|
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Hog Molly Report , where winning in the trenches is all that matters. Before we begin, we open with the reciting of our usual motto:In the spirit of Mr. Gettleman’s words (regardless of him having moved on) and the philosophy of building a team from the inside out, my goal will be to watch the hog mollies each game during the season and give them a grade based on their performance. This week we will look at the Pyrrhic victory against the Dallas Cowboys in week 1. The Panthers may have won the battle, but injuries to Hog Mollies may end up winning the war for someone else.Offensive Hog MolliesYards per Carry: 4.6, season: 4.6 (T-10th, NFL)Yards per Play: 4.8, season: 4.8 (24th, NFL)Sacks allowed: 3, season: 3 (T-20th, NFL)Third downs converted: 4 of 12 or 33%, season: 33% (T-18th, NFL)Rating: 3 out of 5 Hurting HogsIt could have been worse. It also could have been a lot better... but given that the offensive line had entirely new starters on the left side, and a right tackle that missed the entire preseason, it was a halfway decent day. It should have been a better day from a scoring perspective given how well the defense was doing, but overall Panthers fans were left wanting more from their supposedly improved offense. Let’s start with the sack breakdown:1st Sack: Q2 0:30, 1st & 5, DAL 9 - Cowboys send a four man rush, Ryan Kalil gets beat by a bull rush right away but Cam Newton makes a miraculous escape with pressure in his face, managing to negate lost yardage on the play but technically a sack. Certainly noteworthy because it forced Cam to spike the ball and settle for a Graham Gano field goal. 2nd Sack: Q3 12:37, 3rd & 13, midfield - Cowboys send a four man rush, Ryan Kalil whiffs on Maliek Collins, but it looks to me like Greg Van Roten should have been assisting him instead of peeling back to help Taylor Moton, who had assistance from Christian McCaffrey on his man. Cam has nowhere to go, Carolina forced to punt.3rd Sack: Q4 5:48, 3rd & 14, CAR 32 - Cowboys fake a double A gap blitz but back out of it sending four rushers , this apparently leads to some confusion and a jailbreak up front. Terrible pass rush splits, the entire line gets pushed back in a massive pile essentially. Greg Van Roten is pushed straight back into Cam, and Cam has nowhere to step forward. Trai Turner’s man, DeMarcus Lawrence cleans up the sack. This was the worst down of the day for the line, without question.Penalties hurt us quite a bit in this one as well, holding and hands to the face calls stalled several drives. But, obviously the thing that cripples us long term is Daryl Williams sustaining what is reported to be a new injury to his right leg, which will require surgery and potentially end up being season ending. If Amini Silatolu is allowed to start in his place, there will be dire consequences for the offense as a whole, and Cam Newton will suffer the worst of it. I can’t stress enough how much of a crime it is that Silatolu continues to be allowed to play football, managing to hit a new low on Sunday by sticking his leg in the way of an extra point snap, turning what would be a three score game into a two score one.Defensive Hog MolliesYards per Carry: 4.3, season: 4.3 (T-18th, NFL)Yards per Play: 4.1, season: 4.1 (4th, NFL)Sacks given: 6, season: 6 (T-2nd, NFL)Third down allowed %: 2 of 11 or 18%, season: 18% (4th, NFL)Rating: 5 out of 5 Bloodthirsty Savage SwineRuthless and unrelenting are the two words I’d use to describe the defensive line on Sunday. Facing a fairly mobile quarterback in Dak Prescott, there were several occasions where defensive linemen stuck with the play and ended up getting sacks on pursuit. The most impressive of which belonged to Mario Addison, notching the strip sack to effectively ice the game. High marks also go to Wes Horton, who notched 1.5 sacks on rotational duty as well as Vernon Butler who blew up several run plays and had a good amount of success collapsing protection, even without a ton of statistical impact. Another thing that can’t be ignored was the nearly complete neutralization of Ezekiel Elliott, who only managed 69 yards rushing on the day. It was a good showing for most everyone on defense, though Julius Peppers left much to be desired. Perhaps missing the entire preseason isn't the best idea, even for a grizzled pro like him.Hog Molly of the Week: Kawann ShortWhile Mario Addison ended up with the most clutch play on defense , it was Kawann Short that proved to be a living nightmare for the Cowboys’ offensive line. With two sacks on the day, three hurries, and his success collapsing the middle on running plays, he was the real catalyst for why the Cowboys couldn’t get anything moving on offense. If he continues this level of play and Dontari Poe starts to match it (he drew most of the double teams on Sunday), the Panthers will be nearly impossible to run on. The Panthers took care of bolstering their pass rush in the first round. Now they should look at building their offensive line in the second." