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:
“Big men allow you to compete. We’re certainly going to look at the big hog mollies.”
In keeping with the proven philosophy that building a team from the inside out is the best strategy for long term success, my goal will be to watch the hog mollies each game during the season and discuss their performance.
The Panthers are still unbeaten after two games, besting the New Orleans Saints in every single facet of football, in a 26-7 rout. It was much the same tale as last week looking at the two units, though we did see moderate improvement on offense despite additional sacks.
The offensive line
The offensive line will once again bear the designation of weak link on the team right now, but in not nearly the severe fashion that we talked about them last week. Matt Rhule called them out after the Jets game, and there was a noticeable step forward, especially in the first half where Darnold had time to survey the field and deliver a good ball.
The return of John Miller had something to do with that. Criminally underrated by this fanbase, Miller is a solid but not spectacular player at right guard and there is obvious chemistry between him, Matt Paradis, and Taylor Moton. Despite a weak left side, the right side of the line was overall average to above average last year, and i think the continuity helps tremendously. Matt Rhule agrees:
Dennis Daley will start at LG Thursday against the Texans.
— Darin Gantt (@daringantt) September 20, 2021
Called RG John Miller “one of the keys to victory” after playing every snap coming off the COVID-19 list.
Also in the above news, Dennis Daley is going to start at left guard in place of the injured Pat Elflein. Before exiting the game, Elflein was having another rough go of it, but Daley was not much better in relief. We’ll have to hope that the limited practice and preparation he’ll get this week as the presumed started will help him. The continual musical chairs at left guard is also not doing Cam Erving any favors at LT, as he has plenty of struggles of his own. I know a lot of people would like to see Brady Christensen grab that LG spot, but I have to believe that he’ll continue to be the emergency option in his first season. The limited snaps he got Sunday were not anything to brag about.
The reality is, our best shot at being average on the left side this year is for this carousel to stop, and for the same two guys to stay healthy on the left week to week. If that is Daley and Erving this week, I feel that even if Elflein gets healthy, it should stay that way. I wish I had better news, but barring an in-season trade for an upgrade at left guard and/or tackle (which I can’t put past Fitterer if we keep winning) average is the best we can hope for. We’ll continue to bring tight ends in close, and hope our awesome receivers can shake free.
The defensive line
The overwhelming Panthers defense brought the old Jameis Winston back out onto the field through a mixture of tough love and even tougher hits. Even against one of the best offensive lines in the NFL (albeit missing their starting center) it was clear the Panthers front was having little trouble getting to and around Winston, and he felt the footsteps from the get go. Four sacks, two interceptions that were caused by impending sacks (and a third that was ruled an incompletion), 11 QBHits, and somewhere around 23 pressures.
The Panthers unit is currently ranked number one in basically every defensive statistic league wide, and are on a breakneck pace to shatter some records. The entire depth chart has been getting in on the party, but the leaders right now are Morgan Fox, Brian Burns, and Haason Reddick with credit to Derrick Brown and DaQuan Jones for eating a lot of interior attention.
Man, when you go back and watch some of the hits Jameis Winston took yesterday it's a legit silver lining he walked out of there without injury.
— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) September 20, 2021
Brian Burns also laid a crushing hit on Drew Brees in Week 7 last season I'd wager was part of the rib-cracking process. pic.twitter.com/aglUkFyZg1
Burns in particular has lain some hits on quarterbacks so far this year that rank in the “hardest you can legally hit a guy” category.
It’s not just the front four though. The entire defense is getting involved in the pressure game, and the credit for these schemes has to go to Phil Snow. Last year, I wasn’t sold on the guy, but it was hard to expect much from him as he worked with an incomplete unit and played conservatively as a result. This year, he knows he has fire in a bottle at all levels of this defense, and is sending a stocked warehouse full of blitz looks from everywhere.
Beyond the pressure, the Panthers are ranked top in the league in run defense as well, most clearly evidence by Alvin Kamara’s 5 yards rushing on 8 attempts. If not for a couple of QB scrambles and some Taysom Hill tomfoolery, the Panthers probably could have averaged less than one yard per attempt on the day. I’d love to show you Kamara’s terrible rushing chart through Nextgenstats, but he didn’t do enough on the day to even register a graph.
This dramatic turnaround is a product of picking a course and committing to it. The Panthers wanted to fix the defense, so they spent an entire draft doing so. They also made some excellent free agent signings both from a production and mentorship standpoint, and you are seeing the results. Through these moves, they are giving the team the chance to win any game. Let the good times roll.
Loading comments...