Falcons’ playoff hopes run through Panthers
By D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, November 21, 2008
The Falcons know this is a must-win game. They are 6-4 overall, 1-2 in the NFC South. Carolina is 8-2, 2-1. A Panthers victory would put them three games ahead of the Falcons with five to play.
Do the very simple math.
Containing Julius Peppers will be key. Carolina’s left defensive end has nine sacks to go along with nine tackles and five forced fumbles this season after switching from left defensive end.
“A win this week against Carolina would pump this team up and it’s something that we need,” Falcons center Todd McClure said. “We can put another stretch together like we had before the last loss. We still have a lot of hope in this locker room that this season can be successful and we can make the playoffs.”
Which Panthers will show up?
The Panthers passed for 294 yards against the Falcons in their first meeting on Sept. 28.
Last week the Panthers ran for a team-record 264 yards on 32 carries against Detroit.
Which team will show up at the Georgia Dome, the passing Panthers or the running Panthers?
“If I had my druthers, I’d like to have them both at once,” Carolina coach John Fox said.
Fully loaded
The Falcons are counting on the Panthers to put at least eight players near the line of scrimmage.
The Panthers held Falcons running back Michael Turner to 56 yards on 18 carries in Week 4.
“We are going to have to stretch the ball down the field,” said Falcons wide receiver Michael Jenkins, who has touchdown catches of 62 and 37 yards this season. “Obviously we are a running team, but we have to take some shots and be able to hit those shots when we get a chance.”
Keeping Peppers under control
Carolina’s Julius Peppers is enjoying his move to right defensive end.
“I feel comfortable over there now,” Peppers said. “It’s starting to feel more natural over there.”
He has nine tackles and five forced fumbles this season after switching from left defensive end.
“Numbers-wise, that’s good for the stat sheet,” Peppers said. “I feel good about that. I also feel good about the overall play of the defense compared to a year ago.”
Peppers will go against Falcons left tackle Todd Weiner. They are familiar with each other from the days when Peppers played left end and Weiner was a right tackle.
“I’ve been playing against Todd for years now,” Peppers said. “He’s that same old crafty veteran.”
Peppers had two sacks and a forced fumble last week. He’s rebounding after having just 2 1/2 sacks last season.
His nine sacks ranks third in the NFC and sixth in the league.
The Falcons’ John Abraham is the only defensive end with more sacks than Peppers with 11.
“A lot was made of last season and I think he took that to heart,” Carolina head coach John Fox said. “He worked very hard this offseason. He’s having a tremendous season thus far.”
Delhomme vs. Ryan
Both teams are looking for their quarterbacks to bounce back.
Carolina’s Jake Delhomme hasn’t passed for more than 100 yards in each of the last two games.
Atlanta’s Matt Ryan had his fourth lowest (71.5) quarterback rating of the season last week.
Delhomme was 7-of-27 passing with four interceptions against Oakland on Nov. 9.
“We have seen that,” Falcons cornerback Chris Houston said of Delhomme’s recent struggles. “But every Sunday a person can step up and have one of the greatest games they ever played. So we know he’s going to come in here and compete.”
Ryan was 20 of 33 for 250 yards, no touchdowns and one interception last week against Denver.
“We don’t look at him as a rookie,” Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers said. “He’s just a quarterback. We don’t say we are going to try to and trick him with disguises or blitzes or anything like that. He’s just a quarterback.”
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