This is my list of the top 10 Carolina Panthers of all time. My list will concentrate on what a player did as a member of the Carolina Panthers, not what he may have done before or after his playing days there. So while Reggie White was a great NFL player he is not on my list of the top 10 Carolina Panthers of all time.

I am writing this list about the greatest Carolina Panthers ever in November of 2011. So if somebody reads this in 2015 after Armanti Edwards goes to several Pro Bowls then don’t bless me out! No I don’t think he will but you never know.

1 Julius Peppers

Carolina Panthers fans either love Julius Peppers or hate him. Peppers had all the talent in the world yet took games and even seasons off. That being said Julius Peppers was the best Carolina Panther to ever play the game. Peppers had 81 sacks with the Panthers and was a freak of nature on the field when he wanted to be.

2 Steve Smith

It can easily be argued that Steve Smith is the best Carolina Panther of all time but I have him behind Peppers. Smith came into the league as a undersized punt returner and worked his way into being a potential Hall of Fame wide receiver. Love him or hate him Steve Smith played his heart out while with the Panthers.

3 Sam Mills

Ok I may have Sam Mills ranked a little high but Steve Smith himself said Mills was the best Carolina Panther ever. Mills only played three seasons for the Carolina Panthers but he produced well and was a great leader on and off the field.

4 Muhsin Muhammad

Mushin Muhammad is a close second on the list of the best Carolina receivers of all time. Muhammad made the transition from primary to secondary wide receiver and even became a devastating blocker. In 11 seasons with the Panthers Muhammad had 696 catches for 9,255 yards and 50 touchdown receptions.

5 Jake Delhomme

I know we tend to remember “Bad Jake” from his latter years with the Carolina Panthers, but Jake Delhomme was pretty good in his day. Jake Delhomme led the Panthers to the playoffs and one Super Bowl.  I feel that Delhomme belongs on the list of the top 10 Carolina Panthers of all time.

6 MikeRucker

                                                                                                                                                                                                          I think Mike Rucker flew under the radar due to Peppers. Rucker joined with Pep, Brenston Buckner and Kris Jenkins to form the best D line in Panthers history. Mike Rucker had 55.5 sacks, 335 tackles and 85 assisted tackles as a Carolina Panther.

7 Jon Beason

Jon Beason is the best middle linebacker in Carolina Panthers history. Beason was a Pro Bowler in three out of his four full seasons with the Panthers. Versatile enough to switch positions due to injury Beason is a force on the field and a team leader.

8 Kris Jenkins

Kris Jenkins was a beast with the Carolina Panthers and is their best defensive tackle ever. Jenkins could eat up blocks to free the linebackers but he could also penetrate and get sacks.

9 DeAngelo Williams

Thought to be too small for a feature back DeAngelo Williams proved them all wrong. Williams ran for over 1,500 yards and had 18 touchdowns in one season. Williams has proven to be the best running back in Carolina Panthers history.

10 Wesley Walls

During his seven seasons as a Carolina Panther, Wesley Walls excelled at the tight end position. Make no mistake about it Walls was there to catch passes and he did that. 324 receptions and 44 touchdowns as a Panther makes Wesley Walls one of the top 10 Carolina Panthers of all time.

Thanks for reading my list of the top 10 Carolina Panthers of all time. Feel free to heap praise or insults on me in the comments section below. Check me out on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/NFLPanthersSB

Thanks for checking out my preview of the Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers game coming up this Sunday. The Green Bay Packers are coming off an exciting win over the Saints and of course are the defending Super Bowl Champions.

Never has a loss created so much excitement among Carolina Panther fans like the one to Arizona did. Cam Newton set a rookie passing record for yards and played beyond the expectations of even his most ardent fans.

The Green Bay Packers are expected to roll over the Carolina Panthers but there is a reason they actually play the games.Carolina has a chance to beat the Packers if they limit turnovers and in turn force the Packers into turning the ball over.

The loss of Jon Beason for the season is a huge blow to the Panthers as is the concussion suffered by Jeff Otah. The offensive line of any team needs to have the same five players on the field as much as possible. They have to play together to get better but this line is banged up.

Jeff Otah is listed as doubtful on the injury report and will be replaced by rookie Byron Bell. Cornerback Josh Thomas, wide receiver Kealoha Pilares, and linebacker Thomas Davis are all listed as probable.

For the Carolina Panthers to stay in the game with the Green Bay Packers, the running game must improve. Cam Newton can’t be expected to have another 400 yard game. “Double Trouble” DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart need to run the ball well and control the clock, thus keeping Aaron Rogers off the field.

Original Carolina Panthers Head Coach Dom Capers is the defensive coordinator for the Packers. Capers is a 3-4 blitz guru and will be trying to confuse and rattle Cam Newton. Capers may confuse Cam but I don’t think Newton will get rattled. Cam Newton shows rare poise for a rookie quarterback.

