Carolina Panthers Twenty Brackets Round 1: Rivera Region

Dec 22, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly (59) reacts in the fourth quarter. The Panthers defeated the Saint 17-13 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

2 Seed LUKE KUECHLY over 15 Seed Mike Tolbert

In some ways this is the old irresistible force versus immovable object debate. Except in this case the irresistible force is Luke Kuechly. The current starting middle linebacker for the Carolina Panthers has a good amount of hardware already in his young career. Tolbert is really just a stand in for the lack of running backs in this region.

7 Seed RYAN KALIL over 10 Seed Sean McDermott

Kalil is the man. Part of great USC teams in college, he somehow made it to the second round in the draft. He has been just as a pro as he ever was in college. Now he even has to lead a constantly shifting offensive line due to injuries and retirements.

3 Seed DAVE GETTLEMAN over 14 Seed Josh Norman

Norman might turn out to be great in the future. Yet Gettleman is making moves for the roster right now. He locked down Cam Newton, and now he has to use his creativity to work around that yearly cap hole of $20 million. His one failing so far has been finding a healthy offensive line at good value. We’re hoping that he fixes that.

6 Seed GREG OLSEN over 11 Seed Mike Shula

Shula has been the consistent actor in the development of Newton. However Greg Olsen has been the one making Newton look good on the field. For that reason alone, I am going all chalk on the Rivera region.