How Falcons can avenge loss to Panthers
By D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://www.ajc.com/falcons/content/sports/falcons/stories/2008/11/17/falcons_panthers_preview.html
Monday, November 17, 2008
Trailing Carolina by two games in the NFC South, the Falcons face an important divisional matchup on Sunday.
A loss would leave the Falcons three games behind Carolina with five to play.
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The Panthers (8-2) defeated the Falcons (6-4) earlier this season 24-9 on Sept. 28 in Carolina.
Here are five questions the Falcons must answer to avenge their loss to the Panthers and remain firmly in the playoff race.
Has the secondary improved?
The Falcons appear to have an improved secondary. In the first meeting, Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme and veteran wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad put on a passing clinic. Delhomme passed for 294 yards and Muhammad caught eight passes for 147 yards. Steve Smith also broke loose for 56-yard touchdown reception. Domonique Foxworth has replaced Brent Grimes at left cornerback and the unit is playing much tougher.
Can they eliminate dropped passes?
In the last meeting, the Falcons trailed 17-9 going into the fourth quarter, but couldn’t come up with the big play to flip the game. The Panthers took away the running game and forced quarterback Matt Ryan to throw 41 times. He was victimized by six dropped passes.
Can Matt Ryan find his accuracy?
Matt Ryan had one interception and another potential pick that was dropped against Denver. He also over threw an open Brian Finneran in the end zone. Ryan had a quarterback passing rating of 71.5 against Denver. It was his fourth worst game of the season. He had lower ratings against Philadelphia (68.1), Carolina (60.8) and Tampa Bay (29.6). “I know that personally I had a couple of throws that I didn’t put on the spot and didn’t do as well as I would have liked,” Ryan said. “If you put some throws on target in that type of situation maybe we have a chance to win.”
Is “The Burner” flaming out?
Running back Michael “The Burner” Turner has 227 carries for 971 yards this season. Before this year, Turner had 228 carries for 1,257 yards in four seasons with San Diego. Turner has had at least 25 carries in five of the last games. He’s rushed for more than 100 yards in one of the last five games. Turner wants to break the 1,000-yard mark, but isn’t overly worried with his numbers. “You can’t really go off of numbers alone,” Turner said. “It’s how effective we are on offense.” Health-wise, Turner said he doesn’t feel like he’s wearing down. “I don’t feel any different,” Turner said.
Where are the linebackers?
The linebacker unit figured to be the strength of the team. According to the official game book, against Denver four of the top five tacklers were defensive backs. Rookie Curtis Lofton led the linebacker unit with six tackles. Veterans Michael Boley (three) and Keith Brooking (two) were not in the top group. It might be time for special teams maven Stephen Nicholas to get some more playing time.
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