The New Orleans Saints had little trouble when they defeated the Carolina Panthers by the score of 45 to 17 today. Drew Brees torched the Panthers for 389 yards and five touchdowns to top off his record breaking season. The Saints as a team set NFL records for yards, passing yards and first downs during the 2011 season.

Cam Newton had a decent game in the loss to the New Orleans Saints. Cam completed 15 of 25 passes for 158 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Cam Newton also stayed in the game after being injured by the Saints. Cam Newton ended his spectacular rookie season with 4,051 passing yards with 21 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions for the year.

Things looked to be a bit heated early in the Panthers at the Saints game as Steve Smith was fired up. Smith caught six passes for 86 yards and a touchdown to wrap up his Pro Bowl Season for the Carolina Panthers.

Drew Brees and the Saints were just too dialed in for the Carolina Panthers to offer them much competition. Ivory ran for 127 yards for the Saints against the Panthers and Drew Brees had almost 400 yards passing and the five touchdowns.

What I did like about this game was the effort put forth by the Carolina Panthers. The team continued to play hard against what I think is the best team in the National Football League at this time.

Jonathan Stewart had 79 yards rushing on just nine carries as DeAngelo Williams rushed for 53 yards on seven carries. With the score so lopsided the Panthers had to abandon the running game which actually worked well against the New Orleans Saints.

James Anderson had a nice game on defense for the Carolina Panthers in their last game of the 2011 NFL season. Anderson had nine tackles with six assists while Senn had six tackles and five assists against the Saints. James Anderson had a huge year for the Panthers and was the only starting linebacker to stay mostly healthy all season.

Even though the Carolina Panthers lost their last regular season game in 2011 there is hope for the future. Clearly the Panthers are a team that is improving and should be a playoff contender in 2012. Please continue to check back with this blog for offseason Carolina Panthers news and draft articles. And of course you can follow the Carolina Panthers at our sister site Schoolofthelegends.com.

Thanks for checking out my preview of the Carolina Panthers at the New Orleans Saints game to be played on Sunday January first 2012. Earlier this year the Saints defeated the Panthers 30 to 27 and you can read the review of that game here.

The New Orleans Saints will be bringing their best this week to play the Carolina Panthers. The Saints are thought to be many as the only team that can beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Playoffs. New Orleans won the NFC South division title but want the chance to play everyone but the Packers on their home field.

The Carolina Panthers can upset the Saints and really put a crimp in their postseason plans. The Saints have a great offense and can stop the run with their defense. However the New Orleans Saints struggle defending the pass which is what the Panthers do very well.

The Carolina Panthers offense must throw the ball early and often and run in selective situations to upset the New Orleans Saints. The Panthers need to get Steve Smith more involved this week to beat the Saints. If Smith makes a big play early he seems to feed off that and make more big plays as a game progresses.

Knocking of the New Orleans Saints would be a big feather in Coach Ron Rivera’s cap. Rivera is a defensive specialist who has managed to help improve the Panthers defense despite a lack of talent on the line and a rash of injuries all over the unit.

The Panthers can create a buzz and some momentum for 2012 if they knock off the New Orleans Saints. On defense the Panthers must try to pressure Drew Brees who quietly is having a monster year for the Saints.

James Anderson and Charles “Big Money” Johnson will be the keys for the Panthers defense. Johnson has had a decent but not great season but he is the best bet on the Panthers to get to Brees. James Anderson is the team’s best all around player and I feel he is the Panthers defensive MVP.

If the Panthers defense can pressure Brees and cause a turnover or two then Carolina has a good chance to upset the Saints. Cam Newton and the offense can and will score on the Saints and I expect this game to be a shootout from whistle to whistle. Go Panthers!

Thanks for checking out my preview of the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. In this preview I will give the keys for the Panthers to defeat the Saints.

The biggest key for the Panthers to beat the Saints is for Carolina to limit penalties and turnovers. So far this season the Panthers have been in every game but tend to stall in the “Red Zone” or commit a penalty. The Panthers need to limit the mistakes against this Saints team that can outscore anyone.

The running game looked better against the Bears last week and needs to against the Saints as well. The more time the ball is in Cam Newton’s hands and not Drew Brees, the better for Carolina.

Darren Sproles scares the heck out of me both as a runner and a returner. The Panthers struggle to stop the run and also returns on special teams. Jermale Hines and Antwan Applewhite were added to the roster mostly to help special teams. Sean Considine and George Selvie were released to make room.

The Panthers currently rank third in total offense and also in passing but 17^th in rushing the ball. The Panthers defense ranks 14^th in yards given up per game. Unfortunately the Panthers rank 31^st in run defense but do rank sixth in passing defense despite all the injuries.

Carolinawill welcome Chris Gamble back from a concussion but may lose Jeremy Shockey to the same condition for the Saints game. Other than that the Panthers are fairly healthy heading into this game.

The Panthers staff must try to slow the game down for Cam Newton. Saints defensive coordinator Greg Williams will be showing all kinds of fake looks to try to confuse the rookie quarterback. I do think the Panthers offense will be able to move the ball against the Saints.

The Saints offense under Drew Brees will be trying to run more to take advantage of the young defensive line of Carolina. The fact that Thomas Davis and Jon Beason are out for the year isn’t helping the suspect run defense.

To sum up my preview of the New Orleans Saints at the Carolina Panthers game, I expect a shootout! Steve Smith has found the fountain of youth and is the best receiver in the game for either team. I expect him to produce in a huge way but I fear the Saints offense will be too much this week.