Marty Hurney continues to pluck guys out of the defunct AAF as he shapes the offseason roster." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteCat Scratch Readera Carolina Panthers communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsAboutPanthersOddsShopStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Keep Sounding PodcastPanthers 2019 NFL DraftCSR Film RoomFiled under:Carolina Panthers free agency 2019Panthers add three new faces to roster https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com … ess-Jersey , including two former AAF playersNew,41commentsMarty Hurney continues to pluck guys out of the defunct AAF as he shapes the offseason roster. EDTShareTweetShareSharePanthers add three new faces to roster, including two former AAF playersPhoto by Grant Halverson/Getty ImagesThe Carolina Panthers continue to pick guys up out of the now defunct AAF. The team announced today that five new players have signed contracts to join the Panthers. Two of those players, Rashad Ross and Brandon Greene, were already reported to have joined the team. Today’s report reaffirms that news. Joining them are defensive tackles T.J. Barnes and Destiny Vaeao along with tight end Thomas Duarte. Barnes and Duarte both took part in the AAF’s short lived campaign. Barnes and Vaeao both have NFL experience. Duarte was selected in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins after being a top performer among his position group in nearly every combine drill. He could never latch on to the active roster before eventually being released. He spent some time on the Charger practice squad before joining the AAF, where he caught eight passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Barnes originally made his way into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He didn’t make it out of camp as a rookie but was quickly scooped up by the Jets. He bounced around the league before disappearing off the NFL radar after the 2016 season. He’s appeared in 21 NFL games and logged six tackles, including one for a loss. Vaeao is the rare recent Panthers signing that did not play in the AAF. He signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and spent about two and a half seasons with the team (the man has a Super Bowl ring). In 33 career games, he’s amassed 27 tackles and three sacks. 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 frustrating loss against the Atlanta Falcons where the Panthers fell to 1-1 on the season. This game wasn’t at all what we expected, with the offensive line doing a little better than we may have predicted, and the defensive line getting absolutely gashed all game long.Offensive Hog MolliesYards per Carry: 6.7, season: 5.4 (1st, NFL)Yards per Play: 7.0, season: 5.8 (14th https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com … son-Jersey , NFL)Sacks allowed: 2, season: 5 (T-16th, NFL)Third downs converted: 5 of 11 or 45%, season: 39% (14th, NFL)Rating: 4 out of 5 Tryin’ Hard HogsAll things considered, given the amount of shuffling and new starters we had on the line, this was an extremely valiant effort. You’ve got newcomer Chris Clark at left tackle, Tyler Larsen in at right guard for Trai Turner, and Taylor Moton back out to right tackle. That’s a lot of guys in new spots, and they really handled it about as well as one could expect. Let’s start with the sack breakdown:1st Sack: Q1 4:05, 3rd & 8, CAR 27 - Falcons send a six man blitz, Carolina only has five blockers. Ultimately, safety Brian Poole comes untouched through the right side, Cam Newton never had the chance to even find the hot read.2nd Sack: Q2 2:24, 2nd & 10 Marquis Haynes Jersey , CAR 36 - Falcons send a four man rush, but honestly, this play was blown up from jump street. Greg Van Roten starts the play pulling but due to some immediate interior pressure, simply turns around and works his way back outside to the left. He does his best to get a body on Takkarist McKinley, and halfway succeeds. This should have been enough to get rid of the ball, Cam Newton had an open man on a slant in Devin Funchess. He instead pump fakes, getting sacked in the process.Penalties harmed us again in this one, though there was plenty of uncalled holding that benefited both sides. I was very impressed with Chris Clark. For a guy who has not even been on the team a week, he put in a hell of an effort. He allowed two pressures, no sacks, and we left him alone on an island without any tight end help the entire game. If he can continue this level of play, there is no reason Matt Kalil should get his job back when he returns from injury, though I would say Kalil would be an upgrade on outside runs, where Clark struggled a bit. Tyler Larsen did a good job filling in for Trai Turner, and Taylor Moton had an awesome day... look for him as Hog Molly of the week.Going forward, I would like to see better technique from Greg Van Roten. I saw him get flat-footed out there a lot rather than keeping a proper base. He leaned his waist into a lot of blocks and gave up significant ground. Another guy who I’d want to see improvement from https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com … ith-Jersey , but I probably won’t, is Ryan Kalil. It appears to me a long career in the NFL has caught up with him, as he also was giving significant ground in the middle. When Trai Turner returns, it might not be the worst idea to consider starting the Tyler Larsen era at center.Defensive Hog MolliesYards per Carry: 5.3, season: 4.9 (27th, NFL)Yards per Play: 7.4, season: 5.8 (22nd, NFL)Sacks given: 0, season: 6 (T-8th, NFL)Third down allowed %: 6 of 11 or 55%, season: 36% (14th, NFL)Rating: 1 out of 5 Disappointing Mashed PorkEverything was going fine until Calvin Ridley got bitten by the turf monster on a third down play and Donte Jackson was unjustly handed a defensive pass interference penalty. From there, for some reason, the entire day went off the rails. After Ridley got his undeserved touchdown to make the score 10-10, suddenly run fits got sloppy, offensive linemen were making it to the second level and bottling up Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson Dontari Poe Color Rush Jersey , and we ceased to get pressure at all on Matt Ryan. If you let that guy get comfortable, he will shred you, especially if his run game is also working. It was a highly disappointing effort from everyone, but especially the Hog Mollies. Julius Peppers turned in his second absentee game of the season, Mario Addison was handled for the most part, and while Kawann Short and Dontari Poe were having decent success pushing the middle of the pocket, their rotation mates Kyle Love and Vernon Butler had a tough day after a great performance last week. If there was one defensive lineman that made a noticeable impact, it was actually Wes Horton for the second week in a row. It might be time to consider giving him more run over Julius Peppers.Hog Molly of the Week: Taylor MotonThis man deserves far more than just a Hog Molly of the Week award for as much as the coaching staff have asked him to do all over the offensive line. He gets highlighted for his work in this one for not only moving back to the right side, but allowing ZERO pressures in the passing game, and doing some nice road grading as we’d expect in the run game. This kid is quickly rising to become our best offensive lineman, perhaps even more so than Trai Turner so far this year.