Carolina stumbled out of the gate in 2013 and at the quarter pole it looked like coach Ron Rivera might be headed in-depthtoward an ugly exit. Then, all of a sudden, the team came together, winning 11 of 12 and chasing down the Saints to win the NFC South title. Carolina even notched a playoff win to cap a turnaround season.

But the offseason has produced considerable change. Left tackle Jordan Gross retired and GM Dave Gettleman has allowed a complete turnover of the wide receiver depth chart. Free agency and cap issues cost the Panthers several key defensive cogs that were instrumental in the 12-4 run.

So where do the Panthers sit heading into this week’s draft and the 2014 campaign? Ken Dye, lead writer for Carolina Cat Chronicles, says the holes created by the roster change have not yet all been filled. But he’s got high hopes based on what he’s seen thus far from Gettleman.

Here’s what he had to say:

Zoneblitz: Carolina stumbled out of the gate before catching fire, winning 11 of 12, winning the NFC South and making a playoff run – what created the turnaround and what’s your assessment of the 2013 season?

Dye: Ron Rivera teams have historically gotten off to slow starts – not that he’s had that many seasons for data points – going 1-2 before the week four bye in 2013. We started the season with a 12-7 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and lost to an underrated Arizona Cardinals team in week five. Only a blown coverage on the last play of the game had us losing at Buffalo so we were close in every game other than that 22-6 loss at Arizona. After that game, no team scored more than 20 points against us in the regular season other than the one loss afterward, and that was at New Orleans. I think the key was our two young defensive tackles drafted with our first two picks in 2013 getting their NFL “sea legs” under them as well as getting the bargain-basement free agents some time to absorb the schemes. Once that started to gel, the rest was gangbusters.

As for the 2013 season overall, I think it’s fair to say it surpassed everyone’s expectations. I had us going 10-6 before the season started and I don’t recall a single analyst picking us to win the division, so it was an unqualified success.

Zoneblitz: Ron Rivera was on the hot seat as recently as early last season before the turnaround. Is he free of that now and what are the expectations on him this season?

Dye: Barring a completely catastrophic season, his job security is as high as anyone’s outside of Bill Belichick, Sean Payton, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll and perhaps one or two others. After all, Rivera is still relatively new at being a head coach, but I think he has shown that he’s taking the team in the right direction. He is expected to make the playoffs at minimum and hopefully get us to the Super Bowl but realistically speaking it’s a bit of a stretch. Look for a strong draft on the offensive side of the ball by GM David Gettleman. The keys there are getting a left tackle to replace retired Jordan Gross and probably a couple of WRs in the draft to give the Carolina offense, which was the least explosive team in the NFL last season, some firepower. We have a championship-level defense as it is; we just need to get Cam Newton some help.

Zoneblitz: What are your thoughts on Dave Gettleman as GM thus far into his tenure?

Dye: He is VERY shrewd. I think it’s incredible that the team went 12-4 last year given the salary cap issues former GM Marty Hurney hamstrung us with that Gettleman is still dealing with. We still have over $20 million in dead cap space tied up in two unproductive players, RB Jonathan Stewart and safety Charles Godfrey, so he’s been working with one hand tied behind his back. Give Rivera some of the credit as well by taking those low-end free agents last year like Ted Ginn, Jr. and Mike Mitchell and others and successfully incorporating them into his scheme.

Zoneblitz: Cam Newton still seems to be having some ups and downs – what’s your assessment of his development as a QB?

Dye: I think people don’t give Cam enough credit. He has been getting better every season and his “sophomore slump” so many referred to was nonexistent. He set a franchise record his second season for consecutive passes attempted without an interception and that’s a SLUMP? At the time, aging Steve Smith, journeyman Brandon LaFell, and TE Greg Olson were his main targets – that’s a large part of the reason the offense had the fewest plays of 20+ yards in 2013. Injuries to the offensive line in 2012 and 2013 both didn’t help either but Cam has made the most of what he has to work with. We all know he has the ability to be a dominant passer since he began his career with consecutive 400-yard games after the lockout so he missed OTAs and still had a phenomenal year. I think the area he could grow the most in going forward is being consistently accurate, and that comes with consistent footwork and mechanics.

Zoneblitz: Panthers still have Greg Olsen, but the WR corps was greatly depleted this offseason. How do you feel about that position as of now?

