The Carolina Panthers are taking the status quo attitude so far this year after the NFL free agent market opened for business just after midnight Friday.

The Panthers have lost their backup linemen, while watching free agents sign with their top competitors.

The team finished last season 12-4 and earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC. It appeared the Panthers were ready to battle their way to Tampa and the Super Bowl, but something happened on the way to Florida.

Jake Delhomme tossed five interceptions and fumbled once, while the once vaunted defense gave up 33 points in the loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

The team doesn’t need to make huge changes to its roster, but does have some issues it should be addressing in free agency.

Perhaps the team may still feel the sting from its last real attempt at signing a big name free agent, when it signed Keyshawn Johnson for the 2006 season. Johnson was thought to be the last piece to the puzzle to help the Panthers advance and win the Super Bowl.

The previous year, the Panthers were 11-5 and advanced to the NFC Championship game, where they lost to the Seattle Seahawks.

The defense was still one of the best in the league, but its wide receivers after Steve Smith were average at best. So the front office believed Johnson would be able to jump in and make the team the cream of the NFC crop.

The 2006 Panthers appeared to be right on track with a 6-4 record, before they dropped four straight to knock themselves right out of playoff contention.

Johnson was gone the next year to join ESPN.

Or perhaps the Panthers remember jumping into the market and wasting money on Sean Gilbert in 1998 or Chuck Smith in 2000.

While these three players highlight what can go wrong with free agency, the Panthers have also done very well in the market.

The team signed Delhomme, former starters Brentson Buckner, Marlon McGree, Wesley Walls, and Steve Beuerlein as free agents and instantly made the team better.

While the team may not have been able to jump into the bidding war with Washington for Albert Haynesworth, it should be in the conversation with some players.

The Panthers know they have to begin thinking about replacing Delhomme and may have had a great opportunity to get Matt Cassel from the New England Patriots for a draft pick.

Perhaps the team thinks it can address its needs through the draft or after more veterans are cut in the preseason.

Either way, the Panthers have to improve if they want to keep themselves at the top of the NFC heap or risk falling back into the pack.