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The Carolina Panthers played in a wild and physical contest against the Cincinnati Bengals last week that ended up in a tie. From the first snap against the Packers, however, it was quite clear that they were simply not up for this game.

Green Bay dominated the entire game and did not surrender a lead once. Aaron Rodgers was firing on all cylinders as he threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers; Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. He completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 and now has 18 touchdowns and only one interception on the year. Eddie Lacy and James Starks, pitched in rushing touchdowns for good measure. At the end of the first half, the Packers were already up 28-0, essentially ending the game and putting Rodgers and the Packers on auto-pilot.

Despite the thrashing, it was an entertaining game from a Packers standpoint, as we saw them play their most complete game of the season with the offense and defense absolutely firing on all cylinders.

Here are the three things we learned from Panthers vs. Packers one sided affair

1. The Panthers, and Cam Newton, have no chance if their offensive line cannot hold up.

Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were dominant on Sunday as they were able to consistently get pressure against a very weak Panthers offensive line. This is an offensive unit, that cannot run the football with the lack of a consistent threat in the backfield and the offensive line features too many unproven players. Nate Chandler was used and abused all game at right tackle.

Newton narrowly could complete 3 to 5 step drops in the first quarter because there were defenders in his face as soon as he snapped the ball. This forced the Panthers to use a much more conservative offense that was predicated on screen passes and 1 to 2 step drops by Newton for quick slant passes. Factor in the blanket coverage by Sam Shields and Tramon Williams for the entire game, and it is easy to see why Newton and the offense were bottled up all game.

Last week, Cincinnati created absolutely no pressure against the Panthers and Newton was able to carve them up at will, not only through the air (284 yards, 2 TD’s) but on the ground as well (107 yards, 1 TD). Against the Packers, Newton barely completed over 50 percent of his passes and was sacked three times. He was hit and pressured many more times and rushed many of his throws. Newton will never be the most accurate passer, but there’s no doubt he’s made strides with his footwork. But for as tough as he is in the pocket, he like a lot of quarterback’s, will misfire on throws when pressured. Against Green Bay, even when the Packers didn’t hit Newton, it felt like he was rushing his throws for fear that the rush would get there eventually.

Newton has relied on all-world tight end, Greg Olsen and Kelvin Benjamin has shown signs of being raw, but has been a revelation as a rookie wide receiver, as he leads all freshmen pass-catchers with five touchdowns (he scored again against Green Bay). Outside of those weapons, Newton is struggling to find help from other players, as the stable of receivers outside Benjamin are extremely weak. The offensive line protection then becomes so much more important to help them create running lanes in the ground game. Newton is the team’s leading rusher and that should not continue if the Panthers want to keep him healthy. The line, from a run and passing standpoint must be better.

2. Eddie Lacy dances around the line of scrimmage way too much

It seems to be a trend among big Alabama running backs. Trent Richardson, who is listed at 5’9” 225 lbs, is notorious for being one of the more powerful backs in the league, who struggles with indecisiveness when picking a hole to run into. For a back his size, instead of running straight ahead with full steam, he chooses to dances around the line. He’s known for rarely ever falling forward when trying to gain tough yardage.

Eddie Lacy suffers from this same fate and there were a couple of occasions where he was bottled up behind his offensive line. Instead of running in a straight line and getting any possible yards he could, he gets happy feet and fails to get every ounce of yardage he can get. For a runner of his size, he doesn’t fall forward enough to my liking and that is because he is not decisive. When James Starks comes in, a smaller back, (from a girth standpoint only, not from a height, as Starks is still 6’2”) he hits the hole with authority and doesn’t use any useless movements at the line of scrimmage.

Lacy had a fine game with 61 rushing yards, a touchdown and picked up most of his assignments in pass-protection. The latter was an area that he has narrowed the gap with Starks, who was always the man head coach Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers had confidence in during passing downs.

But Lacy, needs to find consistency in his running and use his size to always move piles forward. He’s a large ways ahead of Trent Richardson, but Lacy’s career 4.1 yards per carry (3.8 this season) is a mark that is average for a running back of his immense ability and must be improved for the Packers to keep teams honest with the running game. To compare, Starks has 35 carries for 152 yards this season. That is an average yards per carry of 5.1. Don’t get me wrong. I wholeheartedly believe that Lacy is the better back and more durable (his injuries this year and last were fluky concussions that I don’t think are recurring ailments), as Starks always seems nicked up somehow.

This is a problem many big backs have. I recall Steven Jackson being known as a dancer at the line of scrimmage early in his career and finally realizing that moving piles is key. Lacy will get there soon.

3. Dom Capers’ defense is finally proving its worth

Last season, the Packers had 10 total interceptions after 16 games. We’re not even at the halfway mark and already Green Bay has surpassed last year’s total with 11 interceptions. If you remember when Capers first became coordinator of the Packers, his teams would routinely be ranked at the top of the league in takeaways, thanks to the ball-hawking prowess of Charles Woodson and Nick Collins

Watching the game against Carolina, obviously you see the impact Clay Matthews has. He’s been penciled in to miss 3 to 5 games per season for the last 3 years, but is finally healthy in 2014. Matthews is the type of pass rusher that may not get egregious sack totals, but he’s always providing pressure and hurrying the quarterback. With the addition of Julius Peppers as a stand up linebacker and Datone Jones who can play with his hand on the dirt or standing, Capers can deploy various pressure looks as he did on Sunday against Carolina.

The secondary is playing at a high level as well. I mentioned the 11 interceptions already in only seven games. Sam Shields and Tramon Williams are performing at elite levels at the cornerback positions shadowing any and all incoming receivers and Morgan Burnett and Ha-Ha Clinton Dix providing support on the run and against the pass. This is shaping up to be one of the best secondaries in the game.

Entering this game, the Packers were 4th in passing yards allowed and tied for third in passing touchdowns allowed. As a group, they are also 13th in DVOA, according to Football outsiders, but that will surely improve after the dominant performance against the Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers played in a wild and physical contest against the Cincinnati Bengals last week that ended up in a tie. From the first snap against the Packers, however, it was quite clear that they were simply not up for this game.