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteCat Scratch Readera Carolina Panthers communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsAboutPanthersOddsShopStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Keep Sounding PodcastPanthers 2019 NFL DraftCSR Film RoomFiled under:Panthers 2019 NFL DraftTop 10 players the Carolina Panthers should consider drafting on Day 2New,83commentsThe Panthers took care of bolstering their pass rush in the first round. Now they should look at building their offensive line in the second.EDTShareTweetShareShareTop 10 players the Carolina Panthers should consider drafting on Day 2The Carolina Panthers selected edge rusher Brian Burns with the No. 16 pick in the NFL Draft last night, and tonight they will have the opportunity to add more quality players to their roster. The Panthers currently hold the No. 47, No. 77 and No. 100 picks in the draft, and regardless of how the draft board shakes out tonight Marty Hurney will have a prime opportunity to make the Panthers a better team than they were yesterday. Here are 10 players the Panthers should consider drafting tonight who would help the roster on Day 1.Offensive tackleCody Ford, OT, OklahomaFord is versatile enough to fit in at right tackle or guard for the Panthers, and that versatility would be extremely useful. The Panthers have to decide who is going to play left tackle for them in 2019, but if Ford is the best offensive lineman of the bunch remaining when the No. 47 pick is due, then they should take him and figure out the details later. Jawaan Taylor, OT, FloridaTaylor is a right tackle, and it’s arguable that Carolina already has two of those on the roster, but the Panthers shouldn’t pass on Taylor at No. 47 because they don’t want to move Taylor Moton to the left side. The goal is to build the best offensive line you can build with the pieces you have available to you, and if that requires moving Moton to the left while sliding Taylor in at right tackle (with Daryl Williams at left guard), then the Panthers should do that.Greg Little, OT, Ole MissI’m a little surprised that Little wasn’t drafted in the first round and I’m not confident he’ll still be available at No. 47, but if he is the Panthers should run to the podium. They got their edge rusher yesterday and should get their left tackle tonight. A one-two punch of Brian Burns and Greg Little would be an A+ draft from Hurney and Co.Cornerback/SafetyGreedy Williams, CB, LSUYou’re probably wondering why I’m listing cornerback as a position that Carolina should address in the second round, but honestly Williams shouldn’t be available at No. 47. This is more of a ‘the value is there, so take it’ kind of pick , and honestly can anyone give me one good reason why we should pass on a cornerback named Greedy? We should take him on name value alone.Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, CB/S, FloridaSame scenario as Williams here — the value is too good to pass up at No. 47. Gardner-Johnson can play both cornerback and safety, so his versatility would be a huge bonus to Ron Rivera’s defense.Nasir Adderly, S, DelawareThe Panthers have to take a safety with one of their first four picks in this draft. It’s too big of a need to ignore. Adderly is the best safety of the bunch, and would make a great partner with Eric Reid in the Panthers’ secondary.Juan Thornhill, S, VirginiaThornhill played both cornerback and safety in college so that versatility would be useful in the Panthers’ scheme. There’s a really good chance that Thornhill is still on the board at No. 47, and if he is it could be too hard to pass up the chance to get him.Taylor Rapp, S, WashingtonRapp is almost a clone of Eric Reid, but Rivera hasn’t shied away from playing two strong safeties in the past. I don’t think Rapp should be the No. 1 target for Carolina on Day 2, but if he’s still there at No. 77 then they should probably take him.Edge rusherChase Winovich, EDGE, MichiganThe Panthers need to add more than one edge rusher to rebuild their anemic pass rush, and if Winovich is the best player on the board at No. 47 I wouldn’t be upset if Hurney double-dipped to get two pass rushers. There’s a good argument that every pick the Panthers make in this draft should either protect or rush the quarterback, and if that’s how the draft shakes out for Carolina I can’t say that I would be upset about it.Oshane Ximines, EDGE, Old DominionI think that Ximines would be a good value pick in the third round, and if he somehow makes it to No. 100 that would be a best case scenario for the Panthers to snag him up and add another young, talented pass rusher to their roster.What do you think, Panthers fans? Who is your favorite prospect remaining? Who do you think we should target in the second and third rounds tonight? Share your thoughts with us!Keep Sounding LIVE — 2019 NFL Draft, Round 1
|
