Now that the Panthers' season is finished at 8-8, it's time to look back at recognize the highlights from a campaign that certainly had its ups and downs.

Offensive MVP: It's almost tempting to give the award to Matt Moore just because of the contrast between him and Jake Delhomme this season. Despite the quarterback situation, Steve Smith nearly broke the 1,000-yard receiving barrier again. And DeAngelo Williams topped 1,100 yards rushing despite missing almost four full games.

But the honor has to go to Williams' backup Jonathan Stewart, who stepped up and led the Panthers to victories in all four games in which Carolina's No. 1 back was out or severely limited. Stewart finished the season with a team-leading 1,133 yards and 10 touchdowns. In those last four Panthers wins, he pounded opponents for 560 yards on the ground, including 206 against the Giants in Week 16.

In the absence of DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart came on strong in the last five weeks of the season.

Defensive MVP: Julius Peppers reached double digits in sacks and the secondary had a collectively excellent season, but middle linebacker Jon Beason stands out from this pack.

Beason snapped his own franchise record for tackles, finishing with a total of 169, and now holds the top three spots on the team's list. He also led the team in tackles for loss with 12, while contributing three sacks, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. His standout play was even more necessary, considering the Panthers lost fellow starting linebacker Thomas Davis midway through the season.

Rookie of the Year: Defensive end Everette Brown showed some flashes, with 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He likely would get an increased role next season in Peppers and/or Tyler Brayton doesn't return. Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn was a seventh-round pick but made a significant contribution as a reserve, making 44 tackles.

But the award goes to free safety Sherrod Martin, a second-round pick out of Troy. Martin was a cornerback in college, but the Panthers decided to convert him to the safety, and the move paid off when an injury to Charlies Godfrey forced Martin into the lineup in Week 8 against Arizona. Martin came up with two interceptions and had another two weeks later. One week after that, he had five tackles. It wasn't a consistent season for Martin, but he showed tremendous potential.

Most Improved Player: This honor could go to Stewart, but he's already got an award. We'll also give a collective honorable mention to the offensive line, which shifted guys around and brought in some inexperienced guys due to injuries but didn't miss a beat.

In the end though, Moore is most deserving. The third-year backup quarterback had a QB rating of 67.0 in nine games in 2007 and didn't play at all last year. But when he finally got a chance this year to replace Delhomme, he took advantage, throwing for eight touchdowns against two interceptions and notching a rating of 98.5. Moore also seemed to get more comfortable as time went on, completing 50 of 76 passes for 632 yards, seven TDs and no picks, while leading Carolina to three straight wins to end the season.

Play of the Year: It wasn't his longest run of the season, and it didn't go for a touchdown, but Stewart's 52-yard scamper against the Giants in Week 16 was his most impressive. Stewart ran right and disappeared into the line for a second. It appeared he would be stopped but then burst out the other end of the pile, made a move on one defender and spun out of the tackle of Terrell Thomas, who was going for the strip. He was finally taken down at the 1-yard line, setting up Brad Hoover's touchdown.

-- ANDREW SIMON

Defensive Line: The Panthers were 24th in the NFL in rush yards allowed per game and 23rd in total sacks. Neither statistic speaks particularly well for the D-line. Julius Peppers, whose return to Carolina next season is questionable, did rack up a solid 10.5 sacks, while fellow end Tyler Brayton added five. Rookie second-round pick Everette Brown had 22 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Grade: C

Linebackers: Just like the offensive line, this unit was depleted by injury. Thomas Davis was lost for the year in Week 9 and Landon Johnson followed in Week 11. Nonetheless, Carolina still had Jon Beason, who set a new franchise record and finished second in the NFL to Patrick Willis in tackles. In each of his three seasons, Beason has notched at least 138 tackles. This year he added three sacks, three interceptions and a forced fumble. James Anderson got a chance late in the season due to the injuries and came up with 45 tackles in the last six games. Grade: B

MLB Jon Beason again was the anchor of a Carolina defense that finished in the top 10 in the NFL overall.

