Carolina Panthers (0-1) at Atlanta Falcons (1-0)
Wow, has there ever been a two-game stretch like the one Jake Delhomme has had at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers?
Delhomme turned the ball over six times (five picks, lost fumble) in last year’s playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Yet the team still gave him a rich new contract. So what did he do in the Panthers’ home opener last week against the Eagles? Four interceptions and a lost fumble as Carolina was routed 38-10. Delhomme was pulled after back-to-back picks in the third quarter and replaced by Josh McCown. But McCown suffered what turned out to be a season-ending injury, so the Panthers signed former Eagle A.J. Feeley this week – but there is no QB controversy (yet) as Delhomme remains the starter.
Atlanta’s defense was stellar last week against Miami, forcing four turnovers and just 259 yards. That the Falcons forced those four Dolphin turnovers is noteworthy considering Miami turned the ball over an NFL-record-low 13 times in 2008.
The Falcons are 6-point WagerWeb.com favorites this week.
Michael Turner was rather quiet last week for Atlanta, but Matt Ryan threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns, including one to new tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had a game-high 73 receiving yards and went over 11,000 yards for his career — the 21st player in NFL history to surpass 11,000 yards. By the way, Falcon tight ends had just 19 total catches and two touchdowns all of last year.
Ryan is 8-1 in nine career starts at the Georgia Dome, and his career rating at home is 95.2 (82.4 on the road). Turner could have a big day today. The Panthers allowed 185 rushing yards last week, and Turner rushed for a career-high four touchdowns to lead the Falcons past the Panthers, 45-28, in Week 12 of last season in the teams’ last meeting. However, Carolina won the first meeting last year, and Delhomme had no picks in the two games against Atlanta last year.
Carolina needs to get its ground game going, as it also struggled last week. Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams does have has three straight 100-yard rushing games against divisional opponents, and Carolina is 8-0 when Williams rushes for 110-plus yards.
If Atlanta leads at the half, it’s in good shape: Under coach Mike Smith, the Falcons are 12-1 when leading at the intermission.
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