This game has the look of a mis-match but it is the Falcons first home game of the season so they should be fired up.  Not so sure that will make a difference because the Panthers seem to have a lot more talent than the Falcons do.  The Panthers will likely go with what works which will likely mean running the ball and throwing deep to Steve Smith.  The Falcons are allowing 126.0 yards rushing per game so the Panthers will attack their front 7 with DeShaun Foster (116 yards rushing) and DeAngelo Williams (93 yards rushing).  The Falcons must blitz on defense often so that Delhomme doesn’t have time to find Steve Smith who has already caught 15 passes for 271 yards and 4 TDs this season.  DeAngelo Hall has had some success in dealing with Smith in the past and if the Falcons can slow him down they might have a chance at an upset.

One has to think that DE Julius Peppers (0 sacks) is going to break out soon and the Falcons line has allowed QB Joey Harrington to be sacked 13 times already this season so this could be Peppers’ week.  QBs have a 89.8 Rating against the Panthers this season so if Harrington has time to throw the ball he might have some success.  This could be the week that veteran Joe Horn has a big game, but that’s just a hunch here as he hasn’t done much this season yet.  Also, TE Alge Crumpler could have a big game against the safeties of the Panthers.  Look for RB Jerious Norwood to have more carries than Warrick Dunn as the torch will begin to be passed to the man with the younger legs.

PREDICTION:  The Falcons will be fired up for a half but it will wear off and the Panthers will take over in the 2nd half to put the Falcons away by a TD.

 

Joey Harrington had to think he found a home in Atlanta after Michael Vick was convicted, but that is not the case unless he improves he performance a lot…..and soon!  With the signing of Byron Leftwich, Harrington might only have a couple of weeks to impress the coaches.  Harrington has completed 35 of 52 passes (67.3%) for 399 yards with 0 TDs and 2 INTs (74.1 QB Rating).  Part of Harrington’s problem has been that he’s holding the ball too long which has resulted in him being sacked 13 times already this season.

The Falcons have cut kicker Matt Prater after he only made 1 of 4 field goals in the first two games of the season.  The Falcons have brought back all-time leading scorer Morten Andersen for another tour of duty with the Falcons.  The 47-year old kicker played in 14 games last season with the Falcons and he made 20 of 23 field goals (87%) and he nailed all 27 of his extra point attempts.  Andersen has now played in 368 career NFL games and he has made 540 of 681 (79.3%) field goals and he has also made 825 of 835 extra points.  Andersen is the NFL’s all-time leading scorer with 2,445 points.

The Atlanta Falcons have signed QB Byron Leftwich to a 2-year contract that could be worth up to $7 million bucks.  Leftwich was cut two weeks ago by the Jaguars who wanted to go in a different direction at the QB position. Leftwich will initially serve as Joey Harrington’s backup but he will replace him soon if he doesn’t start playing better quickly.  Leftwich played in 6 games last season for the Jaguars and he completed 108 of 183 passes (59%) for 1,159 yards with 7 TD passes and 5 interceptions (79.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 25 times for 41 yards (1.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Leftwich has now played in 46 games in his NFL career and he has completed 789 of 1,344 passes (58.7%) for 9,042 yards with 51 TD passes and 36 interceptions (80.5 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 120 times for 364 yards (3.0 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  This was a good move by both the Falcons and Leftwich as he tries to revive his NFL career.

I almost felt sorry for QB Joey Harrington yesterday.  He must be thinking to himself…..what did I do to deserve starting at quarterback for this hideous football team?  Poor Harrington was under assault all game long as he was sacked 7 times!  Harrington did manage to complete 12 of 20 passes for 200 yards when he had time to throw the football.  Even when Harrington got the Falcons in scoring position it didn’t matter as kicker Matt Prater missed 2 field goals!  Warrick Dunn looked much better than he did against the Vikings as he carried the ball 13 times for 50 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Jerious Norwood also pitched in with 30 yards rushing on 9 carries (3.3 ypc).  WR Roddy White led the way for the receivers with 4 grabs for 81 yards (20.3 avg).  TE Alge Crumpler also had a decent game with 3 catches for 53 yards (17.7 avg).  The Falcons finished up with 82 yards rushing on 25 carries (3.3 ypc) and they completed 12 of 20 passes for 166 yards.

The Falcons defense was hurt by the fact that the offense couldn’t sustain drives as the Jags had possession of the football for 34:15 and it’s hard to win that way.  Linebacker Michael Boley (8 tackles) and DT Jonathan Babineaux (3 tackles, 2 sacks) led the way for the Falcons defense.  The Jaguars finished up the game with 113 yards rushing on 34 carries (3.3 ypc) and they completed 17 of 25 passes for 251 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270916030