Green Bay dominated the entire game and did not surrender a lead once. Aaron Rodgers was firing on all cylinders as he threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers; Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. He completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 and now has 18 touchdowns and only one interception on the year. Eddie Lacy and James Starks, pitched in rushing touchdowns for good measure. At the end of the first half, the Packers were already up 28-0, essentially ending the game and putting Rodgers and the Packers on auto-pilot.

Despite the thrashing, it was an entertaining game from a Packers standpoint, as we saw them play their most complete game of the season with the offense and defense absolutely firing on all cylinders.

Here are the three things we learned from Panthers vs. Packers one sided affair

1. The Panthers, and Cam Newton, have no chance if their offensive line cannot hold up.

Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were dominant on Sunday as they were able to consistently get pressure against a very weak Panthers offensive line. This is an offensive unit, that cannot run the football with the lack of a consistent threat in the backfield and the offensive line features too many unproven players. Nate Chandler was used and abused all game at right tackle.

Newton narrowly could complete 3 to 5 step drops in the first quarter because there were defenders in his face as soon as he snapped the ball. This forced the Panthers to use a much more conservative offense that was predicated on screen passes and 1 to 2 step drops by Newton for quick slant passes. Factor in the blanket coverage by Sam Shields and Tramon Williams for the entire game, and it is easy to see why Newton and the offense were bottled up all game.

Last week, Cincinnati created absolutely no pressure against the Panthers and Newton was able to carve them up at will, not only through the air (284 yards, 2 TD’s) but on the ground as well (107 yards, 1 TD). Against the Packers, Newton barely completed over 50 percent of his passes and was sacked three times. He was hit and pressured many more times and rushed many of his throws. Newton will never be the most accurate passer, but there’s no doubt he’s made strides with his footwork. But for as tough as he is in the pocket, he like a lot of quarterback’s, will misfire on throws when pressured. Against Green Bay, even when the Packers didn’t hit Newton, it felt like he was rushing his throws for fear that the rush would get there eventually.

Newton has relied on all-world tight end, Greg Olsen and Kelvin Benjamin has shown signs of being raw, but has been a revelation as a rookie wide receiver, as he leads all freshmen pass-catchers with five touchdowns (he scored again against Green Bay). Outside of those weapons, Newton is struggling to find help from other players, as the stable of receivers outside Benjamin are extremely weak. The offensive line protection then becomes so much more important to help them create running lanes in the ground game. Newton is the team’s leading rusher and that should not continue if the Panthers want to keep him healthy. The line, from a run and passing standpoint must be better.

2. Eddie Lacy dances around the line of scrimmage way too much

It seems to be a trend among big Alabama running backs. Trent Richardson, who is listed at 5’9” 225 lbs, is notorious for being one of the more powerful backs in the league, who struggles with indecisiveness when picking a hole to run into. For a back his size, instead of running straight ahead with full steam, he chooses to dances around the line. He’s known for rarely ever falling forward when trying to gain tough yardage.

Eddie Lacy suffers from this same fate and there were a couple of occasions where he was bottled up behind his offensive line. Instead of running in a straight line and getting any possible yards he could, he gets happy feet and fails to get every ounce of yardage he can get. For a runner of his size, he doesn’t fall forward enough to my liking and that is because he is not decisive. When James Starks comes in, a smaller back, (from a girth standpoint only, not from a height, as Starks is still 6’2”) he hits the hole with authority and doesn’t use any useless movements at the line of scrimmage.

Lacy had a fine game with 61 rushing yards, a touchdown and picked up most of his assignments in pass-protection. The latter was an area that he has narrowed the gap with Starks, who was always the man head coach Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers had confidence in during passing downs.

But Lacy, needs to find consistency in his running and use his size to always move piles forward. He’s a large ways ahead of Trent Richardson, but Lacy’s career 4.1 yards per carry (3.8 this season) is a mark that is average for a running back of his immense ability and must be improved for the Packers to keep teams honest with the running game. To compare, Starks has 35 carries for 152 yards this season. That is an average yards per carry of 5.1. Don’t get me wrong. I wholeheartedly believe that Lacy is the better back and more durable (his injuries this year and last were fluky concussions that I don’t think are recurring ailments), as Starks always seems nicked up somehow.

This is a problem many big backs have. I recall Steven Jackson being known as a dancer at the line of scrimmage early in his career and finally realizing that moving piles is key. Lacy will get there soon.

3. Dom Capers’ defense is finally proving its worth

Last season, the Packers had 10 total interceptions after 16 games. We’re not even at the halfway mark and already Green Bay has surpassed last year’s total with 11 interceptions. If you remember when Capers first became coordinator of the Packers, his teams would routinely be ranked at the top of the league in takeaways, thanks to the ball-hawking prowess of Charles Woodson and Nick Collins

Watching the game against Carolina, obviously you see the impact Clay Matthews has. He’s been penciled in to miss 3 to 5 games per season for the last 3 years, but is finally healthy in 2014. Matthews is the type of pass rusher that may not get egregious sack totals, but he’s always providing pressure and hurrying the quarterback. With the addition of Julius Peppers as a stand up linebacker and Datone Jones who can play with his hand on the dirt or standing, Capers can deploy various pressure looks as he did on Sunday against Carolina.

The secondary is playing at a high level as well. I mentioned the 11 interceptions already in only seven games. Sam Shields and Tramon Williams are performing at elite levels at the cornerback positions shadowing any and all incoming receivers and Morgan Burnett and Ha-Ha Clinton Dix providing support on the run and against the pass. This is shaping up to be one of the best secondaries in the game.

Entering this game, the Packers were 4th in passing yards allowed and tied for third in passing touchdowns allowed. As a group, they are also 13th in DVOA, according to Football outsiders, but that will surely improve after the dominant performance against the Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers played in a wild and physical contest against the Cincinnati Bengals last week that ended up in a tie. From the first snap against the Packers, however, it was quite clear that they were simply not up for this game.

