The Carolina Panthers enter the 2012 NFL season as a team on the up-swing. Led by 2011′s Rookie of the Year, Cam Newton, the Panthers have a tough, but fair, schedule. In this piece, I look at each game and try to predict the outcome. Overall, I see this year’s Panthers team winning nine or ten games, but not making the playoffs. They are setting up nicely for a playoff run in 2013, however. Steve Smith and Newton are exciting to watch, and this year the Panthers will be playing some outstanding quarterbacks. They will go against Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons), Eli Manning (New York Giants), Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints), Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys), Robert Griffin III (Washington Redskins), Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos), Michael Vick (Philadelphia Eagles) and Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers), so their defense needs to really improve if this team will have a winning record in 2012.