Carolina Panthers must embrace trench warfare challenge in Week 2 vs. Chargers

Week 1 is a game that every Carolina Panthers fan would like to forget. Whether it be for general unpreparedness, a lack of discipline, or simply being outplayed by a better team.

It is beyond frustrating at this point to see the same thing happen annually with the Panthers. There are only so many times we can be told to be patient. There are so many aspects that need to be fixed before Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Not all of them can be addressed in such a short space of time. However, there is one that sticks out above all the rest.

The line of scrimmage.

Carolina Panthers must show fight in the trenches against the Chargers

This has been an ongoing issue with the team for many years. It's an issue that I have touched on more times than I can count. Even with an influx of new faces, it seems to be the same story yet again.

This appears to have spread to the defensive side of the ball as well. Especially after the injury to Pro Bowl performer Derrick Brown, who is arguably the best player on the team.

When you look at the film of Week 1, the Panthers got next to no push on either side of the line for the entire game. This led to a total lack of pressure on Derek Carr and no amount of effective blocking in the run game. This is something that most of the new faces brought in this offseason were meant to help with.

It was improved, especially on the interior. But one could argue it's nowhere near the level expected from such a significant investment just yet.

The left side is a concern given that both of the players are supposed to be more run-centered. It was a nightmare over there from the first snap. Ikem Ekwonu was regularly beaten on the edge and looked entirely lost at times in pass protection. He was the weak link, which carries on his trend from last season.

The defensive side of the ball allowed the New Orleans Saints to average five yards per carry and almost reach 200 total rushing yards. It was as if there was no one able to even remotely affect anything other than Brown.

Adding to this is the fact that the Panthers had six total tackles for loss. This sounds good until you realize none of these were from anyone on the defensive line. The majority of them were from veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson.

If you want to win in the NFL, you have to win in the trenches. Being able to generate push will help protect the quarterback just like it will open up running lanes. And the same goes for the defensive side of the ball - albeit in an opposite sense.

Looking ahead to Week 2, we see that the Panthers are going up against the perfect team to take advantage of their shortcomings. The Chargers just had a rusher go for almost 140 yards on the ground and average a truly staggering 13.9 yards per carry in free-agent signing J.K. Dobbins.

The Chargers also racked up four sacks against a team that has a considerably better offensive line than the Panthers do.

With how things are looking currently, it will be incredibly easy for the Chargers to just run straight down the middle and milk the clock while consistently getting into Bryce Young's face. Making an already shaky aspect of this team even more perilous. Especially when one considers that the Las Vegas Raiders were only able to rack up 71 total rushing yards on Los Angeles in Week 1.

The only way to keep this game close is to get Justin Herbert off schedule and balance early. And the only way that can happen is by stopping the run effectively enough to generate a push that gets into his face. If not, the Chargers quarterback is more than skilled enough to torch Carolina's secondary.

But this seems to be beyond the Panthers' reach based on their opening showing.

The Panthers have to fix their issues in the trenches if they want to be anything but the NFL's laughingstock once again after Week 2. Whether that comes down to a lack of talent or a lack of preparedness remains to be seen.

Either way, fans could be in for a long day if something doesn't change for the better.

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