Green Bay dominated the entire game and did not surrender a lead once. Aaron Rodgers was firing on all cylinders as he threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers; Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. He completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 and now has 18 touchdowns and only one interception on the year. Eddie Lacy and James Starks, pitched in rushing touchdowns for good measure. At the end of the first half, the Packers were already up 28-0, essentially ending the game and putting Rodgers and the Packers on auto-pilot.

Despite the thrashing, it was an entertaining game from a Packers standpoint, as we saw them play their most complete game of the season with the offense and defense absolutely firing on all cylinders.

Here are the three things we learned from Panthers vs. Packers one sided affair

1. The Panthers, and Cam Newton, have no chance if their offensive line cannot hold up.

Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were dominant on Sunday as they were able to consistently get pressure against a very weak Panthers offensive line. This is an offensive unit, that cannot run the football with the lack of a consistent threat in the backfield and the offensive line features too many unproven players. Nate Chandler was used and abused all game at right tackle.

Newton narrowly could complete 3 to 5 step drops in the first quarter because there were defenders in his face as soon as he snapped the ball. This forced the Panthers to use a much more conservative offense that was predicated on screen passes and 1 to 2 step drops by Newton for quick slant passes. Factor in the blanket coverage by Sam Shields and Tramon Williams for the entire game, and it is easy to see why Newton and the offense were bottled up all game.

Last week, Cincinnati created absolutely no pressure against the Panthers and Newton was able to carve them up at will, not only through the air (284 yards, 2 TD’s) but on the ground as well (107 yards, 1 TD). Against the Packers, Newton barely completed over 50 percent of his passes and was sacked three times. He was hit and pressured many more times and rushed many of his throws. Newton will never be the most accurate passer, but there’s no doubt he’s made strides with his footwork. But for as tough as he is in the pocket, he like a lot of quarterback’s, will misfire on throws when pressured. Against Green Bay, even when the Packers didn’t hit Newton, it felt like he was rushing his throws for fear that the rush would get there eventually.

Newton has relied on all-world tight end, Greg Olsen and Kelvin Benjamin has shown signs of being raw, but has been a revelation as a rookie wide receiver, as he leads all freshmen pass-catchers with five touchdowns (he scored again against Green Bay). Outside of those weapons, Newton is struggling to find help from other players, as the stable of receivers outside Benjamin are extremely weak. The offensive line protection then becomes so much more important to help them create running lanes in the ground game. Newton is the team’s leading rusher and that should not continue if the Panthers want to keep him healthy. The line, from a run and passing standpoint must be better.

2. Eddie Lacy dances around the line of scrimmage way too much

It seems to be a trend among big Alabama running backs. Trent Richardson, who is listed at 5’9” 225 lbs, is notorious for being one of the more powerful backs in the league, who struggles with indecisiveness when picking a hole to run into. For a back his size, instead of running straight ahead with full steam, he chooses to dances around the line. He’s known for rarely ever falling forward when trying to gain tough yardage.

Eddie Lacy suffers from this same fate and there were a couple of occasions where he was bottled up behind his offensive line. Instead of running in a straight line and getting any possible yards he could, he gets happy feet and fails to get every ounce of yardage he can get. For a runner of his size, he doesn’t fall forward enough to my liking and that is because he is not decisive. When James Starks comes in, a smaller back, (from a girth standpoint only, not from a height, as Starks is still 6’2”) he hits the hole with authority and doesn’t use any useless movements at the line of scrimmage.

Lacy had a fine game with 61 rushing yards, a touchdown and picked up most of his assignments in pass-protection. The latter was an area that he has narrowed the gap with Starks, who was always the man head coach Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers had confidence in during passing downs.

But Lacy, needs to find consistency in his running and use his size to always move piles forward. He’s a large ways ahead of Trent Richardson, but Lacy’s career 4.1 yards per carry (3.8 this season) is a mark that is average for a running back of his immense ability and must be improved for the Packers to keep teams honest with the running game. To compare, Starks has 35 carries for 152 yards this season. That is an average yards per carry of 5.1. Don’t get me wrong. I wholeheartedly believe that Lacy is the better back and more durable (his injuries this year and last were fluky concussions that I don’t think are recurring ailments), as Starks always seems nicked up somehow.

This is a problem many big backs have. I recall Steven Jackson being known as a dancer at the line of scrimmage early in his career and finally realizing that moving piles is key. Lacy will get there soon.

3. Dom Capers’ defense is finally proving its worth

Last season, the Packers had 10 total interceptions after 16 games. We’re not even at the halfway mark and already Green Bay has surpassed last year’s total with 11 interceptions. If you remember when Capers first became coordinator of the Packers, his teams would routinely be ranked at the top of the league in takeaways, thanks to the ball-hawking prowess of Charles Woodson and Nick Collins

Watching the game against Carolina, obviously you see the impact Clay Matthews has. He’s been penciled in to miss 3 to 5 games per season for the last 3 years, but is finally healthy in 2014. Matthews is the type of pass rusher that may not get egregious sack totals, but he’s always providing pressure and hurrying the quarterback. With the addition of Julius Peppers as a stand up linebacker and Datone Jones who can play with his hand on the dirt or standing, Capers can deploy various pressure looks as he did on Sunday against Carolina.

The secondary is playing at a high level as well. I mentioned the 11 interceptions already in only seven games. Sam Shields and Tramon Williams are performing at elite levels at the cornerback positions shadowing any and all incoming receivers and Morgan Burnett and Ha-Ha Clinton Dix providing support on the run and against the pass. This is shaping up to be one of the best secondaries in the game.

Entering this game, the Packers were 4th in passing yards allowed and tied for third in passing touchdowns allowed. As a group, they are also 13th in DVOA, according to Football outsiders, but that will surely improve after the dominant performance against the Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers played in a wild and physical contest against the Cincinnati Bengals last week that ended up in a tie. From the first snap against the Packers, however, it was quite clear that they were simply not up for this game.

Green Bay dominated the entire game and did not surrender a lead once. Aaron Rodgers was firing on all cylinders as he threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers; Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. He completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 and now has 18 touchdowns and only one interception on the year. Eddie Lacy and James Starks, pitched in rushing touchdowns for good measure. At the end of the first half, the Packers were already up 28-0, essentially ending the game and putting Rodgers and the Packers on auto-pilot.

