The loss to the Minnesota Vikings was painful. Figuratively for us fans, literally for Cam Newton. A relentless assault of blitzing from one of the best defenses in the league totally buried the Panthers offense. This week, the Falcons won’t present nearly as much of a defensive threat, but as usual, they are very good on offense, and it will be up to the Panthers to keep up. This game is going to be a test on both sides of the ball, and if the Panthers can’t slow down the pass rush this week, it might be a long season in Charlotte.

As it was in the 49ers game, penalties and unforced errors were also a factor in the loss to Minnesota. The Panthers are among the most penalized teams in football so far this season, and there is no doubt that has contributed to some of the ills we are seeing. Last week, it actively took points off the board on completely avoidable mistakes. The team needs to preach a message of discipline to help climb out of their current funk.

Finally, the pass rush needs to improve. Right now the Panthers sit in the middle of the NFL pack at six sacks, but if we are to continue touting our “best front seven in the league” designation, we are going to need more production all along the defensive line. To this point, they have failed to make themselves a factor, even in a game where they should have been able to tee off on Sam Bradford.

In the past, the Failcons have been a nice remedy for this team. Likewise, they were also the team to ruin our perfect record last year, representing our only regular season loss. That said, we’ve had our fair share of games where we have just buried them on the scoreboard. One of my favorite gifs comes to mind...

Hopefully we can repeat that performance inside the Georgia Dome this year, especially since we know that crowd noise won’t be a factor now that the NFL cut their speakers off.

With all that in mind... let’s take a look at the players who we will count on to continue their excellent play, and the ones that need to step it up. I think you’ll find a very strong divide between defense and offense this week.

Weekly Specials

James Bradberry - Heat Rating: Bradberry Stickybuns

Two straight weeks of good play from the rookie earns him his first “weekly special” honor. Stefon Diggs is exactly the type of receiver that can hurt a team like Carolina, but Bradberry along with the rest of the DBs stuck to him in a concerted effort to limit his impact. It is early, but he is making it really easy to forget about not paying Josh Norman a mega-contract.

Hot Plates

Thomas Davis - Heat Rating: The TDBLT

Never underestimate the humble BLT. With hot and crispy bacon, crisp lettuce, and a fresh tomato, this is a simple but delicious sandwich. Thomas Davis has been his usual excellent self on defense. Whenever he is asked to come on a blitz you can guarantee he is getting home or at least putting a hit on the QB. With the front four struggling at the moment, his prowess as a rusher is sure to be seen more often.

Cameron Artis-Payne - Heat Rating: The Artisan-Payne Potato

A good loaded potato has a little bit of everything on it, and that is what CAP brings to the table. You can see the comparisons made to Jonathan Stewart in his patient running, and his ability to get yards in tight spaces. He even shows a bit of gift in a receiving role. The one area he needs to work on, as many young runners do, is his pass blocking acumen. Either way, it was a solid fill-in effort by the second year pro.

Andy Lee - Heat Rating: The Kickin’ Chicken Tenders

You know it was a bad day when the punter makes this section, but here we are. Andy Lee is having a sensational first year in Carolina, which is helping to justify his future 4th round price tag quite nicely. He dropped another bomb inside the five yard line on Sunday, and it just sat down dead waiting for the coverage team.

Cold Salads

Cam Newton - Heat Rating: Cold Cam n’ Cheese Sandwich

Yes, the blocking was bad, really bad... but Cam is holding onto the football way too long. That safety was 100% on his shoulders, as well as at least one other sack. I appreciate the playmakers mentality, and we all know he has turned some near sacks into amazing plays, but especially in your own end zone... throw it away. Live another day.

Mike Remmers and Michael Oher - Heat Rating: The Melons in your Fruit Salad

You start off nicely with your Ryan Kalil pineapple, some Andrew Norwell grapes, and those luscious Trai Turner strawberries... and then just to fill up space in the bowl, you add some Michael Oher honey dew and Mike Remmers cantaloupe. I wish I could say that Oher and Remmers were just holding a place for a young up and comer... but we don’t have any of those on our bench. This season compared to last for them has been abysmal, and they need to improve if we have true playoff aspirations again. I hope it is just us having played two great defenses and nothing more.

Charles Johnson and Kony Ealy - Heat Rating: The Crust removed from your PB&J

The edges at least were removed AFTER the crunchy peanut butter and sweet strawberry jelly (the ONLY acceptable jelly) were applied, so they do still have a little bit of that flavor to them. However, it seems to be merely a taste of an entire sandwich. Right now, Kony Ealy is trying to find his sandwich from last year, and Charles Johnson is hoping all the knives aren’t in the dishwasher. It might be time for a new loaf of bread in Carolina, and perhaps a bit of extra chunky peanut butter (the ONLY acceptable peanut butter) would help bring some grit back to this stale pass rush.

Tater’s Gameday Food of the Week

This Sunday we shall face the bird most foul. In the spirit of that, let’s go a tad unusual this week, and make our own fowl offering...

Duck Egg Rolls

This recipe is courtesy of outdoorchannel.com so please use the link and throw them a little traffic for posting such an awesome looking recipe. If you look really closely into that top egg roll, you can almost see the tears of Matt Ryan, the secret ingredient that ties the whole thing together.

Okay Panther fans, let’s hope for a big bounce back win on Sunday in our first division game of the season. As always...

KEEP POUNDING.