Falcons Rip Panthers 45-28
by Jaxon on Nov 24, 2008 10:02 AM EST
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PrintThe Falcons reinserted themselves into the NFC South dvision race in a big way Sunday. They took any early lead and never let it go. I'm not going to recap the game in this post, there's plenty of time as I will be doing a film review later. Instead I want to talk about the bigger picture.
The Panthers are still tied for the lead in the division so there's no reason to panic just yet. Winning on the road in the NFC South is proving to be a tough assignment this season. I believe they flashed a stat showing the division is 19-2 at home. This game was also closer than the score indicates, a quick look at the stat book for the game shows you that. There is still plenty of time to bounce back and the Panthers have shown us this season an ability to bounce back after a tough loss. In the end getting to the playoffs is the end goal, winning the NFC South would be a nice topper but is not necessarily required.
That said there are some disturbing trends in this game. DT Damione Lewis nails one right on the head.
"We are not getting off (the field) on third down," defensive tackle Damione Lewis said. "I mean, we're playing good defense on first and second downs and we're not getting out on third down. You have to get out on third down in this league. We had a very high percentage on third-down conversions and we haven't been doing it the last couple of weeks."
When the Panther defense needed a stop in the first half they couldn't get it. Consequently the Panthers dug themselves a hole while waiting for the offense to wake up. If you flashback to the previous three games they all started the same way except this time the Panthers were unable to rally. Just when the offense got it in gear and got the Panthers within three points the defense gave up a big play to WR Harry Douglas.
This game more than anything left me feeling like the Panthers were outcoached. Maybe the stats don't support that assumption since you'll see the Panthers actually had more yards and time of possession. It comes from the Falcons offense seeming to call the right play on 3rd and long over and over. It comes from the Panther offense continuing to run the ball when the only thing working was the pass. It comes from a special teams unit that seems to give up a big play when we can least afford one.
So was it really that bad?
"As ugly as it was, I don't think it's as bad as it looked by the score," Lewis said. "I think when we get in and look at the film, we're going to see some adjustments we need to make here and there, and I think we'll be fine."
Let's hope so. The road doesn't get any easier looking ahead.
So I ask you my loyal readers, what impact does this game have on the big picture?
Falcons WR Michael Jenkins converts a 3rd down
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Screen passes
Maybe someone should look into this new trend. The Panthers have excellent runners, and Jake is so hot-and-cold (floating passes or getting them batted down). Why not run some screens to get things going?
Other observations about yesterday. Too many dropped passes. The Fox announcing team was terrible.
by panthersnbraves on Nov 24, 2008 12:33 PM EST reply actions
Great point
This is a great idea, while the draw does have it’s successes, I think a screen play could do wonders.
Agree
There are more ways to counter a pass rush then a delayed hand off or draw play. Screens to the RB or TE, misdirection runs and just quick outs to the flat to whomever, the RB, FB, WR or TE. The Panther offense rarely seemed to call the perfect play for the defense.
What happened to the offensive line? The Falcons supposedly couldn’t rush the passer but instead got pressure all game and put up 3 sacks. Also, after we scored on the first drive in the 2nd half mostly through passes to Steve Smith it should have been obvious we would have to beat the Falcons through the air but instead the Panthers continued to run the ball to no avail. I better stop here.
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Stat line
Wow I completely missed that. The stats were pretty much dead even down the board, expect for the most important TD and final score.
One that is misleading is D-Will's rushing total
You might say, well he did rush for 101 yards, so why didn’t we win when usually means we would win? He got 24 of those yards on the last meaning less drive as the Panthers were running out the clock. When it mattered he only has around 60 yards.
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
Impact?
Right now, not much of an impact. Yes it does make one but I don’t think it ‘s that dramatic. If we have this same type of game against the Packers it does a lot, then again against the Bucs, and yeah it HUGH. But channeling my inner Fox, we did some good things and bad things. The good just couldn’t overcome the bad.
Passing vs. Running
" It comes from the Panther offense continuing to run the ball when the only thing working was the pass."
Actually in the first half it was run, pass, pass, punt. It was the pass that wasn’t working because they need to utilize more plays and players in the passing game.
Here’s a link where could see what plays were ran against the Falcons:
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/gamecenter/playbyplay/NFL_20081123_CAR@ATL
sure, I look at the play-by-play for every game
I’m just saying that was my impression or feeling in the 2nd half, when we were down by 2 scores. We were still calling run plays that were getting stuffed and killing the clock when we just needed to pass.
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
This should be Crossman's final gasp.
With the blocked punts that caused so much problems in the first few games and then the punt returned for the TD that effectively sealed the deal against us, I think we have seen the last of Danny Crossman. It’s been a long time coming, and they shall probably stick with him till the end of the year, but to keep him on board after all the Panthers have been through would seem lacking in intelligence, if not idiotic.
"Once again the trowsers of evil are yanked down by the mocking hands of justice!"-Revshawn
His scheme doesn;t seem to be working very well
I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com
it's good
I’m glad that Jake got the passing game going. I’ve been dogging him for two weeks, and then he stepped up. I think the Panthers realized that if other guys step up, that doesn’t mean you can take a break. I think this game was a real wake up call. So Jake has the passing game going, and all of a sudden we can’t run or stop the Falcons. I think the main reason we had so many problems was because some guys thought this would be an easy win and weren’t playing much better than they did the last two weeks against the worst teams in football. We certainly have the skill and talent to win out. Let’s see what happens.
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