3-4 blitzing Texans defense Cam Newton will need to dump the ball off fast on shorter routes.

I expect a slight letdown by the Texans who have a large amount of injuries on their roster. They will try to win the game but I don’t think they can stay as high as they have been in recent weeks.

The Panthers are the perfect team to knock off the Texans in a classic trap game. Coach Ron Rivera wants to finish 2011 on a good note and will have the Carolina Panthers fired up to upset the Houston Texans.

My prediction for the Carolina Panthers at the Houston Texans is that Houston will win it at home 27 to 24. Please check back here for my review of the game when it’s over and check me out on Twitter here.