Jake Delhomme will be the first Panther to admit that the team hasn’t played all that well the last two games, squeezing out victories over two of the worst teams in the league.  But Delhomme also knows that the key to success in the NFL is getting hot at the right time. As they say, there is no time like the present, as the Panthers travel to Atlanta to take on the division rival Falcons in a pivotal NFC South matchup.

Not only will this be a good opportunity for the Panthers to put some space between them and a divisional opponent, it marks the first of a tough stretch of games in which the Panthers play teams at .500 or better, four of those games on the road.  A win over the Falcons could help heat up the club going into December, where the Panthers will face the Bucs, Broncos and Giants.

Keys to the Game

1. Pressure Matt Ryan- One major part of the Falcon’s formula for success has been their running game, which ranks 2nd in the NFL.  Oddly enough it has been the run defense for Carolina that has been their weakest link this season, so expect to see eight guys in the box a lot tomorrow. The key matchup will be Julius Peppers and the Falcons backup tackle, as the starter, Sam Baker is out for Sunday’s game.  If Peppers, who has had five sacks in the last two games, can get to Ryan early and often, he may be able to shake Ryan’s confidence a little bit, something that hasn’t happened much this season.

2. Pound the Rock- Because Jake Delhomme hasn’t had a great couple of games, it is imperative that Carolina continues to build on their rushing success.  With a rushing offense that now ranks 6th in the league going up against a Falcons defense that ranks 22nd against the run, there should be some big plays out of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.  Not to mention the Panthers will have Ryan Kalil back at center.

3.  Work the play action pass- It kind of goes without saying that once the run has been established Jake Delhomme needs to start hitting his receivers deep down the field on play action.  This is the John Fox philosophy.  Steve Smith has had a couple of bad games as well, dropping some balls, as well as fumbling last week against the Lions.  Delhomme and Smitty just need to get  back on track.  The way I look at it, every player goes through some ebbs and flows during the season, so at least Delhomme and Smith have (knock on wood) hit the proverbial bottom and are on their way back up.

It really feels like the Panthers have yet to play a full game.  There have been games where the running game is on fire, Jake is hitting everything he throws at, the defense is dominating, and special teams perfect, the thing is they just haven’t all happened at the same time.  If there was ever going to be a time during the season where everything needs to start clicking now’s the time.

One other thing to note about this Falcons team: they aren’t the same team that got beat 24-9 in Charlotte.  With a new starting cornerback, as well as some more games under their belt, the Falcons are not going to be pushed around like they were the last time these teams met.

As far as injuries go, miraculously the Panthers are expected to have everyone healthy and ready to go come Sunday, certainly a rare occurrence in the NFL.

Panther 24, Falcons 23

Tags: atlanta falcons, carolina panthers, delhomme