Quarterbacks: Jake Delhomme’s nightmare from the first round of last year’s playoffs carried over into this season. He threw four interceptions in the season-opener against Philadelphia and then four more in Week 12, his final appearance of the season thanks to a finger injury. In 11 starts, he had only two games where he threw more touchdowns than picks and finished the season with an abysmal 59.4 passer rating.

Matt Moore took over for Delhomme and was impressive, leading the Panthers to a 4-1 record and finishing with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. Although Delhomme could get a chance to re-take his job next year, there has to be strong sentiment among Panthers fans in favor of Moore. Grade: C-

Running Backs: This was clearly the strength of the team, which finished third in the NFL in rush yards per game and yards per carry. Carolina became the first team since the AFL-NFL merger to have two players rush for more than 1,100 yards in the same season.

Despite missing three games, DeAngelo Williams racked up 1,117 and seven touchdowns, while Jonathan Stewart accounted for 1,133 yards and 10 scores. They also combined for nearly 400 receiving yards. Carolina also got a solid performance from veteran fullback Brad Hoover, while rookie Tyrell Sutton showed some promise. Grade: A

Jonathan Stewart (pictured) and DeAngelo Williams ran away from opponents all year, teaming for 2,250 yards.

Receivers: It’s a little hard to judge this group simply because of how atrocious the team’s quarterback play was for the first three-quarters of the season. The biggest casualty was Steve Smith, who nonetheless found a way to catch 65 passes for 982 yards and seven touchdowns. He likely would have hit 1,000 yards had he not broken his arm catching a touchdown pass in Week 16.

The Panthers had only one other receiver (Mushin Muhammad) top 400 yards or 30 receptions. Third-year man Dwayne Jarrett didn’t make much of an impact until the season’s final game. The tight ends didn’t play a major role in the passing game, although Jeff King was second on Carolina with three receiving touchdowns. Grade: C

Offensive line: This unit played well even though it was banged up late in the season. Left tackle Jordan Gross went down for the year in Week 10 and right tackle Jeff Otah followed in Week 14. But the team got admirable performances from Travelle Wharton, who shifted from guard to tackle, and Geoff Schwartz and Mackenzy Bernadeau, who stepped into the lineup. Guard Keydrick Vincent and center Ryan Kalil were anchors.

The line obviously did an excellent job run blocking, while its 33 sacks allowed ranked in the top half of the NFL. And because injuries forced other guys to step up, this unit now has great depth heading into next season. Grade: B+

-- ANDREW SIMON