The NFL’s regular-season schedule is usually announced a week before the draft, but with the 2014 draft pushed into May, this year’s timeframe is a little out of whack.There’s hope each team’s 16-game set will be revealed sometime next week, but nothing is official yet. At least fans got a little something to look forward to with the preseason schedule release Wednesday afternoon.[table “2” not found /]
The Panthers will split their exhibition schedule into home and away games. They open up Aug 8-10 against the Bills, followed by a game televised nationally by FOX on Aug. 17 versus the Chiefs. Carolina will travel to New England for its third and most relevant preseason game Aug 22-24, before it wraps things up with the traditional game against the Steelers. The 12th-straight preseason meeting between the teams will be in Pittsburgh Aug 28-30. Exact kickoff dates and times for the games against the Bills, Patriots and Steelers will be announced at a later date. As far as the soon-to-be-released regular season schedule goes, we at least know who and where the Panthers will be playing:

• Home: Atlanta, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Seattle
• Away: Atlanta, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Green Bay, Minnesota, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.

SO CAN YOU JUDGE THE PANTHERS BY THEIR PRESEASON HISTORY?

Judging teams based on preseason performances in the actual preseason is usually foolish, so analyzing a preseason schedule four months before it happens is a bit crazy. But hey, it’s the NFL’s world and we’re just living in it, so let’s analyze!If we look at some of the numbers from past Panthers’ preseasons, there are some hints for how the team would do in the regular season. But like nearly everything during the exhibition schedule, it’s tough to say for sure.In its five winning seasons, Carolina has finished the preseason over 500 just twice:

• 1996 2-2
• 2003 4-0
• 2005 2-2
• 2008 2-2
• 2013 3-1

The Panthers have finished the preseason over 500 a total of five times, but they turned those efforts into winning seasons just twice:

• 1995 3-2
• 2003 4-0
• 2004 4-0
• 2006 4-0
• 2013 3-1

In the seven preseasons when the Panthers lost at least three games, they never finished with a winning record.

• 1997 (0-4)
• 2000 (0-4)
• 2002 (1-3)
• 2007 (1-3)
• 2009 (0-4)
• 2010 (1-3)
• 2011 (1-3)

In 2013, the preseason was actually a relatively decent indicator. The Panthers went 3-1 on their way to a 12-4 regular season. Some clues of what was to come included:1) The defense would be great — The league’s second-ranked defense in the regular season forced 13 take-aways and scored four defensive touchdowns in the preseason.2. Ted Ginn was more than just a returner — The free agent acquisition, who scored a career-high five receiving touchdowns in the regular season, had two scores in the preseason finale against the Steelers.3. The offense was not dynamic — A unit that ranked 18th in points per game during the regular season scored just one first-team touchdown in the preseason.Cautionary tale — Of course, like in all preseasons, there was at least one performance that didn’t translate to the regular season. After snagging four preseason interceptions, cornerback Josh Norman was active for only seven games.If you REALLY want to delve into the 2013 preseason, here are the gamebooks:1) Panthers — 24, Bears — 17 2) Eagles — 14, Panthers — 93) Panthers — 34, Ravens — 274) Panthers — 25, Panthers — 10