Despite the thrashing, it was an entertaining game from a Packers standpoint, as we saw them play their most complete game of the season with the offense and defense absolutely firing on all cylinders.

Here are the three things we learned from Panthers vs. Packers one sided affair

1. The Panthers, and Cam Newton, have no chance if their offensive line cannot hold up.

Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were dominant on Sunday as they were able to consistently get pressure against a very weak Panthers offensive line. This is an offensive unit, that cannot run the football with the lack of a consistent threat in the backfield and the offensive line features too many unproven players. Nate Chandler was used and abused all game at right tackle.

Newton narrowly could complete 3 to 5 step drops in the first quarter because there were defenders in his face as soon as he snapped the ball. This forced the Panthers to use a much more conservative offense that was predicated on screen passes and 1 to 2 step drops by Newton for quick slant passes. Factor in the blanket coverage by Sam Shields and Tramon Williams for the entire game, and it is easy to see why Newton and the offense were bottled up all game.

Last week, Cincinnati created absolutely no pressure against the Panthers and Newton was able to carve them up at will, not only through the air (284 yards, 2 TD’s) but on the ground as well (107 yards, 1 TD). Against the Packers, Newton barely completed over 50 percent of his passes and was sacked three times. He was hit and pressured many more times and rushed many of his throws. Newton will never be the most accurate passer, but there’s no doubt he’s made strides with his footwork. But for as tough as he is in the pocket, he like a lot of quarterback’s, will misfire on throws when pressured. Against Green Bay, even when the Packers didn’t hit Newton, it felt like he was rushing his throws for fear that the rush would get there eventually.

Newton has relied on all-world tight end, Greg Olsen and Kelvin Benjamin has shown signs of being raw, but has been a revelation as a rookie wide receiver, as he leads all freshmen pass-catchers with five touchdowns (he scored again against Green Bay). Outside of those weapons, Newton is struggling to find help from other players, as the stable of receivers outside Benjamin are extremely weak. The offensive line protection then becomes so much more important to help them create running lanes in the ground game. Newton is the team’s leading rusher and that should not continue if the Panthers want to keep him healthy. The line, from a run and passing standpoint must be better.

2. Eddie Lacy dances around the line of scrimmage way too much

It seems to be a trend among big Alabama running backs. Trent Richardson, who is listed at 5’9” 225 lbs, is notorious for being one of the more powerful backs in the league, who struggles with indecisiveness when picking a hole to run into. For a back his size, instead of running straight ahead with full steam, he chooses to dances around the line. He’s known for rarely ever falling forward when trying to gain tough yardage.

Eddie Lacy suffers from this same fate and there were a couple of occasions where he was bottled up behind his offensive line. Instead of running in a straight line and getting any possible yards he could, he gets happy feet and fails to get every ounce of yardage he can get. For a runner of his size, he doesn’t fall forward enough to my liking and that is because he is not decisive. When James Starks comes in, a smaller back, (from a girth standpoint only, not from a height, as Starks is still 6’2”) he hits the hole with authority and doesn’t use any useless movements at the line of scrimmage.

Lacy had a fine game with 61 rushing yards, a touchdown and picked up most of his assignments in pass-protection. The latter was an area that he has narrowed the gap with Starks, who was always the man head coach Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers had confidence in during passing downs.

But Lacy, needs to find consistency in his running and use his size to always move piles forward. He’s a large ways ahead of Trent Richardson, but Lacy’s career 4.1 yards per carry (3.8 this season) is a mark that is average for a running back of his immense ability and must be improved for the Packers to keep teams honest with the running game. To compare, Starks has 35 carries for 152 yards this season. That is an average yards per carry of 5.1. Don’t get me wrong. I wholeheartedly believe that Lacy is the better back and more durable (his injuries this year and last were fluky concussions that I don’t think are recurring ailments), as Starks always seems nicked up somehow.

This is a problem many big backs have. I recall Steven Jackson being known as a dancer at the line of scrimmage early in his career and finally realizing that moving piles is key. Lacy will get there soon.

3. Dom Capers’ defense is finally proving its worth

Last season, the Packers had 10 total interceptions after 16 games. We’re not even at the halfway mark and already Green Bay has surpassed last year’s total with 11 interceptions. If you remember when Capers first became coordinator of the Packers, his teams would routinely be ranked at the top of the league in takeaways, thanks to the ball-hawking prowess of Charles Woodson and Nick Collins

Watching the game against Carolina, obviously you see the impact Clay Matthews has. He’s been penciled in to miss 3 to 5 games per season for the last 3 years, but is finally healthy in 2014. Matthews is the type of pass rusher that may not get egregious sack totals, but he’s always providing pressure and hurrying the quarterback. With the addition of Julius Peppers as a stand up linebacker and Datone Jones who can play with his hand on the dirt or standing, Capers can deploy various pressure looks as he did on Sunday against Carolina.

The secondary is playing at a high level as well. I mentioned the 11 interceptions already in only seven games. Sam Shields and Tramon Williams are performing at elite levels at the cornerback positions shadowing any and all incoming receivers and Morgan Burnett and Ha-Ha Clinton Dix providing support on the run and against the pass. This is shaping up to be one of the best secondaries in the game.

Entering this game, the Packers were 4th in passing yards allowed and tied for third in passing touchdowns allowed. As a group, they are also 13th in DVOA, according to Football outsiders, but that will surely improve after the dominant performance against the Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers played in a wild and physical contest against the Cincinnati Bengals last week that ended up in a tie. From the first snap against the Packers, however, it was quite clear that they were simply not up for this game.

Green Bay dominated the entire game and did not surrender a lead once. Aaron Rodgers was firing on all cylinders as he threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers; Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. He completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 and now has 18 touchdowns and only one interception on the year. Eddie Lacy and James Starks, pitched in rushing touchdowns for good measure. At the end of the first half, the Packers were already up 28-0, essentially ending the game and putting Rodgers and the Packers on auto-pilot.

