It has been a rough season thus far, we all know this. The team is seemingly a shell of last year’s incarnation after some unfortunate injuries and general ineffectiveness, and morale is starting to dip among the fan base. Even with several backups playing against Tampa Bay, the game was well within reach... but poor playcalling and bad decisions led us once again to another tally in the “L” column.

The New Orleans Saints aren’t a good team either. If you had asked me after the 49ers game if we could handle them, I would have told you with resounding confidence that it wouldn’t be a problem. Now though, the Panthers have finally lost to another bad team, and no real excuse can be made about competition. The Panthers must win this game on Sunday to have any prayer of being in the playoff conversation, and mostly to turn the momentum around to their favor for the first time in weeks. If they lose, that will give them a loss to each divisional foe, and that will make their outlook very bleak indeed for a fourth consecutive post-season run.

Hot Plates

Greg Olsen - Heat Rating: The Thor’s Hammer chicken bucket

Two legs, thighs, wings, and breasts in every bucket. Sometimes you may even get lucky and find a third leg in there. Olsen was as good as a bucket of delicious fresh fried chicken with just the right amount of salt and pepper seasoned into the batter. He was a completely dominant force on offense, and he even added some super rare yards after contact on the day. Its a shame that all his good work between the 20s didn’t result in more touchdowns, because DA forgot to bring the biscuits.

Cameron Artis-Payne - Heat Rating: The Payne Train Burrito

The flavors are all starting to come together on this second year burrito, and the result is a patient back that has some good power and excellent vision to find the cutback lanes. Artis-Payne ran hard all night, and ground out two touchdowns. While he is no Jonathan Stewart as of yet, there are certainly some things about his game that compare favorably, and maybe with the additional reps he is getting we might get to see a bit more than just flashes of greatness.

Cold Salads

Graham Gano - Heat Rating: The takeout you left behind

In the chaos created by the Panthers maddening 4th quarter, everyone seems to forget that Gano missed a completely make-able field goal to end the first half. If that try goes through the uprights instead of wide left, you’re looking at a potentially tied ball game or better. The attempt wasn’t a heck of a lot more than an extra point to be honest. I don’t think better is out there or anything like that, but I wish we could tighten up our kicking game a bit.

Teddy Williams - Heat Rating: A stale box of Teddy Grahams

I’m done with Teddy Williams. He has been on this team for too long, and I can only recognize him for boneheaded plays on special teams. His latest atrocity was getting driven back into a fair catching Ted Ginn, causing a muff and turnover. I have literally no idea how Bene Benwikere gets cut, and this guy remains on the team. None.

Mike Tolbert - Heat Rating: non-spicy general Tso’s chicken

Speaking of done... I hate to say it, but I think Mike Tolbert has lost his ability to lower the boom. He no longer runs through contact the way he used to, and a few times this season I have seen guys with no business stopping him in his tracks doing just that. His one carry for two yards may be indicative that the Panthers are phasing him out of ball carrying duties for the foreseeable future.

Derek Anderson - Heat Rating: The late night “food” binge you regret in the morning

Just like that 3am Taco Bell run, Derek Anderson made a lot of mistakes filling in for Cam Newton against the Buccaneers. It would not be a stretch to say that, from an offensive perspective, Derek Anderson cost us the game. The line gave him decent protection for the most part, and the running game was working... but both his interceptions were terribly forced throws into tight or multi-man coverage, and his fumble (while I admire his guts), could have been avoided with a tighter tuck of the football.

Tater’s Gameday Food of the Week

This week’s gameday food comes to us courtesy of the bayou, and is a dip take on New Orleans most famous sandwich, the Muffuletta.

Hot Muffuletta Dip

Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup cubed salami

1 (6 ounce) jar pitted green olives, drained

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

1/2 cup drained giardiniera ( pickled carrots, cauliflower, celery, and hot peppers)

4 ounces provolone cheese, cubed

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley (if you’re bout that presentation life, otherwise skip)

crackers or toasted bread for dipping

Note: Several grocers have a pre-made Muffuletta mix on their shelves in the pickled goods section that will work in place of the red peppers, olives, and giardiniera separately.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix cream cheese, salami, olives, roasted red peppers, giardiniera, provolone cheese, and garlic together in a bowl; transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling and hot, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle parsley over dip and serve with crackers.

I hope you enjoy this little bit of cajun flavor added to Made from Scratch, and hopefully the Panthers give us something positive to talk about come Monday Morning. Now more than ever...

KEEP POUNDING.