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 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 embarrassing week 3 performance against the New Orleans Saints. The Panthers fell to 2-1 on the season, and it certainly wasn’t a good game for either set of hogs, so let’s dive in and discuss the good and bad.

Offensive Hog Mollies

Yards per Carry: 6.0, season: 3.7 (T-18th, NFL)

Yards per Play: 5.75, season: 4.4 (30th, NFL)

Sacks allowed: 4, season: 10 (T-23rd, NFL)

Third downs converted: 7 of 14 or 50%, season: 49% (T-3rd, NFL)

Rating: 3 out of 5 Painbringing Piggies

Now I know what you’re thinking. Erik, how can you give the Hog Mollies three hogs on a day where Cam was sacked four times, and we got blown out?? Just bear with me here. First, let’s look at the sack breakdown based on my re-watching the game film:

Matt Kalil forgets how to football, blows his assignment, Cam sacked by Cameron Jordan. 2nd sack doesnt happen until midway through the 3rd quarter. Saints send five. Some initial pressure on Trai Turner is routed back and around Cam Newton. Cam steps up, but Ed Dickson can’t hold his block here, Cam gets tackled as he tries to escape. Could have been a big play if Cam gets out... and hard to blame Ed Dickson here as well. Chalk this one up as one of those little plays that happen in a football game that are a coin flip. Regardless of this sack, Cam had an opportunity to hit Devin Funchess deep on the next play and missed bad to the sidelines. Same velocity but in the field of play is a first down and huge gain. Also... he was not under pressure. And did NOT step into the throw at all. Just calling it like I see it. Also note... mark this series as the one where Riverbed Ron sinks to his coaching rock bottom and calls for a punt instead of a field goal or going for it. Let’s see how things go from here. 3rd sack... Cam takes a deep drop, Matt Kalil properly routes the speed rusher around his back, leaving a huge escape hole to the left. And i mean massive... only one defender in frame, and CMC could block that guy. As the pocket closes in to Cam's right... he inexplicably tried to escape backwards. He runs right into the guy Kalil routed around his back. 4th sack... Saints send five, four down linemen and the slot corner. Daryl Williams notices this... you can see him try to get Trai Turner's attention. But here is what happens... Turner ends up double teaming the DT with Larsen. Daryl Williams has no choice but to block the LE. This leaves the CB free on the blitz. If the protection would have properly slid right, you've got a hat on a hat... instead you get Cam planted in the ground. He tried to escape backwards, and self-sacks himself into Matt Kalil again. This is the 2nd time Matt Kalil gets unjustly blamed for a sack. And the 2nd time that the OL misses Ryan Kalil on the day.

You should notice a theme here. Two sacks that are credited to Matt Kalil... but in all total honesty, are self-sacks by Cam (only one he could really do much about, though). Both times, it was that retreating spin and roll he does. He smacks into Matt or Matt’s block on each occasion. Matt Kalil has done EXACTLY what you are taught to do with a speed rusher. Re-route him around the back of your QB, let him escape to your side if he needs to. Cam Newton failed to do this, and Matt Kalil is the unfortunate scapegoat. The third sack is on Cam, the fourth, regadless of the backward roll, is still on the line in general however. Cam had nowhere to go.

On behalf of us at CSR, I apologize to you, Matt Kalil. You’re responsible for one sack, and one sack alone (albeit a bad one).

In the running game, Mike Shula inexplicably abandons the run in the 2nd half regardless of the fact it is working, and we are not down THAT much. The Hogs were winning up front, and our backs were doing a hell of a job. This is a coaching mistake by Mike Shula, and his responsibility in this loss is VERY hard to deny.

Defensive Hog Mollies

Yards per Carry: 5.5, season: 4.1 (T-15th, NFL)

Yards per Play: 6.5, season: 4.7 (6th, NFL)

Sacks given: 1, season: 8 (T-10th, NFL)

Third down stop %: 6 of 12 or 50%, season: 33% (T-7th, NFL)

Rating: 2 out of 5 Harassed Hogs

The defense really crapped the bed on this one. But still, the Hog Mollies don’t get a total failing grade. Again, let me explain a bit. Around 65% of the Saints rushing yards came outside the tackles (estimated). While there is definitely some blame here on the DEs for edge contain, you have bad fills by linebackers, and way way way worse tackling by DBs. It cannot be understated how bad Daryl Worley was in this game. It’s not my business as the rater of Hog Mollies... but, he deserves a great deal of responsibility for the score being what it was. He wasn’t alone. This game was a total failure by DBs to wrap up and tackle. Bradberry, Munnerlyn, and Coleman all had their failures as well.

What can be pinned on the Hog Mollies, is the paltry one sack generated on the day. This is a game where the Panthers should have been able to totally dominate a bad Saints offensive line. Instead, they looked lethargic, and rarely got to Drew Brees even for a simple pressure. Their play declined as the game went on, raising concerns about their average age and how it comes in to play over the course of a game and season. This is a different ball game if Drew Brees can’t get comfortable, and I think our line knows it.

Honorary Hog Molly: Kelvin Benjamin

Stats: 2 receptions, 8 yards

Rating: Injured, Incomplete

Kelvin Benjamin left the game early, and did not return after an awkward tackle from behind. Luckily it was revealed yesterday that his MRI came out clean.

Hog Molly of the Week: Daryl Williams

Daryl Williams deserves some credit for his uptick in play from last year. We have a tendency here in Carolina to automatically blame our tackles, and not really pay them the proper mind on film to see how they are REALLY doing. In this game against the Saints, Daryl cannot be credited with a sack, at least from what I saw. Even better, he properly recognized a corner blitz, but could not get Trai Turner to react in time, so he did the best he could. Cam got sacked, but again, this is an issue of Tyler Larsen not being on the same level as Ryan Kalil to recognize the potential blitzer and get his guys on the same page pre-snap.