Despite the thrashing, it was an entertaining game from a Packers standpoint, as we saw them play their most complete game of the season with the offense and defense absolutely firing on all cylinders.

Here are the three things we learned from Panthers vs. Packers one sided affair

1. The Panthers, and Cam Newton, have no chance if their offensive line cannot hold up.

Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were dominant on Sunday as they were able to consistently get pressure against a very weak Panthers offensive line. This is an offensive unit, that cannot run the football with the lack of a consistent threat in the backfield and the offensive line features too many unproven players. Nate Chandler was used and abused all game at right tackle.

Newton narrowly could complete 3 to 5 step drops in the first quarter because there were defenders in his face as soon as he snapped the ball. This forced the Panthers to use a much more conservative offense that was predicated on screen passes and 1 to 2 step drops by Newton for quick slant passes. Factor in the blanket coverage by Sam Shields and Tramon Williams for the entire game, and it is easy to see why Newton and the offense were bottled up all game.

Last week, Cincinnati created absolutely no pressure against the Panthers and Newton was able to carve them up at will, not only through the air (284 yards, 2 TD’s) but on the ground as well (107 yards, 1 TD). Against the Packers, Newton barely completed over 50 percent of his passes and was sacked three times. He was hit and pressured many more times and rushed many of his throws. Newton will never be the most accurate passer, but there’s no doubt he’s made strides with his footwork. But for as tough as he is in the pocket, he like a lot of quarterback’s, will misfire on throws when pressured. Against Green Bay, even when the Packers didn’t hit Newton, it felt like he was rushing his throws for fear that the rush would get there eventually.

Newton has relied on all-world tight end, Greg Olsen and Kelvin Benjamin has shown signs of being raw, but has been a revelation as a rookie wide receiver, as he leads all freshmen pass-catchers with five touchdowns (he scored again against Green Bay). Outside of those weapons, Newton is struggling to find help from other players, as the stable of receivers outside Benjamin are extremely weak. The offensive line protection then becomes so much more important to help them create running lanes in the ground game. Newton is the team’s leading rusher and that should not continue if the Panthers want to keep him healthy. The line, from a run and passing standpoint must be better.

2. Eddie Lacy dances around the line of scrimmage way too much

It seems to be a trend among big Alabama running backs. Trent Richardson, who is listed at 5’9” 225 lbs, is notorious for being one of the more powerful backs in the league, who struggles with indecisiveness when picking a hole to run into. For a back his size, instead of running straight ahead with full steam, he chooses to dances around the line. He’s known for rarely ever falling forward when trying to gain tough yardage.

Eddie Lacy suffers from this same fate and there were a couple of occasions where he was bottled up behind his offensive line. Instead of running in a straight line and getting any possible yards he could, he gets happy feet and fails to get every ounce of yardage he can get. For a runner of his size, he doesn’t fall forward enough to my liking and that is because he is not decisive. When James Starks comes in, a smaller back, (from a girth standpoint only, not from a height, as Starks is still 6’2”) he hits the hole with authority and doesn’t use any useless movements at the line of scrimmage.

Lacy had a fine game with 61 rushing yards, a touchdown and picked up most of his assignments in pass-protection. The latter was an area that he has narrowed the gap with Starks, who was always the man head coach Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers had confidence in during passing downs.

But Lacy, needs to find consistency in his running and use his size to always move piles forward. He’s a large ways ahead of Trent Richardson, but Lacy’s career 4.1 yards per carry (3.8 this season) is a mark that is average for a running back of his immense ability and must be improved for the Packers to keep teams honest with the running game. To compare, Starks has 35 carries for 152 yards this season. That is an average yards per carry of 5.1. Don’t get me wrong. I wholeheartedly believe that Lacy is the better back and more durable (his injuries this year and last were fluky concussions that I don’t think are recurring ailments), as Starks always seems nicked up somehow.

This is a problem many big backs have. I recall Steven Jackson being known as a dancer at the line of scrimmage early in his career and finally realizing that moving piles is key. Lacy will get there soon.

3. Dom Capers’ defense is finally proving its worth

Last season, the Packers had 10 total interceptions after 16 games. We’re not even at the halfway mark and already Green Bay has surpassed last year’s total with 11 interceptions. If you remember when Capers first became coordinator of the Packers, his teams would routinely be ranked at the top of the league in takeaways, thanks to the ball-hawking prowess of Charles Woodson and Nick Collins

Watching the game against Carolina, obviously you see the impact Clay Matthews has. He’s been penciled in to miss 3 to 5 games per season for the last 3 years, but is finally healthy in 2014. Matthews is the type of pass rusher that may not get egregious sack totals, but he’s always providing pressure and hurrying the quarterback. With the addition of Julius Peppers as a stand up linebacker and Datone Jones who can play with his hand on the dirt or standing, Capers can deploy various pressure looks as he did on Sunday against Carolina.

The secondary is playing at a high level as well. I mentioned the 11 interceptions already in only seven games. Sam Shields and Tramon Williams are performing at elite levels at the cornerback positions shadowing any and all incoming receivers and Morgan Burnett and Ha-Ha Clinton Dix providing support on the run and against the pass. This is shaping up to be one of the best secondaries in the game.

Entering this game, the Packers were 4th in passing yards allowed and tied for third in passing touchdowns allowed. As a group, they are also 13th in DVOA, according to Football outsiders, but that will surely improve after the dominant performance against the Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers played in a wild and physical contest against the Cincinnati Bengals last week that ended up in a tie. From the first snap against the Packers, however, it was quite clear that they were simply not up for this game.

Green Bay dominated the entire game and did not surrender a lead once. Aaron Rodgers was firing on all cylinders as he threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers; Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. He completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 and now has 18 touchdowns and only one interception on the year. Eddie Lacy and James Starks, pitched in rushing touchdowns for good measure. At the end of the first half, the Packers were already up 28-0, essentially ending the game and putting Rodgers and the Packers on auto-pilot.

