Molly Report Youth Luke Kuechly Jersey , 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 anemic loss to Washington where the Panthers failed to overcome a couple early turnovers, and fell to 3-2 on the season. This game continued the trend we saw last week for the two lines. The offensive line continues to play at a higher level than expected, while the defensive line (and defense in general) are decidedly underwhelming.Offensive Hog MolliesYards per Carry: 4.5, season: 5.0 (T-5th, NFL)Yards per Play: 6.0, season: 5.7 (19th, NFL)Sacks allowed: 1, season: 8 (T-2nd, NFL)Third downs converted: 3 of 9 or 33%, season: 38% (21st, NFL)Rating: 4 out of 5 Porcine PulverizersThe Carolina Panthers offensive line has been stronger than expected, and other than Chris Clark, that trend continued this week. Clark gave up five pressures on the day http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/graham-gano-jersey-authentic , with two coming on the final drive. The other linemen had one a piece, with Ryan Kalil turning in a perfect day with zero. The pressures given up by Greg Van Roten and Trai Turner were inopportune however, as they resulted in the sack/fumble (recovered) and the Cam Newton interception.Here’s a brief sack report:1st Sack: Q1 0:45, 1st & 10, WAS 47 - Washington sends six guys on a well timed blitz against play action, Panthers have six in to block. Chris Manhertz loses bad on the right side, Greg Van Roten follows suit on the left. Cam Newton avoids both rushers by stepping up, but as he steps up, D.J. Swearinger is there to meet him on a late blitz. Ball comes out right into Greg Van Roten’s hands, Carolina keeps, but it is a sack. Sack should be credited to Greg Van Roten, as him getting beat pushed Cam right into Swearinger.The Panthers however continue to be one of the best teams in the league at keeping their quarterback clean, combining better than expected pass protection with more quick passes. That said, the team went downfield more often in this game than they have in many others, helped by a return of Greg Olsen. Despite a decent yards per carry average www.carolinapanthersteamonline.com , the team didn’t find much room to run consistently as Washington really tightened the reins in stopping that attack. Most of those runs upping the average were improvisations by Cam Newton. Fans are starting to get impatient with the situational play-calling, and I would say that complaint right now is warranted.Defensive Hog MolliesYards per Carry: 4.7, season: 4.6 (T-23rd, NFL)Yards per Play: 4.5, season: 6.5 (24th, NFL)Sacks given: 3, season: 12 (T-22nd, NFL)Third down allowed %: 7 of 16 or 44%, season: 34% (9th, NFL)Rating: 3 out of 5 Perplexing PiggiesDespite a lot of complaining by fans during the game, the defensive line did a really good job pressuring Alex Smith this week than they have in other games this season. Mario Addison had a great day in this regard, and it was the week in the rotation for Vernon Butler and Kyle Love to play well, so they did. Those suggesting that Dontari Poe has been ineffective should look at his work when he draws a one on one and rethink their stance, but I would like to see him make more impact even when double teamed.However, the real problem on this defense right now is stopping the run Carolina Panthers T-Shirt , reflected by our bottom ten ranking in yards per carry. This is very unusual for a Carolina defense, and right now it seems to be breaking everything. We just made Adrian Peterson look about five years younger, and if we had more success our offense probably would have had a few more drives and pulled this game out. Julius Peppers has not been holding up his end of the bargain in this part of the game, and despite his first sack of the season, it’s clear that we must invest in the defensive end position early next year in the draft.nextgenstats.nfl.comHog Molly of the Week: Mario AddisonMario Addison turned in a performance that, like Josh Norman, made his former team cringe about the fact they ever let him walk. Four tackles, one sack, and another three quarterback pressures was a very good day from him and was instrumental in deflating Alex Smith’s numbers to his lowest single game total by far this season. The Panthers will absolutely need to find him a new running mate next year, and I don’t think that person is currently on the roster. Cam Newton is headed to the bench with a sore shoulder.The Panthers made the decision to shut down the 2015 league MVP for at least one game and possibly the remainder of the season due to a lingering right shoulder problem.Coach Ron Rivera said Taylor Heinicke will make his first career start when Carolina hosts the Falcons on Sunday. Kyle Allen will be Carolina's backup and Newton will be inactive.Rivera said he made the decision to sit Newton after meeting with owner David Tepper, general manager Marty Hurney, team doctors and Newton on Wednesday morning before practice."It was a good conversation with Cam and he understood our thinking behind this," Rivera said. "He's disappointed and he's frustrated. You know him, he wants to play."But Rivera said a "healthy Taylor Heinicke" gives the Panthers the best chance to win this week. He hasn't made a decision about Newton's status for Week 17 at New Orleans, saying the focus is on the Falcons.The Panthers (6-8) have lost six straight games and are all but out of playoff contention as Newton has struggled with an unknown shoulder issue. He had surgery in March of 2017 to repair a partially torn rotator cuff and has had problems ever since.The Panthers have limited his reps in practice for most of the season and it's rare when he throws a ball more than 20 yards down the field in a game.Newton started 14 games and threw for 3 Carolina Panthers Hats ,395 yards with 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. However, he has just nine TD passes and nine interceptions during Carolina's six-game skid and has looked uncomfortable in the pocket.After Newton's noticeable struggles in a 12-9 loss to the Saints 鈥?the eight-year QB was limited to 131 yards passing and struggled throwing the ball with any zip 鈥?Rivera pulled the plug on him.In the past Newton has fought hard to keep the Panthers from sitting him down when he's battling through injuries.This time was a little different.Newton accepted the idea of taking a break and getting the rest without putting up a fight."I think that is because of the frustration of it," Rivera said. "More so than anything else, he knows that once he gets sore, once he gets tired out there. It's tough for him to do the things that he is capable of."Newton was not made available for comment on Wednesday, but discussed how difficult it's been with not knowing what is wrong with the shoulder after Monday night's loss to the Saints. He said he doesn't know if he will need surgery after the season.Four-time Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner said "in a sense I'm happy that he's able to get himself together now."Running back Christian McCaffrey said Newton has been a "warrior" all season playing through significant pain.As for Newton's long-time friend, center Ryan Kalil, he said as difficult as the decision is, it is a smart move for the organization when it comes to the long term."He's still a young guy and he's got a lot of football left in him," Kalil said. "I think it is important to get that right, especially at his position. It's no secret that he has been struggling with it the last month or so. But I feel bad for him. I feel terrible for him."Heinicke has been appeared in six games and thrown just five passes since joining the league in 2015 with the Vikings. He's stepped in to throw a few Hail Mary passes this season for the Panthers because Newton's shoulder wasn't strong enough to get the ball down the field.Wide receiver Jarius Wright said other teams have been able to defend the Panthers differently with Newton at quarterback, knowing he wasn't going to throw downfield as he's done in the past.Wright said defensive backs on other teams have told him "we're not scared of you guys going deep.""They have actually mentioned that multiple times," Wright said. "So having Taylor out there on Sunday will keep everyone on their toes."
