State your case: Who is the best NFL team?

Kalen Taylor:

I’ll be the first to admit it. At the beginning of the season the Patriots were better than the Panthers.

But we’re past that now. New England is losing another player to injury every time I turn on the T.V. Its defense is bringing up people from the practice squad and they just lost to Brock-and-roll Osweiler and the Broncos.

The Panthers are the NFL’s best team now. Consistency has been key for Carolina. Cam Newton is playing at a high level and will continue to do so throughout the season. Defensively is where the real separation between the two teams is. Carolina has arguably the league’s best cornerback, best linebacker and best defensive lineman. Josh Norman, Luke Kuechly and Star Lotulelei are all you need.

Aside from Cam Newton and Greg Olsen, the offense isn’t special but with a star-studded defense, it doesn’t have to be. As even New England knows from last season, defense wins championships.

Joe Bariaolo:

There’s no doubting that the Panthers are an amazing team. Cam Newton definitely deserves second place for MVP. The Patriots are just better.

That’s the way it’s been for the past 15 years, and its not going to end anytime soon. Through many key injuries, the Patriots still find ways to be successful. That’s just the Patriot way — play with what you have and win anyways. As long has Brady is under center and Belichick is on the sidelines, New England has a shot at winning the Super Bowl.

Right now, they’re really good, but when the Patriots are healthy, they’re downright unbeatable. The Patriots expect key players like Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Rob Gronkowski and Jamie Collins to be healthy by the playoffs, where Brady will collect another ring for his thumb, or maybe he’ll put all five on his middle finger and show them off to Roger Goodell.