Despite the thrashing, it was an entertaining game from a Packers standpoint, as we saw them play their most complete game of the season with the offense and defense absolutely firing on all cylinders.

Here are the three things we learned from Panthers vs. Packers one sided affair

1. The Panthers, and Cam Newton, have no chance if their offensive line cannot hold up.

Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were dominant on Sunday as they were able to consistently get pressure against a very weak Panthers offensive line. This is an offensive unit, that cannot run the football with the lack of a consistent threat in the backfield and the offensive line features too many unproven players. Nate Chandler was used and abused all game at right tackle.

Newton narrowly could complete 3 to 5 step drops in the first quarter because there were defenders in his face as soon as he snapped the ball. This forced the Panthers to use a much more conservative offense that was predicated on screen passes and 1 to 2 step drops by Newton for quick slant passes. Factor in the blanket coverage by Sam Shields and Tramon Williams for the entire game, and it is easy to see why Newton and the offense were bottled up all game.

Last week, Cincinnati created absolutely no pressure against the Panthers and Newton was able to carve them up at will, not only through the air (284 yards, 2 TD’s) but on the ground as well (107 yards, 1 TD). Against the Packers, Newton barely completed over 50 percent of his passes and was sacked three times. He was hit and pressured many more times and rushed many of his throws. Newton will never be the most accurate passer, but there’s no doubt he’s made strides with his footwork. But for as tough as he is in the pocket, he like a lot of quarterback’s, will misfire on throws when pressured. Against Green Bay, even when the Packers didn’t hit Newton, it felt like he was rushing his throws for fear that the rush would get there eventually.

Newton has relied on all-world tight end, Greg Olsen and Kelvin Benjamin has shown signs of being raw, but has been a revelation as a rookie wide receiver, as he leads all freshmen pass-catchers with five touchdowns (he scored again against Green Bay). Outside of those weapons, Newton is struggling to find help from other players, as the stable of receivers outside Benjamin are extremely weak. The offensive line protection then becomes so much more important to help them create running lanes in the ground game. Newton is the team’s leading rusher and that should not continue if the Panthers want to keep him healthy. The line, from a run and passing standpoint must be better.

2. Eddie Lacy dances around the line of scrimmage way too much

It seems to be a trend among big Alabama running backs. Trent Richardson, who is listed at 5’9” 225 lbs, is notorious for being one of the more powerful backs in the league, who struggles with indecisiveness when picking a hole to run into. For a back his size, instead of running straight ahead with full steam, he chooses to dances around the line. He’s known for rarely ever falling forward when trying to gain tough yardage.

Eddie Lacy suffers from this same fate and there were a couple of occasions where he was bottled up behind his offensive line. Instead of running in a straight line and getting any possible yards he could, he gets happy feet and fails to get every ounce of yardage he can get. For a runner of his size, he doesn’t fall forward enough to my liking and that is because he is not decisive. When James Starks comes in, a smaller back, (from a girth standpoint only, not from a height, as Starks is still 6’2”) he hits the hole with authority and doesn’t use any useless movements at the line of scrimmage.

Lacy had a fine game with 61 rushing yards, a touchdown and picked up most of his assignments in pass-protection. The latter was an area that he has narrowed the gap with Starks, who was always the man head coach Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers had confidence in during passing downs.

But Lacy, needs to find consistency in his running and use his size to always move piles forward. He’s a large ways ahead of Trent Richardson, but Lacy’s career 4.1 yards per carry (3.8 this season) is a mark that is average for a running back of his immense ability and must be improved for the Packers to keep teams honest with the running game. To compare, Starks has 35 carries for 152 yards this season. That is an average yards per carry of 5.1. Don’t get me wrong. I wholeheartedly believe that Lacy is the better back and more durable (his injuries this year and last were fluky concussions that I don’t think are recurring ailments), as Starks always seems nicked up somehow.

This is a problem many big backs have. I recall Steven Jackson being known as a dancer at the line of scrimmage early in his career and finally realizing that moving piles is key. Lacy will get there soon.

3. Dom Capers’ defense is finally proving its worth

Last season, the Packers had 10 total interceptions after 16 games. We’re not even at the halfway mark and already Green Bay has surpassed last year’s total with 11 interceptions. If you remember when Capers first became coordinator of the Packers, his teams would routinely be ranked at the top of the league in takeaways, thanks to the ball-hawking prowess of Charles Woodson and Nick Collins

Watching the game against Carolina, obviously you see the impact Clay Matthews has. He’s been penciled in to miss 3 to 5 games per season for the last 3 years, but is finally healthy in 2014. Matthews is the type of pass rusher that may not get egregious sack totals, but he’s always providing pressure and hurrying the quarterback. With the addition of Julius Peppers as a stand up linebacker and Datone Jones who can play with his hand on the dirt or standing, Capers can deploy various pressure looks as he did on Sunday against Carolina.

The secondary is playing at a high level as well. I mentioned the 11 interceptions already in only seven games. Sam Shields and Tramon Williams are performing at elite levels at the cornerback positions shadowing any and all incoming receivers and Morgan Burnett and Ha-Ha Clinton Dix providing support on the run and against the pass. This is shaping up to be one of the best secondaries in the game.

Entering this game, the Packers were 4th in passing yards allowed and tied for third in passing touchdowns allowed. As a group, they are also 13th in DVOA, according to Football outsiders, but that will surely improve after the dominant performance against the Panthers.

The Green Bay Packers absolutley man handled the Minnesota Vikings 42-10 under the lights on Thursday night. The Vikings struggled right out of the gate giving up two big touchdowns to Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson. The defense for the Packers put a strangle hold on Christian Ponder and the Minnesota offense, sacking Ponder six times and intercepting him twice and causing Matt Asiata to fumble once. This loss for the Vikings can't fall just on the shoulders of Ponder. The Vikings were terrible on all sides of the ball. They looked like a totally different team than the one that beat the Falcons last week, so what three things did we learn from this game?

The Vikings defense showed signs of promise.

