Crazyrebel(l)s ist umgezogen! » As we roll into Week 1

Womens Greg Van Roten Jersey , the Panthers face a young Dallas Cowboys squad with a solid run game. The Panthers defense will have their work cut out for them stopping the run and the offense looks to succeed in its first action under freshman offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Here are the key matchups to watch.Luke Kuechly vs. Ezekiel ElliottOne of the top running backs in the NFL faces arguably the best defender in the league. Elliott is a threat whether he is taking handoffs in the backfield or catching passes. Kuechly is a top tier run and pass defender. This is one of the premier matchups of Week 1 no matter how you slice it, and could impact the game more than any other one-on-one matchup. Kuechly can patrol sideline to sideline against the best of them, however Elliott lead the league in rushing his rookie year for a reason. Elliott figures to be heavily involved in all aspects of their offense as the consensus best weapon for the Cowboys.Mario Addison vs. Tyron SmithIn regards to the line, the rushing game will be a big factor. However, rushing Dak Prescott will be key as well. Kawann Short and Dontari Poe will make their debut as a unit, but ol’ reliable Mario Addison needs to show up as well. He has worked his way into a 3 down role with the Panthers, and will see Pro Bowler tackle Tyron Smith most of the night. Addison’s one of the better speed rushers in the NFL, but Smith is no stranger to top tier players. If Addison can get consistent pressure then Carolina’s secondary can make plays.Panthers tackles vs. Demarcus LawrenceThe Cowboys best pass rusher will face off against Taylor Moton and whatever the team has planned at right tackle. This could be problematic for a team that is attempting to be a more high powered passing offense. No, scratch that, it WILL be a problem. So far, Moton has held his own in the preseason. But playing 4 quarters against starting defensive lineman is a different animal. I also imagine the Cowboys will have a plan to attack the right side of the line, seeing as it will either be a plan C or a guy who is still recovering from injury. Pray for Cam Newton, please.Devin Funchess vs. Byron JonesThe Cowboys sport an underrated group of athletes at linebacker. Between Sean Lee and Jaylon Smith, they should have a plan for Greg Olsen. I don’t expect them to completely shut him down, but it should provide some 1 on 1 opportunities for the Panthers de facto number 1 wide receiver. Funchess is coming off a breakout year, showing he can be the number one target and succeed. However, I want to see it more consistently when he isn’t the best option among a series of bad ones. Funchess should be in for a workload of moving the chains. In a contract year, this is the perfect game to start building a case for his payday.What players are you watching, Panthers fans? 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: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 anemic loss to Washington where the Panthers failed to overcome a couple early turnovers, and fell to 3-2 on the season. This game continued the trend we saw last week for the two lines. The offensive line continues to play at a higher level than expected, while the defensive line (and defense in general) are decidedly underwhelming.Offensive Hog MolliesYards per Carry: 4.5, season: 5.0 (T-5th Youth Ryan Kalil Jersey , NFL)Yards per Play: 6.0, season: 5.7 (19th, NFL)Sacks allowed: 1, season: 8 (T-2nd, NFL)Third downs converted: 3 of 9 or 33%, season: 38% (21st, NFL)Rating: 4 out of 5 Porcine PulverizersThe Carolina Panthers offensive line has been stronger than expected, and other than Chris Clark, that trend continued this week. Clark gave up five pressures on the day, with two coming on the final drive. The other linemen had one a piece, with Ryan Kalil turning in a perfect day with zero. The pressures given up by Greg Van Roten and Trai Turner were inopportune however, as they resulted in the sack/fumble (recovered) and the Cam Newton interception.Here’s a brief sack report:1st Sack: Q1 0:45, 1st & 10, WAS 47 - Washington sends six guys on a well timed blitz against play action, Panthers have six in to block. Chris Manhertz loses bad on the right side, Greg Van Roten follows suit on the left. Cam Newton avoids both rushers by stepping up, but as he steps up, D.J. Swearinger is there to meet him on a late blitz. Ball comes out right into Greg Van Roten’s hands, Carolina keeps, but it is a sack. Sack should be credited to Greg Van Roten, as him getting beat pushed Cam right into Swearinger.The Panthers however continue to be one of the best teams in the league at keeping their quarterback clean, combining better than expected pass protection with more quick passes. That said, the team went downfield more often in this game than they have in many others, helped by a return of Greg Olsen. Despite a decent yards per carry average, the team didn’t find much room to run consistently as Washington really tightened the reins in stopping that attack. Most of those runs upping the average were improvisations by Cam Newton. Fans are starting to get impatient with the situational play-calling Youth Greg Olsen Jersey , and I would say that complaint right now is warranted.Defensive Hog MolliesYards per Carry: 4.7, season: 4.6 (T-23rd, NFL)Yards per Play: 4.5, season: 6.5 (24th, NFL)Sacks given: 3, season: 12 (T-22nd, NFL)Third down allowed %: 7 of 16 or 44%, season: 34% (9th, NFL)Rating: 3 out of 5 Perplexing PiggiesDespite a lot of complaining by fans during the game, the defensive line did a really good job pressuring Alex Smith this week than they have in other games this season. Mario Addison had a great day in this regard, and it was the week in the rotation for Vernon Butler and Kyle Love to play well, so they did. Those suggesting that Dontari Poe has been ineffective should look at his work when he draws a one on one and rethink their stance, but I would like to see him make more impact even when double teamed.However, the real problem on this defense right now is stopping the run, reflected by our bottom ten ranking in yards per carry. This is very unusual for a Carolina defense, and right now it seems to be breaking everything. We just made Adrian Peterson look about five years younger, and if we had more success our offense probably would have had a few more drives and pulled this game out. Julius Peppers has not been holding up his end of the bargain in this part of the game, and despite his first sack of the season, it’s clear that we must invest in the defensive end position early next year in the draft.nextgenstats.nfl.comHog Molly of the Week: Mario AddisonMario Addison turned in a performance that, like Josh Norman, made his former team cringe about the fact they ever let him walk. Four tackles, one sack, and another three quarterback pressures was a very good day from him and was instrumental in deflating Alex Smith’s numbers to his lowest single game total by far this season. The Panthers will absolutely need to find him a new running mate next year, and I don’t think that person is currently on the roster.