I don't like to brag. I tire of people telling me how good they are. We know how good you are and we how good you aren't. People always know.

Because my Carolina Panthers and NFL predictions have been so uncannily accurate, however, readers have tested my steadfast humility by insisting I set up an 800 number. They want me to offer pro football picks.

But what do I do when some guy wants the injury update on Weber State, demands to speak to Svetlana the Russian Dane or when Charlotte Observer colleague Scott Fowler calls?

Scott: "Oh great 1-800 number, do you think the Panthers will go 1-17 this season? I have to write a prediction column and my record is so consistently bad that I'm scared."

Me: "No, Scott, the Panthers won't lose 17 games. They have yet to go to an 18-game schedule."

Scott: "So they still play 17?"

If we're going to accept that the Carolina offense is as bad as it looked in the four exhibitions, we also have to accept that the defense is as good. I don't believe either is true.

Yet even with linebacker Thomas Davis injured and defensive end Julius Peppers gone, the defense will be a testament to young, fast guys flying around, and second- and third-year players figuring it out. Defensive coordinator Ron Meeks, I salute you.

Speed rusher Everette Brown has been outstanding and rookie defensive end Greg Hardy a testament to strength, athleticism and sixth-round draft picks.

If Hardy, who as a freshman was agile enough to play basketball at Mississippi, is as good as he appears, the rush will cease to be a concern.

The concern going into camp was the middle of the defensive line. Every time I saw a Panthers scout in the press box buffet line I figured he was checking our plates and our waistlines to see if we could make a nose tackle. Sorry, scouts, wrong sport.

But our services were not required. If the exhibition performance by Carolina's defensive tackles is indicative, the opponent ought to be concerned.

No matter how effective the defense is, however, the offense will have to score. It last reached the end zone against New Orleans on Jan.3.

I'm here to tell you the offense is not as bad as it looked because no offense is as bad as the Panthers looked.

Neither receiver Steve Smith nor running back Jonathan Stewart played in the preseason.

Smith is the best player in franchise history, and without his speed, quickness and passion, they lack a playmaker.

Stewart has a better gig than Brett Favre. You know summer has ended when (A) kids return to school, (B) mornings and evenings begin to cool and (C) Stewart puts on pads and a helmet. Properly rested, he's a bruiser with moves and speed.

The offensive line was terrible in the practice games. But those guys are too talented, too accountable, too cohesive and too smart to continue their dysfunctional performances.

The player I'm most curious about is quarterback Matt Moore. I have no idea how good he is. Although his employers will deny this, they don't know, either.

What they do know: Moore will never be their August MVP.

In 2008, his first camp with the Panthers, he had a preseason passer rating of 52.7. In '09, he was 58.5. This August he was 56.1

Then the real games begin. His rating during the '09 season was a scintillating 98.5.

If Moore remains the quarterback who led the Panthers to four victories in their final five games, Carolina is golden.

There was, however, little pressure on Moore in 2009. Angry fans with tiny memories ensured that the most popular athlete in Charlotte would be the Man Who Replaced Jake Delhomme. The Panthers could have recruited somebody out of the press buffet line and he would have been beloved, at least until he threw his first pass.

Last season Moore was the lovable replacement. This season he's the starter. The offense has been bequeathed to him, as have the expectations that accompany it.

He'll be all right. The Panthers will be all right. I think they go 9-7. I don't see them making the playoffs.

Dallas will. The Cowboys will magically fix their offensive line and beat New Orleans 33-31 for the NFC championship.

Indianapolis will beat New England 24-19 in the AFC.

The Colts will win Super Bowl XLV, at Dallas, 31-27.

There will be a bonus victory for fans. When the Super Bowl ends, negotiations between owners and players will turn especially vicious.

Fans will side with owners because they always side with owners. Owners will give up little and players ultimately will give in. Despite the acrimony, a work stoppage will be averted.