The Vikings got steamed rolled, but the defense did a good job of keeping Aaron Rodgers inside the pocket and were able to get to him twice. They forced Rodgers and the Packers to punt five times in the first half. The Vikings defense allowed 320 yards of offense and kept the Packers to 4/11 on third downs, but they held Rodgers to under 200 yards passing. It was the turnovers on offense that really put them in a hole.

Teddy Bridgewater makes the Vikings better.

The Vikings offense was not clicking at all. Nothing they did looked clean. The offensive line gave no time what so ever for Ponder to throw, Corraderell Patterson was held to 2 catches for 8 yards. Ponder got sacked 6 times. The Vikings had three turnovers on three staright possesions, Ponder threw back to back interceptions and Assiata put the ball on the ground. The Vikings offense didn't even run a play on the Packers side of the field until three minutes left in the third quarter.

Packers offense is on fire.

Everything seemed to be coming together for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense. Rodgers finished his night 12/17 156 yards and 3 touchdowns. Rodgers has 7 touchdowns in the past 6 quarters and Thursday night Aaron Rodgers threw his 200th touchdown of his career. Rodgers' partner in the backfield Eddie Lacy didn't have too shabby of a night either, Lacy had 105 yards rushings on 13 carries with 2 touchdowns. It was Lacy's first 100+ yard game of the season, the prior 4 weeks he had yet to pass 50 yards on the ground. The Packers had the best Wide Recievers in the league through the first 4 weeks of the season, but they were not really needed on Thursday. Jordy Nelson caught 1 pass for 66 yards, but that 1 pass was for a touchdown while Randall Cobb had 3 catches for 34 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Green Bay Packer have been playing exceptional football these last couple of weeks and if they keep it up they could be tough to stop.

The Green Bay Packers absolutley man handled the Minnesota Vikings 42-10 under the lights on Thursday night. The Vikings struggled right out of the gate giving up two big touchdowns to Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson. The defense for the Packers put a strangle hold on Christian Ponder and the Minnesota offense, sacking Ponder six times and intercepting him twice and causing Matt Asiata to fumble once. This loss for the Vikings can't fall just on the shoulders of Ponder. The Vikings were terrible on all sides of the ball. They looked like a totally different team than the one that beat the Falcons last week, so what three things did we learn from this game?

The Vikings defense showed signs of promise.

The Vikings got steamed rolled, but the defense did a good job of keeping Aaron Rodgers inside the pocket and were able to get to him twice. They forced Rodgers and the Packers to punt five times in the first half. The Vikings defense allowed 320 yards of offense and kept the Packers to 4/11 on third downs, but they held Rodgers to under 200 yards passing. It was the turnovers on offense that really put them in a hole.

Teddy Bridgewater makes the Vikings better.

The Vikings offense was not clicking at all. Nothing they did looked clean. The offensive line gave no time what so ever for Ponder to throw, Corraderell Patterson was held to 2 catches for 8 yards. Ponder got sacked 6 times. The Vikings had three turnovers on three staright possesions, Ponder threw back to back interceptions and Assiata put the ball on the ground. The Vikings offense didn't even run a play on the Packers side of the field until three minutes left in the third quarter.

Packers offense is on fire.

Everything seemed to be coming together for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense. Rodgers finished his night 12/17 156 yards and 3 touchdowns. Rodgers has 7 touchdowns in the past 6 quarters and Thursday night Aaron Rodgers threw his 200th touchdown of his career. Rodgers' partner in the backfield Eddie Lacy didn't have too shabby of a night either, Lacy had 105 yards rushings on 13 carries with 2 touchdowns. It was Lacy's first 100+ yard game of the season, the prior 4 weeks he had yet to pass 50 yards on the ground. The Packers had the best Wide Recievers in the league through the first 4 weeks of the season, but they were not really needed on Thursday. Jordy Nelson caught 1 pass for 66 yards, but that 1 pass was for a touchdown while Randall Cobb had 3 catches for 34 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Green Bay Packer have been playing exceptional football these last couple of weeks and if they keep it up they could be tough to stop.

Football Nation proudly presents its Week 4 edition of "Monday Morning Huddle" with host Dave Holcomb. This episode opens with the top two games from Sunday. The 49ers and Packers won the two big matchups to improve to .500 and in the tough NFC West and North, perhaps save their chances of winning the division. The NFC South certainly struggled on Sunday with the Panthers, Saints and Falcons all losing road games by 13 points or more. Of course, Tampa Bay surprised Pittsburgh at Heinz Field and is now just a game out of first place. Holcomb talks Buccaneers and quarterback Mike Glennon in the 'Fourth and Long' segment along with two other young quarterbacks, Washington's Kirk Cousins and Miami's Ryan Tannehill.

Week 4 Results

Thursday
New York Giants 45, Washington 14

Sunday
Green Bay 38, Chicago 17
Houston 23, Buffalo 17
Indianapolis 41, Tennessee 17
Baltimore 38, Carolina 10
Detroit 24, New York Jets 17
Tampa Bay 27, Pittsburgh 24
Miami 38, Oakland 10 (London)
San Diego 33, Jacksonville 14
Minnesota 41, Atlanta 28
San Francisco 26, Philadelphia 21
Dallas 38, New Orleans 17

Monday
New England at Kansas City

This Week's Recommended Work
- Tampa Bay Shocks Pittsburgh: Three Things We Learned by Daniel Hutchinson
- Miami Beats Oakland 38-14: Three Things We Learned by David Levin
- The NFL Needs to Change Their Overtime Rules by Cody Parker 

Don't forget Week 3 Power Rankings will come out on Tuesday morning!

Previous Season Three Episodes
- Week 3: Western Showdowns
- Week 2: Off the Field Issues Overshadow Great Week 2
- Week 1: Early Dominance & Near Comebacks

This Week's Music
Album: Led Zeppelin
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Songs: Good Times Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Communication Breakdown

Theme Song: Monday Morning by Fleetwood Mac

Dave Holcomb’s Contact Information
Twitter: @dmholcomb
E-mail: holcombmdavid@gmail.com
Facebook: Dave's Football News

Football Nation proudly presents its Week 4 edition of "Monday Morning Huddle" with host Dave Holcomb. This episode opens with the top two games from Sunday. The 49ers and Packers won the two big matchups to improve to .500 and in the tough NFC West and North, perhaps save their chances of winning the division. The NFC South certainly struggled on Sunday with the Panthers, Saints and Falcons all losing road games by 13 points or more. Of course, Tampa Bay surprised Pittsburgh at Heinz Field and is now just a game out of first place. Holcomb talks Buccaneers and quarterback Mike Glennon in the 'Fourth and Long' segment along with two other young quarterbacks, Washington's Kirk Cousins and Miami's Ryan Tannehill.