To try to thwart the Packers blitz Carolina needs to keep the tight ends involved in the passing game. Cam Newton will need his safety valves AKA Shockey and Olsen to get open early on blitzes. I also think Steve Smith and Newton may hook up again on a long pass if the Packers leave Smith in one on one coverage.

To try to tame Aaron Rodgers and the potent Packers offense the Panthers will be blitzing a lot themselves. The Panthers will need another good game from Chris Gamble who played well against Larry Fitzgerald last week.

My biggest concern from the Packers offense is them running the ball effectively and wearing out the Panthers linebackers. Also while Jermichael Finley has an ankle injury he is a threat against the Panthers this week.

The Panthers also must fear rookie returner/receiver Randall Cobb who is a very exciting player.Carolina gave up a punt return touchdown last week to Peterson of the Cardinals though Mike Goodson almost ran him down.

I hope the Panthers can keep the game close and win it at the end but the Packers are a very formable opponent. Cam Newton will probably look more like a rookie against the Packers but it is all part of his learning curve. One thing about Cam Newton is he hates losing and he may just help the Panthers upset the Packers.

Jon Beason is out for the season with a torn Achilles leaving the Panthers without their best defensive player. The Panthers are lucky to have such a deep linebacking unit as Dan Conner will replace Jon Beason at middle linebacker.

Jon Beason missed the entire preseason with an injury probably related to his Achilles which he tore against the Cardinals. After having minor surgery Beason rushed back to play and was injured and will be out for the season.

Jon Beason is a three time Pro Bowl middle linebacker and was a first team All Pro once. In four seasons Beason has 421 tackles, 122 assists, eight interceptions, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries according to profootballreference.com

The Panthers will certainly miss Jon Beason at middle linebacker even if Dan Conner steps up in a big way. Beason would have gotten hurt no matter what but the defensive line needs to step up to help the other linebackers.

Speculation is that Carolina Panthers will replace Jon Beason with a veteran defensive tackle. After week one NFL teams can pick up veteran players without having to guarantee their salary for the entire season. This protects the team if the player is a dud and makes sure the player will go all out in order to keep the checks coming in.

Cam Newton set a NFL record for passing yards in a player’s first game with 422 in the 28-21 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Yes Cam Newton broke Peyton Manning’s record when he passed for 422 yards in the most impressive quarterback debut in NFL history.

Cam Newton’s debut against the Arizona Cardinals ended with him completing 24 of 37 passes for 422 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Yes the Carolina Panthers did lose the game to the Arizona Cardinals but may well have found the all elusive Franchise Quarterback that every team craves. Of course only the future will tell us if Cam is indeed the player most Panther fans want him to be.

I was very impressed with the poise that Cam Newton showed in his NFL debut against the Cardinals. Even when things went bad from the blitzes multiple sacks and the interception, Newton stayed calm. He did get an unsportsmanlike penalty for his celebration after a quarterback sneak for a touchdown but that’s ok.

Oh yeah that Steve Smith dude? He’s baaaaaaack! Steve Smith caught eight passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Cam Newton also made use of the tight ends as Greg Olsen caught four passes for 78 yards and Jeremy Shockey caught three for 51 yards. Second year wideout Brandon LaFell also had a nice game with one really nice catch among his four receptions for 70 yards.

The bad news for the Carolina Panthers other than actually losing the game was the injury to middle linebacker Jon Beason who may have ruptured his Achilles. We should know more about Beason’s injury on Monday.

Kevin Kolb also had a nice debut with his new team, the Arizona Cardinals. Kolb completed 18 of 27 passes for 309 yards and two scores. Wideout Early Doucet was the star receiver for the Cardinals with three receptions for 105 yards including a 70 yard touchdown. Run blocking former Panther tight end Jeff King caught a 48 yard touchdown pass which must have thrilled him beyond measure. Rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson looked shaky on defense at times but had a long punt return for a touchdown for the Cardinals.

The Panthers lost Cam Newton’s NFL debut to the Cardinals due to poor line play on both sides of the ball. Beanie Wells had 90 yards rushing against the Panthers in a solid day. The defensive tackles need to improve but they will. The Panthers offensive line allowed Cam Newton to be sacked four times and didn’t run block overly well either.

The Panthers won the time of possession battle by over five minutes but had 10 penalties for 74 yards and that hurt the team. The defensive backs actually played better than I expected and held Larry Fitzgerald to three catches for 74 yards.

We will have a good idea about how good the Carolina Panthers are when they play the Packers next week. I am so impressed with Cam Newton’s first start that I feel much better about the team than I did at this time yesterday.