Dye: It’s probably about the same as it was last season even though we cut Steve Smith. I think Tiquan Underwood could be the wild card this year and Jerricho Cotchery is going to be the veteran who can help the other, younger receivers pick up some of the nuances of the position. It’s not quite as bad as it seems, but we definitely need help. I’ll be surprised if we don’t pick up a couple of receivers in the draft, and one of them needs to be a real burner that we lack.

Zoneblitz: Offseason defections include: Steve Smith, Jordan Gross, Brandon LaFell, Ted Ginn and Domenik Hixon from the offense and Captain Munnerlyn, James Dockery, Michael Mitchell and Jordan Senn from the defense. Have those players been sufficiently replaced?

Dye: Not yet – at least, not all of them. We will HAVE to get a tackle in the draft or be in deep trouble. The receivers you mentioned were replaced with another set of the low-end free agents I’ve mentioned, plus we have a few young WRs that have yet to see action, so one of those guys could be a nice surprise. We brought in Roman Harper, Thomas DeCoud, and Antoine Cason but we still need a #1 corner – hopefully in the upcoming draft.

Zoneblitz: Who do you see on the current roster as possible breakout candidates in 2014?

Dye: That’s a great question. I think Tiquan Underwood could be a guy like that if he earns a chance to play during training camp. Young safety Robert Lester could be the guy on the defensive side and linebacker A.J. Klein, a rookie who was injured last year, could see a lot of playing time at the Will backer spot over Chase Blackburn. Those are the three I’d look at. The two young receivers, Marvin McNutt and Tavares King simply haven’t seen much action so it’s hard to say on those two but the fact they’re largely unknown quantities puts them in the conversation, at least.

Zoneblitz: What’s a legitimate, realistic outlook for the Panthers in 2014 and how far is this team from making an even deeper playoff push?

Dye: I really pride myself in not being a “homer” and try to be straight about things. Nobody has ever repeated as division champ in the history of the NFC South, so the deck is already stacked against us. Combine that with our lingering but improving salary cap issues that didn’t allow David Gettleman any room after franchising DE Greg Hardy and the fact the other three teams in the division seem to have gotten stronger and I realistically don’t see us repeating, but should be in the hunt. If our defense can be as dominant as last season and we can get a bit more explosive on offense, however, anything is possible. I firmly believe we have the best front seven in the NFL.

Zoneblitz: What else would you like to see Panthers do in the rest of free agency and then in the draft?

Dye: Again, the salary cap woes kept us from doing much other than holding on to the Kraken, but at least we were able to hang on to him. In the draft, we have a pick near the end of each round and in a “perfect world” I’d like to see us get a LT, 2 WRs, 1 CB, 1 DE, 1 DT, and a RT to upgrade over incumbent Byron Bell. Of those 2 WRs, we need a guy to take the top off the defense and a big red zone, chains-moving target so the receivers should be about as polar opposites in type and style as you can get. Reserve DE Frank Alexander was suspended literally yesterday for the first four games of the season for substance abuse, so we could use depth for the rotation there and the DT for depth behind Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short. And again, we need that #1 corner so it’s a pretty daunting laundry list to fill in one draft. Given the fact that very few WRs make big impacts as rookies, I’m realistically looking at a Wild Card season in 2014 before making a deep playoff/Super Bowl run in 2015 and competing for it every year thereafter.

Zoneblitz: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Dye: Yes. I can’t over-emphasize how impressed I am with David Gettleman. He’s shrewd as I said and goes over each and every part of the process leaving no stone unturned. I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds a starter or a couple of off-the-bench contributors AFTER the draft in the form of undrafted free agents. Ever hear of a WR named Victor Cruz with the New York Giants? Gettleman got him as a UFA in his final year up there with that franchise. So even if we can’t get everyone we need this coming week, there’s a very good chance Gettleman will find a diamond in the rough afterward. He’s very thorough, doesn’t make impulsive decisions, does his due diligence, and I feel with continued great coaching on the field from Rivera, Gettleman could turn the Panthers, who have never had consecutive winning seasons in their history, into perennial Super Bowl contenders once he gets that salary cap cleaned up.

Follow Ken Dye on Twitter at: @Ken_Dye
Follow Carolina Cat Chronicles on Twitter at: @Cat_Chronicles
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