Week 4 Results

Thursday
New York Giants 45, Washington 14

Sunday
Green Bay 38, Chicago 17
Houston 23, Buffalo 17
Indianapolis 41, Tennessee 17
Baltimore 38, Carolina 10
Detroit 24, New York Jets 17
Tampa Bay 27, Pittsburgh 24
Miami 38, Oakland 10 (London)
San Diego 33, Jacksonville 14
Minnesota 41, Atlanta 28
San Francisco 26, Philadelphia 21
Dallas 38, New Orleans 17

Monday
New England at Kansas City

This Week's Recommended Work
- Tampa Bay Shocks Pittsburgh: Three Things We Learned by Daniel Hutchinson
- Miami Beats Oakland 38-14: Three Things We Learned by David Levin
- The NFL Needs to Change Their Overtime Rules by Cody Parker 

Don't forget Week 3 Power Rankings will come out on Tuesday morning!

Previous Season Three Episodes
- Week 3: Western Showdowns
- Week 2: Off the Field Issues Overshadow Great Week 2
- Week 1: Early Dominance & Near Comebacks

This Week's Music
Album: Led Zeppelin
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Songs: Good Times Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Communication Breakdown

Theme Song: Monday Morning by Fleetwood Mac

Dave Holcomb’s Contact Information
Twitter: @dmholcomb
E-mail: holcombmdavid@gmail.com
Facebook: Dave's Football News

Football Nation proudly presents its Week 4 edition of "Monday Morning Huddle" with host Dave Holcomb. This episode opens with the top two games from Sunday. The 49ers and Packers won the two big matchups to improve to .500 and in the tough NFC West and North, perhaps save their chances of winning the division. The NFC South certainly struggled on Sunday with the Panthers, Saints and Falcons all losing road games by 13 points or more. Of course, Tampa Bay surprised Pittsburgh at Heinz Field and is now just a game out of first place. Holcomb talks Buccaneers and quarterback Mike Glennon in the 'Fourth and Long' segment along with two other young quarterbacks, Washington's Kirk Cousins and Miami's Ryan Tannehill.

Week 4 Results

Thursday
New York Giants 45, Washington 14

Sunday
Green Bay 38, Chicago 17
Houston 23, Buffalo 17
Indianapolis 41, Tennessee 17
Baltimore 38, Carolina 10
Detroit 24, New York Jets 17
Tampa Bay 27, Pittsburgh 24
Miami 38, Oakland 10 (London)
San Diego 33, Jacksonville 14
Minnesota 41, Atlanta 28
San Francisco 26, Philadelphia 21
Dallas 38, New Orleans 17

Monday
New England at Kansas City

This Week's Recommended Work
- Tampa Bay Shocks Pittsburgh: Three Things We Learned by Daniel Hutchinson
- Miami Beats Oakland 38-14: Three Things We Learned by David Levin
- The NFL Needs to Change Their Overtime Rules by Cody Parker 

Don't forget Week 3 Power Rankings will come out on Tuesday morning!

Previous Season Three Episodes
- Week 3: Western Showdowns
- Week 2: Off the Field Issues Overshadow Great Week 2
- Week 1: Early Dominance & Near Comebacks

This Week's Music
Album: Led Zeppelin
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Songs: Good Times Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Communication Breakdown

Theme Song: Monday Morning by Fleetwood Mac

Dave Holcomb’s Contact Information
Twitter: @dmholcomb
E-mail: holcombmdavid@gmail.com
Facebook: Dave's Football News

Football Nation proudly presents its Week 4 edition of "Monday Morning Huddle" with host Dave Holcomb. This episode opens with the top two games from Sunday. The 49ers and Packers won the two big matchups to improve to .500 and in the tough NFC West and North, perhaps save their chances of winning the division. The NFC South certainly struggled on Sunday with the Panthers, Saints and Falcons all losing road games by 13 points or more. Of course, Tampa Bay surprised Pittsburgh at Heinz Field and is now just a game out of first place. Holcomb talks Buccaneers and quarterback Mike Glennon in the 'Fourth and Long' segment along with two other young quarterbacks, Washington's Kirk Cousins and Miami's Ryan Tannehill.

Week 4 Results

Thursday
New York Giants 45, Washington 14

Sunday
Green Bay 38, Chicago 17
Houston 23, Buffalo 17
Indianapolis 41, Tennessee 17
Baltimore 38, Carolina 10
Detroit 24, New York Jets 17
Tampa Bay 27, Pittsburgh 24
Miami 38, Oakland 10 (London)
San Diego 33, Jacksonville 14
Minnesota 41, Atlanta 28
San Francisco 26, Philadelphia 21
Dallas 38, New Orleans 17

Monday
New England at Kansas City

This Week's Recommended Work
- Tampa Bay Shocks Pittsburgh: Three Things We Learned by Daniel Hutchinson
- Miami Beats Oakland 38-14: Three Things We Learned by David Levin
- The NFL Needs to Change Their Overtime Rules by Cody Parker 

Don't forget Week 3 Power Rankings will come out on Tuesday morning!

Previous Season Three Episodes
- Week 3: Western Showdowns
- Week 2: Off the Field Issues Overshadow Great Week 2
- Week 1: Early Dominance & Near Comebacks

This Week's Music
Album: Led Zeppelin
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Songs: Good Times Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Communication Breakdown

Theme Song: Monday Morning by Fleetwood Mac

Dave Holcomb’s Contact Information
Twitter: @dmholcomb
E-mail: holcombmdavid@gmail.com
Facebook: Dave's Football News