The Atlanta Falcons (5-3) are on the road against the Carolina Panthers (3-5) Sunday.  Quarterback Matt Ryan has been struggling a bit lately, but I am expecting him to have a solid performance against the Panthers.  The Panthers defense is holding teams to 182 passing yards per game, but Michael Turner has been running the ball great lately and I think he will open things up for Ryan and the passing game.  In his last two games, Turner has rushed for 3 touchdowns and 317 yards on 38 carries.  The Falcons should have no problem winning if Turner has another big day.  Ryan needs to do a better job of taking care of the ball though.  He has thrown at least one interception in his last five games with the total being nine picks in that time.

The Falcons defense will need to focus on stopping the running game, as that is the only thing the Panthers offense has really got.  Jake Delhomme has been a turnover machine for them this year, so they limit him and hand the ball off a lot.  DeAngelo Williams is their top running back and has been having some big games lately.  He went for two touchdowns and 149 yards rushing on 21 carries last week.  Jonathon Stewart also gets about 10-15 carries a game and averages about 4.4 yards per carry.  Delhomme has been limiting his turnovers lately, so the Falcons really need to make sure they slow down the running game.  The Falcons are the better team, so they should win this game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Atlanta Falcons 30, Carolina Panthers 21

Michael Turner was off to a rough start to the 2009 season but he has exploded the last two weeks for the Falcons.  Against the Saints and Redskins, Turner has carried the ball 38 times for 317 yards (8.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 2 passes for 14 yards the last two weeks.  The Falcons’ offense is now really starting to get back to full speed with Turner rocking right now.  His recent surge has really improved his season numbers which looked a little lethargic for him.  He has now carried the ball 156 times for 720 yards (4.6 ypc) with 10 TD runs this season.  He has also caught 5 passes for 35 yards (7.0 avg) so far this year.  Turner gives the Falcons’ offense balance which makes the game easier for QB Matt Ryan so they hope he keeps up the good work the rest of the way.

The Falcons rushed out to a 24-3 lead at halftime before cruising to victory.  Matt Ryan just managed this game completing 17 of 24 passes for 135 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Michael Turner was the workhorse on offense for the Falcons in this game as he carried the ball 18 times for 166 yards (9.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 2 passes for 14 yards today.  TE Tony Gonzalez led the way in the passing game for the Falcons with 5 catches for 41 yards (8.2 avg) with a TD grab.  The Falcons finished up with 306 total yards on offense (181 rushing, 125 passing). 

The defense was led by a superhuman effort out of DT Jonathan Babineaux who led the Falcons with 10 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss and 3 QB hits.  CB Tye Hill made a huge play in the first half of the game for the Falcons when he returned a interception 62 yards for a TD to set the tone in this game.  The Redskins finished up with 312 total yards in this game (136 rushing, 176 passing).  The Falcons are now 5-3 on the season.

39-year old kicker Jason Elam is having a rough time this season for the Falcons.  He has only made 6 of 10 field goals this season and he is 21 of 22 on extra points.  That means that Jason Elam has left 13 points on the field for the Falcons and that is way too many!  It appears that he is starting to lose leg strength and if he continues to miss nearly half of his field goals the Falcons will have to go out and sign a new kicker, period. 

The Washington Redskins need to get something going on offense if they are to start winning some games.  The Atlanta D will give the Redskins a lot of opportunities to get back on track as they are allowing 121.7 yards rushing and 256.4 yards passing per game this season.  Personally, I would just come out and pound the Falcons’ D with Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts until the Falcons prove they can stop it.  That would make things a lot easier on Jason Campbell who has not had his best year so far.  Still, look for TE Fred Davis to be big part of the offense in this game for the Redskins this week on the short stuff over the middle.  If the Redskins indeed establish a good running game then they will likely go up top to Santana Moss.

The Falcons will have to deal with a solid Redskins’ D that is only allowing 283.5 yards of total offense (118.6 rushing, 164.9 passing) per game this season.  With that in mind look for the Falcons to continue riding the hot hand which belongs to Michael Turner.  The Redskins are only allowing 3.9 yards per carry despite giving up 118.6 yards per game on the ground.  The Falcons’ O-Line has only allowed Matt Ryan to be sacked 9 times this season but they will have their hands full with DE Andre Carter who has 6.5 sacks.  Tony Gonzalez likely has the chance to have a big game here as the Redskins will no doubt try to take WR Roddy White out of this game.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 23, REDSKINS 20

The Falcons put up a good fight last night against the Saints but they just feel a tad short.  Matt Ryan completed 19 of 42 passes for 289 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 interceptions (one of them was returned 48 yards for a TD by Saints’ CB Jabari Greer).  Ryan certainly did not have his best game of the season but he did help keep the Falcons in striking range.  Michael Turner led the way in the running game for the Falcons with 151 yards on 20 carries (7.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Roddy White led the way in the passing game for the Falcons with 108 yards receiving on 4 catches (27.0 avg) with a TD grab.  Tony Gonzalez also had a solid game with 6 catches for 89 yards (14.8 avg).  Michael Jenkins had a few key drops but he still caught 4 passes for 66 yards (16.5 avg) last night.  The Falcons finished up with 448 total yards on offense (161 rushing, 281 passing).

LB Curtis Lofton (14 tackles) and S Erik Coleman (10 tackles) led the way for the Falcons on D last night.  CB Brent Grimes was also busy for the Falcons with 8 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  DE Kroy Biermann only had 2 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss, but he recovered a Drew Brees fumble and returned it 4 yards for a TD.  The Saints finished up with 437 total yards (146 rushing, 291 passing) on offense in this game.  The Falcons are now 4-3 on the season.