Chris Mortensen and John Kincaid

[tpanther]

on the radio here picked the falcons because:

they HAVE to win and the panthers beat them badly in Atlanta the last 2 years.

Wish that logic could have worked in our favor when we were 1-9 before the last 2 years (panthers are 3-1 in the series in the last 2 years)

[Penumbra]

They're two Atlanta boys too,...which may be another reason they picked the Falcons.

Honestly, I feel the Falcons win too. I don't go with all that history stuff like they did because teams change players and even coaches so often. But the main reason I think Atlanta wins is because the rookies, and man do we play a lot 'em, have gotten some experience in the first two games.

Here's another reason,...*if* DeAngelo Hall can contain Smith to just one TD score, the Falcons have a chance. The other CB, either Lewis Sanders or rookie Chris Houston will be picked on like they have the first two games. Jake had best not try to force the ball to Smith tomorrow, imo.

Also imo, the Panthers MUST run the football and convert on 3rd down. Bobby Petrino, the rumor is, has been working on a special offensive game plan against the Panthers D so whatever Fox sees on film from week 1 and 2 won't be what he sees tomorrow.

We may see a shootout!,...and 50 points scored by these two teams would be one.;)

Falcons 27
Panthers 23

[tpanther]

Kincaid's from Philly.

I like it...

because the falcons "need" this win, have lost 3 of the last 4 in the series and because they play alot of rookies, the falcons will win! :headscratch

I do think Petrino is much better than Mora Jr.

[Penumbra]

Kincaid does the Buck and Kincaid sports talk show on 680 the fan in Atlanta. Mort is a Douglasville native. Yes, at any given point during the game the Falcons *could* be playing 4 rookies on defense and three on offense.

This from PFW,...

One of the few bright spots for the Falcons this season has been the productive play of the rookies on defense. Second-round pick CB Chris Houston is nearly ready to take over the No. 2 CB job held by veteran Lewis Sanders. Sanders was benched in the fourth quarter in Week Two and replaced by Houston. We hear that if Sanders’ struggles persist, Houston could take his starting job beginning in Week Four. WLB Stephen Nicholas, a fourth-round pick who worked with the first-team defense for most of the offseason, is sharing playing time with incumbent starter Demorrio Williams. Backup DT Trey Lewis, a sixth-round pick, is looking like the steal of the draft for Atlanta, according to our sources. He has impressed the coaching staff with his quickness and ability to maintain gap control. Lewis is sharing playing time with Jonathan Babineaux while they fill in for injured starter Rod Coleman, who is out 3-4 games with a knee injury. We hear Lewis could be moved to nose tackle when Coleman returns.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFL/NFC/NFC+South/Atlanta/

And they didn't even mention rookie Jamaal Anderson.

We didn't learn the shnanigans that Mora was pulling off until just recently,...he was a joke.

Am hoping to see another nail biter.;)

[Rob]

I think it will be close. I also think the Panther D Line will show up and apply a little more pressure on the QB than we saw in the Texans game. That will mask crappy safety play. We should be able to run especially with Bridges back.

[catamount]

I don't see thais as a close game. I see a team that rebounds from a loss well, plays on the road well, and will come in with an attitude.

I see this defense without its leader, Minter, and almost looking to one another for that spark but they are all good individual athletes but lack the cohesion that an on-field general provides. This is hard to fix. Basically, the D needs a QB. I would expect Rucker to step up, but he is not on the field all of the time. The rest are pretty quiet individuals (Gamble, Kemo, Jenkins, Morgan, Peppers, Lucas, Davis, Beason) who-for one reason or another-are either underachieving or are too new to assume that role. It has to be Rucker to step up--or (don't think I am crazy) Stanly McClover. He may be more show than product, but he is enthusiastic.

Aside: Did anybody else think Harris's gloating after his hit on Johnson and the WR was lying hurt was tacky? It embarrassed me.

[Penumbra]

Interesting you mention crappy safety play,...another similarity between our defenses. I'll go ahead and post about that here so's not to start a new thread if it's ok. Thanks.

**********************
All offseason we've been reading this and reading that about Bobby Petrino and how he's an offensive guru. One cold, sobering reminder here,...that's what everyone was saying about Steve Spurrier when he was hired in Washington some years ago. The Falcons offense has scored 13 points in two games against admittingly tough defenses. But now after two games, it's time to see some points scored against the Panthers.

The problem is, the Panthers pose the same problems that the Vikings and Jaguars did to the Falcons offense. The DT positions,...Keomeateverythinginhispath is huge, as huge as Grady Jackson and perhaps a better athlete. Kris Jenkins is a healthy 330 lbs as well. Moorehead is just like Rod Coleman, smallish but is a sack-getter. The weakest DT they have is 300 lbs. Damione Lewis, weakest isn't a right description but compared to the three mentioned before, well, ya know what I mean.

Will Petrino be stubborn like last week and try to run a 180 Lbs. RB into the teeth of that defense again? IMO, he should but not with Warrick Dunn. There's a risk of wearing the guy out, but Jerious Norwood should start the game and make at least 20 carries for the game. The only positive yardage made in chunks was when Norwood got them in Jax last week.

And fascinating as well,...I was looking at stats, and such, and all the sudden it dawned that the Panthers defense and the Falcons defense has lots in common. Both have a huge whale at DT and even though Coleman is out, Moorehead and he could be twins parted at birth.

The tackle numbers by the secondary is almost identical, the Most proficient tackler from both teams being Keith Brooking at 37th in the NFL with 15 tackles. But Chris Harris has 12 tackles, Gamble has 11. There's a reason for those numbers.;) Deke Cooper and Lawyer Milloy both have 9 tackles.

So we'll see just how the offensive guru plans his attack. We've read he and his brother devise these mad scientist game plans that takes advantages of a defenses' weakness(s) and it'd be nice to see something like that happen in Atlanta,...lol for a change.

Ya'll Panthers fans have been great this week, here and across the internet. Thank you, thank you!:peace: