Panthers Finish 2016 with 6-10 Record
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PANTHERS.COM / @PANTHERS / @PANTHERSPR 2016 SEASON IN REVIEW PANTHERS FINISH 2016 WITH 6-10 RECORD 2016 PANTHERS NOTABLES STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT • Linebackers Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly, tight end Greg Olsen Below are the final 2016 regular season averages and rankings and fullback Mike Tolbert – were selected to the 2017 Pro Bowl. A fifth for Carolina in key statistical categories: player – guard Trai Turner – was named to the squad as an injury replacement. Kuechly and Olsen added second-team All-Pro honors. NFL NFC • Greg Olsen was one of three finalists for the Walter Payton NFL Man of OFFENSE Avg. Rank Rank the Year Award. Olsen is the Panthers second finalist for the award, Total Yards Per Game 343.7 19th 10th joining linebacker Thomas Davis who was a finalist in 2013 and 2014, winning the award in 2014. Rushing Yards Per Game 113.4 10th 4th • Carolina finished second in the NFL with 47 sacks, including an NFL- Rushing Yards Per Attempt 4.0 20th 10th leading 35 in the season's final 10 weeks. Passing Net Yards Per Game 230.3 21st(t) 12th • Defensive end Mario Addison led the Panthers with a career-high 9.5 Sacks Per Pass Play 6.0% 22nd 11th sacks in 2016. Sacks Allowed 36 13th(t) 8th • Carolina finished the season with an NFC-leading 17 interceptions. • Safety Kurt Coleman led the team with four interceptions and has 11 Third Down Efficiency 37.2% 23rd 13th since the start of 2015, third-most in the NFL during that time. Points Per Game 23.1 15th 7th • Carolina finished 2016 with 95 points off takeaways, the fourth- highest point total in the NFL. NFL NFC • Carolina ranked second in the NFL in red zone defense (43.6 percent). • Cornerback James Bradberry led the Panthers with 11 passes defensed DEFENSE Avg. Rank Rank becoming the first rookie to lead the team in passes defensed since Total Yards Per Game 359.8 21st 10th Josh Norman (8) in 2012. Rushing Yards Per Game 91.6 6th 3rd • Carolina finished 10th in the NFL in rushing offense as Jonathan Rushing Yards Per Attempt 3.9 9th 4th Stewart ran for 824 yards pushing his career total to 6,638. He joins Passing Net Yards Per Game 268.2 29th 14th DeAngelo Williams as the only running backs in Panthers history with Sacks Per Pass Play 7.1% 3rd 3rd at least 6,000 rushing yards. • Jonathan Stewart recorded a team-leading nine rushing touchdowns, Sacks 47 2nd 2nd his most since recording 10 rushing touchdowns in 2008 and 2009. Third Down Efficiency 37.9% 10th 4th • With a team-leading 1,073 receiving yards in 2016, Greg Olsen Points Per Game 25.1 26th 13th became the first tight end in NFL history to record 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. • Receiver Kelvin Benjamin returned from a knee injury that cost him the FINAL NFC SOUTH STANDINGS 2015 season to lead the Panthers with seven touchdown receptions. The Panthers finished the regular season with a 6-10 record. • Wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr. scored four touchdowns in 2016, all of at least 30 yards. Ginn recorded a touchdown of at least 40 yards in three The Panthers finished with an 4-4 home record and a 2-6 record consecutive games from Weeks Eleven to Thirteen. on the road. The Panthers finished the season with a 1-5 division • Quarterback Cam Newton has 184 total touchdowns and 25,338 record and a 5-7 conference record. combined passing and rushing yards in his career, the second-highest marks in NFL history through a player’s first six seasons. FINAL 2016 NFC SOUTH STANDINGS • Cam Newton reached 20,000 career passing yards in 2016, becoming W L T PCT. PF PA the fifth youngest quarterback in NFL history to achieve the milestone Atlanta 11 5 0 .688 540 406 (27 years, 186 days). Tampa Bay 9 7 0 .563 354 369 • The Panthers blocked an NFL-best three field goals in 2016, tying the franchise record set in 2003. Rookie defensive tackle Vernon Butler New Orleans 7 9 0 .438 469 454 blocked two of the kicks and joins Julius Peppers as the only Panthers Carolina 6 10 0 .375 369 402 to block multiple kicks in a single season. • Kicker Graham Gano scored 121 points in 2016 and has 549 for his Panthers career, passing wide receiver Steve Smith (454 from 2001- 13) for the second-most in team history. PANTHERS FREE AGENTS 2016 PANTHERS SCHEDULE Unrestricted (15) PRESEASON (2-2) Pos Player ‘16 GP/GS Thursday