Secondary: Carolina had the fourth-best passing defense in the NFL. The Panthers were tied for second with 14 passing touchdowns allowed and tied for fifth with 22 interceptions. Richard Marshall was second on the team with 88 tackles and tied for first with four picks along with fellow starting cornerback Chris Gamble. Grade: A

Special Teams: John Kasay was a solid 22 of 27 on field goals, including 21 of 23 inside of 50 yards. Jason Baker was right in the middle of the pack in the NFL with a 44.1 punting average. The return units didn’t contribute much, going without a touchdown while finishing 31st in kick return average and 17th in punt return average. The punt coverage team was solid, but the kick coverage was third-worst in the league and allowed a touchdown. Grade: C-

-- ANDREW SIMON

Quarterbacks: Jake Delhomme’s nightmare from the first round of last year’s playoffs carried over into this season. He threw four interceptions in the season-opener against Philadelphia and then four more in Week 12, his final appearance of the season thanks to a finger injury. In 11 starts, he had only two games where he threw more touchdowns than picks and finished the season with an abysmal 59.4 passer rating.

Matt Moore took over for Delhomme and was impressive, leading the Panthers to a 4-1 record and finishing with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. Although Delhomme could get a chance to re-take his job next year, there has to be strong sentiment among Panthers fans in favor of Moore. Grade: C-

Running Backs: This was clearly the strength of the team, which finished third in the NFL in rush yards per game and yards per carry. Carolina became the first team since the AFL-NFL merger to have two players rush for more than 1,100 yards in the same season.

Despite missing three games, DeAngelo Williams racked up 1,117 and seven touchdowns, while Jonathan Stewart accounted for 1,133 yards and 10 scores. They also combined for nearly 400 receiving yards. Carolina also got a solid performance from veteran fullback Brad Hoover, while rookie Tyrell Sutton showed some promise. Grade: A

Jonathan Stewart (pictured) and DeAngelo Williams ran away from opponents all year, teaming for 2,250 yards.

Receivers: It’s a little hard to judge this group simply because of how atrocious the team’s quarterback play was for the first three-quarters of the season. The biggest casualty was Steve Smith, who nonetheless found a way to catch 65 passes for 982 yards and seven touchdowns. He likely would have hit 1,000 yards had he not broken his arm catching a touchdown pass in Week 16.

The Panthers had only one other receiver (Mushin Muhammad) top 400 yards or 30 receptions. Third-year man Dwayne Jarrett didn’t make much of an impact until the season’s final game. The tight ends didn’t play a major role in the passing game, although Jeff King was second on Carolina with three receiving touchdowns. Grade: C

Offensive line: This unit played well even though it was banged up late in the season. Left tackle Jordan Gross went down for the year in Week 10 and right tackle Jeff Otah followed in Week 14. But the team got admirable performances from Travelle Wharton, who shifted from guard to tackle, and Geoff Schwartz and Mackenzy Bernadeau, who stepped into the lineup. Guard Keydrick Vincent and center Ryan Kalil were anchors.

The line obviously did an excellent job run blocking, while its 33 sacks allowed ranked in the top half of the NFL. And because injuries forced other guys to step up, this unit now has great depth heading into next season. Grade: B+

-- ANDREW SIMON

Jake Delhomme says he thinks he will return to Carolina next season and get a shot at the starting quarterback job, although he acknowledged he will have to fight Matt Moore for it. Delhomme's fate is likely to be affected by coach John Fox's decision on whether to return.

Fox, who has one year left on his contract, said he expects to be back for a ninth year as the Panther's head man.

Despite Fox's statement, there is a rumor he could take the Browns job if Cleveland fires Eric Mangini.

Julius Peppers isn't saying much about whether he thinks he will return to the team next season.

Charlotte Observer Panthers beat writers Charles Chandler and David Scott review the season's ups and downs in this video.

For the third time in four years, the Panthers will not be participating in postseason play.

That meant that instead of preparing for a game Monday, the team was cleaning out lockers and saying farewells. This article from the Panthers' official site captures the mood of the locker room as it was cleared out and also brings updates on the Julius Peppers situation and some key injuries. You also can check out this Panthers Insider video, which shows the team clearing out and talking about this season ending and another beginning.

Tackle Jordan Gross, who spent the last month and a half on IR, is just one Panther looking ahead to next season.