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Pro Football 97 Team reports On the cover Features

By the Numbers
Projected Lineup
Player to Watch
Outlook
Panthers

NFC East
NFC Central
NFC Weset
1. Panthers
2. 49ers
3. Rams
4. Saints
5. Falcons

AFC East
AFC Central
AFC West

CNN/SI
Pro Football
Fantasy Football
Football Message
Boards

Player To Watch

Last year the Carolina offensive line was the team's most unsettled unit—at least until Matthew Campbell stepped in. A onetime marginal tight end, Campbell added 15 pounds after the 1995 season and in training camp won a starting spot at left guard. Alas, he suffered a leg injury in the final preseason game and missed the first half of the '96 campaign, but he returned to start on Nov. 3 versus Atlanta; four games later the versatile lineman was moved to left tackle, and after that the entire line jelled. Offensive line coach Jim McNally says of Campbell, "From where he started—a free agent who was cut by the Saints and was out on the street—it's one in a million."