Pre-Camping with Dave Gettleman, Part 10: Onto Spartanburg

After their first consecutive playoff appearances, anything less than a third straight trip to the postseason will be a big disappointment for the Panthers. But even that comes with a caveat.

Carolina believes its good enough to go deeper than the Divisional Round, where each of its last two seasons finished. 2015 isn't necessarily NFC Championship or bust, but it's time for the Panthers to prove they can beat the conference's big boys.

The roster may not be good enough to win a Super Bowl, but there's no question it's better than last year's which featured a renovated receiving corps, offensive line and secondary.

"We're not in the situation where we had to remake three positions," general manager Dave Gettleman said when asked what excited him most ahead of training camp. "We addressed all our stuff through free agent signings and the draft and we had a real solid spring. We're healthy going in, so we feel like we're ready to go."

When the Panthers arrive in Spartanburg Thursday, they'll have a healthy, $100-million quarterback, not one still rehabbing from ankle surgery. Cam Newton also has more receiving weapons and what should be at least a somewhat improved offensive line.

Defensively, the Panthers still boast one of the strongest front sevens in the league, and in the secondary, cornerback Josh Norman could be a rising star.

To top it all off, Carolina's offseason was a breeze compared to all the work their NFC South rivals had done.

Yet it's not like a third straight division title is a given. The Panthers still have plenty of question marks.

Who can take over the load at running back if something happens to Jonathan Stewart?

Is the offensive line truly that much better than it was a year ago?

Does anyone want to start at defensive end across from Charles Johnson?

What happens if the latest batch of Band-Aids in the defensive backfield don't hold?

"I'm not up nights worrying about position groups. I'm just not there," Gettleman said. "I like our depth. I like the position battles we're going to have. I feel really good about this team."

But how good is this team? That's the key question.

It's better, but by how much?

Can it make a run to and perhaps even win the Super Bowl?

"We're good enough to compete, absolutely," Gettleman said. "You can plan, but you can't foresee everything. There's so many variables in this."

"Year in and year out you're going to see teams that get into the playoffs and go further than all the brain surgeons that think they're going to. Anything can happen."