Welcome once again 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, 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 momentum crushing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and see where the Sub Stompers excelled, and how they can improve on some short-comings.

Offensive Hog mollies

*Season average in parentheses

Week 10 Yards per carry: 3.4 (4.0, 22nd NFL)

Third down conversions: 6 out of 14, 43% (41%, 12th NFL)

Sacks given up: 2 (23, T-22nd NFL)

Rating: 2 out of 5 Hopeless Hogs

The only reason two hogs are given, was a decent first half performance that fell to the dogs in the second half. The Panthers continue to plummet down the yards per carry rankings in the NFL, and 3.4 is a very generous average for this past Sunday, earned mostly on some chunk runs by Cam Newton, rather than a running back. The patchwork offensive line very rarely was able to open gaps for Jonathan Stewart to run through, and his ability to get any positive yardage was mostly a testament to his personal skill.

Two sacks officially, but I think you get give the Chiefs an unofficial three. Not to mention a general plethora of countless hurries and hits, one that led to a disastrous pick six. Cam Newton just has to take that sack, I have no doubt he was trying to throw it away, but couldn’t get it to the sideline. Regardless, the Chiefs sent a double A Gap blitz on that play, and NEITHER blitzer was even touched. They hit us where it hurts, on our backup center. Until this line gets healthy, this is going to continue to be the norm rather than the exception. The depth on this line is bad. Really bad. It is starting to affect what starters are even left to speak of. Poor Cam Newton.

Defensive Hog mollies

Yards per carry allowed: 4.6 (3.4, 2nd NFL)

3rd Down Conversions allowed: 2 out of 12, 17% (37%, 7th NFL)

Sacks: 3 total with 3 from DL (27, 5th NFL)

Rating: 4 out of 5 Swine Sackers

Four Hog Mollies is the grade this week, and the only justification for that is giving up more yards for carry than our season average by a substantial amount. The defense did everything within it’s power to win this football game, and despite an incredible third down stop percentage, dealing with a bad punting situation, and only really allowing three field goals all day, the game was still lost. The offense is to blame for that. Of this, there is no doubt.

It was another total team effort on defense. Line play was excellent, the linebackers were particularly effective, and the secondary had some really nice moments as well. The rush is starting to frustrate opposing QBs, and that is going to result in more opportunities for turnovers if it continues. The 2015 super dominant unit is not totally back, as the Chiefs committed several unforced errors of their own to help, but things are picking up. This team will win football games if they can protect Cam Newton, and open holes for Jonathan Stewart. That is it. That is all that needs to happen.

Kelvin Benjamin

7 receptions, 84 yards, 0 touchdowns

Rating: 3 out of 5 Greased Pigs

If not for that final disaster, this probably would have been a four hog week for KB13. Cam Newton clearly trusts his big target, and often looked to him in chain moving scenarios. That same trust had him looking his way on the final drive. My opinion... it was simply a great play by the defense. 99 times out of 100, KB gets that YAC, goes down without an issue, and the drive continues. Unfortunately, it has just been a disastrous year for this team, and the snowball effect is full on right now. Gutsy call by the staff to press the issue, good throw and catch, just a whole lot of unfortunate after that. Sucks. Truly.

Hog mollies of the Week: That Big Ole D-Line

It would have been hard to single out any one player this week as the Hoggiest of the Molly, so, the full team effort gets the nod. Well done by Charles Johnson, Star Lotulelei, Kawann Short, Vernon Butler, and Mario Addison for each chipping in to the sack effort or doing a plus job stopping the inside run. Each lineman for the most part made a solid contribution in his own way, and the unit was better for it. The defense will need to continue to play top notch for this team to have a chance to win moving forward.