Aug. 11 @ Baltimore L, 22-19 DE Mario Addison 14/1 Saturday Aug. 20 @ Tennessee W, 26-16 WR Ted Ginn, Jr. 16/8 Friday Aug. 26 NEW ENGLAND L, 19-17 S Michael Griffin 13/6 Thursday Sept. 1 PITTSBURGH W, 18-6 DE Wes Horton 11/10 DE Charles Johnson 13/13 REGULAR SEASON (6-10) CB Leonard Johnson 10/0 Thursday Sept. 8 @ Denver L, 21-20 S Colin Jones 14/1 Sunday Sept. 18 SAN FRANCISCO W, 46-27 LB A.J. Klein 15/7 Sunday Sept. 25 MINNESOTA L, 22-10 DT Kyle Love 10/1 T Mike Remmers 16/16 Sunday Oct. 2 @ Atlanta L, 48-33 G Chris Scott 12/4 Monday Oct. 10 TAMPA BAY L, 17-14 DT Kawann Short 16/16 Sunday Oct. 16 @ New Orleans L, 41-38 C Ryan Wendell 1/0 Sunday Oct. 23 BYE RB Fozzy Whittaker 16/0 Sunday Oct. 30 ARIZONA W, 30-20 CB Teddy Williams 3/0 (IR) Sunday Nov. 6 @ Los Angeles W, 13-10 Restricted (5) Sunday Nov. 13 KANSAS CITY L, 20-17 Pos Player ‘16 GP/GS Thursday Nov. 17 NEW ORLEANS W, 23-20 WR Brenton Bersin 10/0 Sunday Nov. 27 @ Oakland L, 35-32 WR Corey Brown 16/8 WR LaRon Byrd 0/0 (IR) Sunday Dec. 4 @ Seattle L, 40-7 LB Ben Jacobs 4/0 Sunday Dec. 11 SAN DIEGO W, 28-16 G Andrew Norwell 16/16 Monday Dec. 19 @ Washington W, 26-15 Saturday Dec. 24 ATLANTA L, 33-16 Exclusive Rights (3) Pos Player ‘16 GP/GS Sunday Jan. 1 @ Tampa Bay L, 17-16 DT Chas Alecxih 0/0 (IR) C Tyler Larsen 9/5 MEDIA INFORMATION / CONTACTS P Michael Palardy 7/0 Panthers.com – For the most up-to-date information on the Carolina Panthers, please visit the team’s official web site at www.panthers.com. Updated daily, the web site has the most extensive information on upcoming games and the most compre- hensive news on the Panthers. Panthers Communications Department Steven Drummond, Communications Director (704) 358-7448 [email protected] Ryan Anderson, Communications Manager (704) 358-7473 [email protected] Chelsea Parker, Communications Coordinator (704) 358-7093 [email protected] Media Website – The Panthers media website can be accessed at http://media.panthers.com or by going to Panthers.com and clicking on “Media Only” in the News section. It is password pro- tected and will be available to the media and others to whom are provided the username and password. URL – http://media.panthers.com Username – panthersmedia (all lowercase) Password – carolina (all lowercase) Twitter – Follow the Panthers communications department on Twitter at @PanthersPR. 2017 DRAFT ORDER PAST 10 No. 8 OVERALL SELECTIONS The 82nd NFL Draft will be held April 27-29, 2017 along the 2016 Tennessee OT Jack Conklin Michigan State Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. Conklin started all 16 games in his rookie campaign earning first- The Draft, which was held in Chicago the previous two years, team AP All-Pro honors, one of three rookies to make the team. His will once again be set in primetime for Rounds 1-3. Round 1 will blocking efforts helped running back DeMarco Murray lead the AFC take place on Thursday, April 27 while Rounds 2-3 will be held on in rushing yards and the Titans allow just 28 sacks on the season. Friday, April 28. The Draft will conclude on Saturday, April 29 with 2015 Atlanta LB Vic Beasley Clemson Rounds 4-7. A Pro Bowl selection after leading the NFL in sacks with 15.5 in The Panthers (6-10) have the eighth overall pick in the Draft. This 2016, Beasley has played in 32 career games with 28 starts. He will be the third time Carolina has picked eighth overall. In 1996, led Atlanta with four sacks in 2015. the franchise drafted running back Tshimanga Biakabutuka. In 2003, the Panthers selected offensive tackle Jordan Gross. 2014 Cleveland CB Justin Gilbert Oklahoma State Has played 35 games in three seasons with Cleveland (2014-15) The last time Carolina had a top-10 pick was 2012, when the team and Pittsburgh (2016). Tallied 36 tackles, nine passes defensed drafted linebacker Luke Kuechly at No. 9. The year before, Carolina and one interception return for a touchdown. selected quarterback Cam Newton with the No. 1 overall pick. 2017 FIRST ROUND DRAFT ORDER 2013 St. Louis WR Tavon Austin West Virginia Strength of Has played in 59 games with 41 starts, tallying 181 receptions # Team W L T Win Pct. Schedule for 1,642 yards and 12 touchdowns, and adding nine rushing 1. Cleveland 1 15 0 .063 .549 touchdowns on 125 carries for 968 yards. Has three career punt 2. San Francisco 2 14 0 .125 .504 return touchdowns and in his rookie season, he became the first player in NFL history with a 95-yard punt return for touchdown, 3.