Double Trouble is back. Can the Panthers run the ball on the Giants? (AP Photo)

   Five things to watch in Sunday’s game between the Panthers and Giants:

1. What type of defense will the Giants bring? The Giants replaced defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan with Perry Fewell this past offseason, so the Panthers have actually spent more time this week watching tape of the Bills 2009 defense than the Giants, especially since Fewell has been pretty vanilla in the preseason. “You probably saw 10 percent, maybe 20 percent in the preseason, maybe, if that,” Fewell said. “How confident am I that our guys will have our package down? I’m very confident.”

2. Can Carolina dominate on the ground? Led by RB Jonathan Stewart’s franchise-record 206 yards, the Panthers totaled 247 yards on the ground in a 41-9 win over the Giants last December. However, the Giants have added depth on the defensive line and with new MLB Keith Bullock. It seems the Panthers always run well in New York. In a wild card playoff game in 2005, the Panthers ran for 223 yards in a 23-0 win at the Meadowlands. Carolina finished third in rushing a year ago.
3. Will the Panthers find a No. 2 receiver? Still waiting. Carolina’s struggles throwing the ball during the preseason have been well documented, but now the real bullets start to fly. The Panthers made their bed with some young receivers and now they have to sleep in it. We'll see how it goes. Matt Moore has been great when he’s played in the regular season, but he comes into this season with a very young group of receivers led by Brandon LaFell, who could get the starting nod over Dwayne Jarrett as the No. 2 receiver.
4. Will Carolina’s special teams excel or implode? The Panthers saw both ends of the spectrum in the return game during the preseason. They gave a handful of long returns and also struggled with fielding punts. On the flip side, Mike Goodson returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. Goodson will handle kickoff returns, while the Panthers are expected to go the safe route on punt returns and give Captain Munnerlyn the nod over Armanti Edwards, who might be inactive.
5. Can the Panthers survive the first wave of emotion? The Giants will be playing their first regular season game at their New Meadowlands Stadium so it’s likely it will be a raucous atmosphere for a 1 p.m. game. The Panthers will need to survive the initial wave of emotion and do their best to quiet the crowd with some lengthy drives.