I’ll give it to you straight: There’s some good news, and some bad news.
Let’s rip the Band-aid off and start with the bad: Carolina’s first-team tackles had their lunch money taken by Miami’s pass rushers in the first half of Thursday night’s 27-20 victory over the Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium.
And it didn’t take long for the bullying to begin.
Dolphins defensive end Robert Quinn rolled by left tackle Matt Kalil like a river over pebbles, first pressuring quarterback Cam Newton heavily on the first play of the game, and then sacking Newton for a 7-yard loss on Carolina’s second series.